WSU Alumni Magazine | FALL 2023 THREADING the FUTURE Catherine Zublin’s legacy of fostering potential and opening minds WILDCAT WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY News for Alumni & Friends Vol. 28, No. 2, Fall 2023 EDITOR IN CHIEF Jaime Winston BA ’22 Tanya Nolan MED ’11, Weber State’s new School of Radiologic Sciences chair, said the school will continue preparing students with in-demand skills while looking to the future. She brings extensive radiography and sonography field experience, along with 23 years of teaching in higher education, to the role. Thanks to Nolan and other faculty, the school has a global reputation for value and meeting industry needs. Students build on what they learn in the associate’s degree program to complete bachelor’s and master’s degrees, while earning certifications along the way. The school serves 600+ students in Utah and across the country. No matter where they are in their careers, they discover opportunities at WSU to progress in their specialties. So, how are Nolan and the radiologic sciences faculty planning to build on this success? ▪ More opportunities for students to study and work internationally ▪ More training in technologies set to transform the field ▪ More outreach to rural and underserved communities, so students can complete their education and build careers close to home ▪ And more certifications, including the new cardiology technician (EKG) certificate While gaining essential skills, radiologic sciences students gain a sense of belonging. Faculty travel across the country to meet and guide outreach students, while also providing one-on-one connections with every imaging student on campus. “We’re on the shoulders of greatness,” Nolan said. “It gives us the opportunity to think about our field and our profession in a new way.” “We want our students to be advanced with skill sets that no other university can offer.” — Tanya Nolan, EdD, RT (R) (ARRT), RDMS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rachel Badali BS ’17, MBA ’22 Anna Burleson Karin Hurst AS ’79 Jessica Kokesh Bryan Magaña BS ’06, MA ’09 Shaylee Stevens AS ’20, BS ’21, MPC ’22 Corbin Talley BS ’03 CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Nancy B. Collinwood BS ’94 John Kowalewski Bryan Magaña BS ’06, MA ’09 Betsy Mennell Amber Robson BS ’05, MPC ’17 Jill Walker BS ’06, MA ’12 Jennifer Wright CREATIVE DIRECTOR Matthew Zacher BFA ’11 DESIGNERS Chelsea Maki BS ’16 Antonio Moya BFA ’12 Baylee Richardson STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Benjamin Zack CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Robert Casey Jennifer McGrew BS ’92 Comments and questions may be sent to Wildcat, Weber State University, 1265 Village Drive Dept 4025, Ogden, UT 84408-4025. The editor may also be contacted by phone: 801-626-7396 or email: magazine@weber.edu. Send address changes to Advancement Services, Weber State University, 1265 Village Drive Dept. 4018, Ogden, UT 84408-4018. Call 801-626-6138 or email giving@weber.edu to update your records. WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2023–24 Karla K. Bergeson, Chair Keith Titus BS ’02, Vice Chair Brent Bishop Tammy Gallegos Rob Higginson BS ’80 Casey Hill BA ’03 Monet Maggelet Lori Belnap Pehrson BS ’87 Ashley Potokar BS ’22 Donald J. Salazar POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Advancement Services, Weber State University, 1265 Village Drive Dept. 4018, Ogden, UT 84408-4018. weber.edu/wsumagazine | alumni.weber.edu 12 CONTENTS 5 Weber Watch A grad who thrived in the program that built her family a home, the Diversity Conference’s 25th year, taking The College Tour and more 20 Cheese with a Side of Experiential Learning WSU students research mysterious bacteria impacting the cheese industry. 26 East-side Stories WEBER A T C H As we cheer updates to Stewart Stadium, we take a look back at its early years. 33 The Tradition Keepers Meet the 2023–24 WSU Alumni Association leaders keeping traditions alive. THREADING the FUTURE Catherine Zublin’s legacy of fostering potential and opening minds TAKE OUR SURVEY to help shape the future of Wildcat. You can enter to win a Weber State gift package. 4 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 37 Class Notes Updates on the careers and achievements of Weber State alumni 44 46 A Tribute to Coach Hislop Charles “Chick” Hislop fostered success in sports and life. Lighting the way to Weber State Wildcat Inbox Large gateway monuments on Harrison Staying in touch with alumni and friends Weber State’s Ogden campus. Designed by VCBO Boulevard now invite Wildcats to be brilliant at Rachel Badali BS ’17, MBA ’22 Anna Burleson Jessica Kokesh Bryan Magaña BS ’06, MA ’09 Shaylee Stevens AS ’20, BS ’21, MPC ’22 Jaime Winston BA ’22 Architects and built by YESCO in spring 2023, the MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS A similar feature is planned for WSU Davis. statuesque, angular pieces feature prominent WSU logos, light features and stone bases. Look for them next time you enter campus at 3950 South or 3850 South. Fall 2023 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 5 WEBER WATCH WSU grad thrived in program that built her family a home When Abigail Trejo decided to study in Weber “Weber was just my stepping stone. I didn’t State University’s Department of Construction know if I was going to stay here or not, or if I was and Building Sciences, she didn’t realize she going to find what I was looking for,” she said, already had a special connection to it. “but, fortunately, I did.” In 2019, Trejo and her family were recipients of Though it took time to settle on a major, a home from Habitat for Humanity of Weber building design turned out to be right for her. and Davis Counties — a home that students and As a child, she loved drawing up floor plans faculty from Weber State’s construction program for houses. helped build. “My family comes from a very poor background. “I didn’t know that they were working on it,” We started off with a trailer home and I she said. “I didn’t know that I was going into remember drawing the footprint of our home a program that does similar projects, so it’s and drawing everyone’s room,” she said. “I’ve pretty cool.” always been a very visual learner.” As a first-generation student, Trejo wasn’t always She enjoyed the hands-on aspect of building sure if college was the right choice for her. In design and watching projects come to life outside April, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree the classroom. As part of her senior project, in building design and construction. She also she worked on a redesign of the Youth Futures earned two associate’s degrees during her time shelter in Ogden and created a 3D rendering of at Weber State. the building. During her time at Weber, Trejo also discovered how much she enjoys remodeling projects, taking old floor plans and coming up with fresh uses for the space. “I like to make it as simple as possible, creating a blank canvas so that the owner can project their ideas onto what I’m trying to achieve,” she said. Fulbright Scholar takes “It’s working together to make one piece.” geoscience teaching, research to Poland Marek Matyjasik, chair of Weber State’s he learns to teaching WSU students complex Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, concepts. Most importantly, he said it will help is heading to Warsaw, Poland, after receiving his him motivate and prepare the next generation of second Fulbright U.S. Scholar award. scientists to tackle and solve some of the planet’s The Fulbright program places awardees in more most critical issues. than 135 countries to teach, conduct research Matyjasik’s last Fulbright opportunity in Poland and complete projects. Next spring, Matyjasik was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic. will teach courses on water chemistry and water Though he was able to meet all his goals by resources at the University of Warsaw, where he working remotely, he felt there was more to also served upon receiving his last award in 2020. accomplish and was inspired to apply again. In addition, he will examine how things like “International collaboration is extremely remote learning and rapidly advancing artificial important,” Matyjasik said. “We need to compare intelligence have changed teaching and learning thinking to make sure we’re making progress in in the country. He’s confident he can apply what important areas of education and science.” 6 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 ABOVE: Fulbright Scholar Marek Matyjasik, who will soon visit Warsaw, Poland, to conduct research and teach about water chemistry and water resources RIGHT: Abigail Trejo, a recent WSU graduate with a special connection to the university’s construction and building sciences department Weber was just my stepping stone. I didn’t know if I was going to stay here or not, or if I was going to find what I was looking for, but, fortunately, I did.” — ABIGAIL TREJO Fall 2023 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 7 WEBER WATCH Dedicated Wildcats basketball fans receive Purple Paw Award Weber State pulls off a coaching double-double Weber State’s Alumni Association honored Lois Richins AS ’60, MS ’82 and her husband, WSU has two new head coaches to lead student-athletes to victory. Keith, with a 2023 Purple Paw Award for their dedication to the community and WSU Athletics. The Emeriti Alumni Council presents the award Jenteal Jackson became head coach of the women’s each year to recognize contributions current and basketball program in April 2023. A Utah native who former Wildcats make to the university. served as head coach at Westminster College from “Receiving the Purple Paw Award is an honor,” 2021–2023, Jackson is excited to be a Wildcat. Lois said. “My husband and I have enjoyed “I really believe this is a place where we can win, and thousands of hours of sporting events over the I have big goals to win conference titles,” Jackson past 60 years, including basketball, football, said. “I think there is a lot of room for success here volleyball and softball games, so we sincerely and a lot of room for growth. There are a lot of great appreciate the recognition from WSU.” coaches and people that have come before me and Lois, who graduated from Weber State with her done great things, and we are definitely going to try associate’s and master’s degrees, and Keith to take this team as high as we can.” began buying season tickets for WSU men’s Jackson plans to tap into Utah and surrounding areas basketball in 1975. While many fans support the Her support of WSU extends beyond the court for recruiting. “I know there is a lot of talent in the team through good and bad seasons, few rival the as well. Lois serves as a student teaching state that we can keep here,” she said. Richins’ commitment. advisor and shares her Weber State roots in her And she offers a good reason to see a game this When basketball season arrives, the Richins plan community. With Keith’s help, she continually season. their weeks around the team schedule, making looks for opportunities to positively impact others “We will definitely try to push the ball and play good sure they can attend every home game. Their while championing Weber State. fundamental team basketball that will be fun to dedication has not gone unnoticed. Before their “We feel Weber State does not always receive the watch,” she said. “We can’t wait to get going.” Purple Paw Award, in 1993, Lois received a Wildcat recognition and attention it deserves,” Lois said. Club Super Fan Award. She can be found decked “The quality of education, the people and the in Wildcat attire at every game, as well as the day community can’t be matched.” The women’s basketball team opens the Big Sky portion of its season at the University of Montana after if the Wildcats win, and has vast knowledge on Dec. 29, 2023. of team lineups, stats and all things WSU sports. Mickey Mental, new head coach of Weber State’s football team, joined the Wildcats in 2022 as the offensive coordinator and helped lead the team to a 10-win season. Still wild about Damian Mental said he hopes to continue adding to the strong legacy prior Head Coach Jay Hill and others have created at WSU. Our favorite trailblazing Wildcat, Damian Lillard “Weber State has been built into a perennial national BS ’15, is on the move in the NBA. program, and we are excited to get to work and Damian has embarked on his first season with the compete for championships,” Mental said. “We want Milwaukee Bucks. Whether he’s in Oakland, Ogden, Oregon to be a tough, hard-nosed, blue-collar team with a or Ol’ Milwaukee, Dame will always be No. 1 in our hearts. great work ethic. I love coaching football. I love the group we have for this season and can’t wait to get to work with these young men.” The Wildcats finished 6-5 during Mental’s inaugural season, including a 31-29 upset of No. 4-ranked University of Idaho in their final home game of the season. 8 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 Please join us when Damian and his Milwaukee ABOVE: New head coach for WSU football, Mickey Mental, wants to continue the strong legacy his predecessors created. Bucks return to Utah on Feb. 4, 2024, to take on the BELOW: Jenteal Jackson, new head coach for women’s basketball, is focusing on fundamentals as a path to victory. To register, visit alumni.weber.edu/wildaboutdamian24 Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. or scan the QR code. Lois and Keith Richins, recipients of the 2023 Purple Paw Award for their contributions to the WSU community WEBER WATCH Diversity Conference marks 25th anniversary Exploring neurodiverse stories Weber State hosted the 25th Annual Diversity Conference, Sept. 28–29, celebrating a legacy of education and open dialogue on topics related to diversity and inclusion. The conference’s theme, Celebrate Neurodiversity, invited attendees to explore how inclusive, neurodiverse spaces benefit everyone. “Differences in learning and behaviors strengthen our communities,” said Adrienne Andrews, former vice president for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. “Diversity of thought, which includes neurodiversity, helps us make better decisions and foster a more inclusive environment for all.” Tim Howard, a former Manchester United Premier League and Major League Soccer player, was interviewed for the keynote address. Howard discussed his experiences with Tourette Syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder, as well as his work helping other neurodiverse people navigate their daily experiences. Other sessions explored a variety of topics related to neurodiversity, challenging attendees to examine their own perspectives. Lights, camera, Wildcats! Weber State students star in a new episode of the Dunn, who also works for Weber’s streaming series The College Tour, which filmed Outdoor Program, said WSU has given him on campus and around Ogden during graduation quality education and a sense of belonging — week, April 24–28. things he wanted to come across in the episode. Now in its ninth season, The College Tour “The community here is amazing,” he said. highlights colleges and universities across the “Students, professors and admin, they’re country, giving audiences an overview of each spectacular, and they all just want you to do campus through the eyes of students. well. It’s hard to find that kind of tight-knit A production crew followed nine WSU students group anywhere else.” and one alum from various fields of study, The College Tour is produced and hosted by learning why they chose Weber and how the Alex Boylan, best known for winning season university supports their ambitions in aerospace, two of CBS’s Amazing Race and as an Emmy- medicine, teaching and more. nominated producer. “I’ve never really been in front of the camera, so The 30-minute episode dedicated to WSU is this was a whole new experience,” said Cameron currently available on The College Tour website Dunn, a junior studying emergency medicine and on Amazon Prime Video. who co-stars in the episode. 10 The conference strives to educate people on weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 the importance of engaging in discourse and advocacy in their communities. It offers a unique platform for attendees to engage in workshops and Alex Boylan, host of The College Tour, introduces viewers to Weber State’s campus and students. presentations that encourage them to examine the issues from all sides and perspectives. Past conferences have explored such topics as diversity in music, the challenges of immigration and the importance of diversity in education. weber.edu/Science THREADING the FUTURE Catherine Zublin’s legacy of fostering potential and opening minds By Jaime Winston A Heartfelt Goodbye Bittersweet feelings flooded the Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery last May as guests honored a professor, who, above all, has met students’ needs. The evening marked the opening of Catherine Zublin: A Legacy of Costume Design Stitched Together, an exhibit featuring costumes designed by the WSU legend. Beforehand, friends, family, fellow faculty and students gathered to say goodbye to Catherine Zublin as she prepared to retire from Weber State University after 37 years. “I was blown away by the response and things people said,” recalled Zublin, who officially retired from the university July 1. “It was a very good way to go out.” The exhibit included wardrobes from 15 productions that Zublin designed for Weber State’s theatre program, ranging from the classy 19th-century suits and dresses for Sunday in the Left: Catherine Zublin’s close attention to detail is seen in this dress she designed for Weber State’s production of Of Myth & Mud. Park with George to one costume from a dystopian future, featuring earth tones, wire and a plastic coat, for Where Words Once Were. Zublin described her work as “where art and craft meet research and scholarship.” 12 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 A Look Back Did you take a class from Zublin? Share a memory at magazine@weber.edu. Fall 2023 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 13 Sean Bishop BA ’12, MA ’22 and his husband, Taylor Knuth BA ’14, introduced the Catherine “With Catherine retiring this year, maybe this is the “So, I can’t really fault props too much,” universe saying we need to do something bigger she joked. for someone who did so much for us,” Knuth said. Zublin Endowment, which she later dubbed the She later became a stitcher for the festival Zublin surprised the first recipient, Abrielle and has worked on costumes ever since. “Zublin Award,” at the reception. The endowment Hambleton, at the reception. Zublin’s connection with her students was helps theatre students overcome financial burdens; “I didn’t know they’d be giving it out this year,” influenced by her University of Colorado Hambleton said. costume design professor, David Bussy. “I She received $1,000 from the endowment at absolutely, positively have drawings that I an auspicious time. Her father recently passed did for David in this room right now,” she away, leaving her family without his income. said during an interview in her office. “It’s not a lot of help, but it’s a Bussy allowed Zublin to take the lead on little help,” Zublin said. designing for The Balcony by Jean Genet before potential recipients can be nominated by faculty or other students, or nominate themselves. To donate to the Catherine Zublin Endowment (Zublin Award), visit give.weber.edu/zublin. Hambleton, a musical theatre major, plans to move to New York City following graduation with hopes of one day appearing in a Broadway show. As she had for many others, Zublin not only supported Hambleton’s dreams but made sure Musical theatre major Abrielle Hambleton became the first recipient of the Catherine Zublin Endowment on May 5, 2023. her needs were met so she could succeed. she graduated and went on to a Master of Fine Arts degree at Indiana University. She then taught at Sam Houston State University in Texas and worked as a freelance designer. When a friend first approached her about a teaching position at Weber State College in Ogden, she responded, “Where the hell is Ogden?” Coming to Weber State She took a chance on the small institution at the base of the Wasatch Range. “I’ve had really excellent colleagues and the most Growing up in New York, Zublin said open-minded students on campus,” she said. she had always been “a maker.” “We have done some amazing work together.” Before beginning her design work, though, she entered the State University of New York at Oneonta as a political science major, and was deeply involved in politics, even campaigning Meeting Students Where They Are for a senator during his run for president. Then Watergate happened. A political scandal led Zublin’s WSU career has been marked by Zublin encouraged Knuth to go into arts to the president’s resignation in the early 1970s. the personal care she shows students. administration, recognizing his leadership “I got really disillusioned,” Zublin said. Years before the Zublin Award, she started a qualities. He now holds a master’s degree food pantry in WSU’s costume shop after in the field. learning two students were homeless. It “Catherine really takes the role of has become a fixture in the department, mentor very seriously,” Knuth said. allowing students to concentrate more He recalls joining Zublin at the Treehouse on their studies than their next meal. Museum, a nonprofit children’s museum, to a stagecraft class. In Colorado, she changed As Zublin prepared for retirement, she make costumes for a production about South her course of study to mass communication donated design and art books, and one-of-a- Indian customs and culture. Zublin often and theatre and dived into design work. kind items to a sale supporting the student brought students to volunteer at the museum, organization Associated Artists of the Theatre. and is a member of the board of trustees. instructor Edward Spangler, while working in the “Catherine was my first professor; she was “Any other person than Catherine would Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s props department, teaching freshman seminar,” said Knuth, who order some sarees on Amazon and throw it an area of theatre she never wanted to work in worked with Zublin on shows like Romeo and on the kids,” Knuth said. “Those kids now again. They have been married for 45 years. Juliet and Sleepy Hollow while in WSU’s theatre have costumes that are made by hand.” Along with political science requirements, Zublin took a creative course she called her “sanity class” every semester. She eventually made it a theatre class, and, after transferring to the University of Colorado, She met her husband, former WSU adjunct Above/Below: Costume elements from a dystopian future that Catherine Zublin designed for the play Where Words Once Were arts program. “She gave me the tools to succeed.” 14 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 Fall 2023 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 15 Right: A costume Catherine Zublin designed for William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet Many of Zublin’s costumes were displayed in Catherine Zublin: A Legacy of Costume Design Stitched Together at the Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery in spring 2023. Below: Samples of fabric Zublin used to design the costumes for Romeo and Juliet Bishop, who worked with Zublin on costumes Pirated!, a play by WSU professor emeritus Jim during his five years in the theatre arts program, Christian about a 1930s film crew making a said her teaching was unconventional for Utah. Pirates of Penzance movie set a century earlier. “Catherine really takes the role of mentor very seriously.” Taylor Knuth “She’s very upfront with you, she can be blunt “I never laughed so hard at a first dress and kind of intimidating at first, but it becomes rehearsal in my life,” she said. endearing the more you get to know her,” Bishop As actors performed in 1830s costumes, the lead said. “She really cares about teaching the right actress’s hoop petticoat flew up accidentally way to do things, especially with research, and when she was dipped for a stage kiss to laughter making sure you know what you’re talking from crew. After the performance, the actress about when you go into a production.” asked Zublin for bloomers to wear under the One of Zublin’s most memorable WSU petticoat, but, much to the student’s surprise, productions was Pirated Penzance, later renamed Zublin told her a black garter belt better fit the style of the play since other actors ended up appearing in their 1930s underpinnings. The play was selected to be performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Zublin also fondly recalls Wit by Margaret Edson, a one-act play she worked on for Weber State about a woman coming to terms with her cancer diagnosis. Twenty-six years ago, Zublin battled her own cancer. While promoting the show, she took part in a campaign encouraging others to be screened. “I don’t dwell on it a lot, but the reason I said ‘yes’ is knowledge is power,” Zublin said. “You can’t fix yourself if you don’t know what is wrong.” She plans to continue designing on a freelance basis while retired. She’s already slated to design Dungeons & Dragons-style costumes for a play called She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen for Mesa Community College in Arizona. In addition to a number of WSU awards, including being named Crystal Crest Master Teacher in 2010, Zublin’s contributions have been celebrated externally. In 2018, she won the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival’s 16 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 Fall 2023 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 17 Region Eight gold medallion, the highest honor the organization provided at the time. EXECUTIVE MASTER of HEALTH ADMINISTRATION “Catherine’s best quality as a professor and mentor is her fierce belief in her students,” Jessica Sume BA ’19, BIS ’19 told The Signpost student newspaper following the award. “She is always in our corner… She makes me feel like I can conquer the world.” Lessons Passed Down “There’s a sense of mentorship in this program. People here want you to become better.” — Marcus Garong, MHA student Jennifer McGrew BS ’92 loves a challenge, and she’s taken on many. She runs a costume studio, McGrew Studios, along with Black Beacon Media, which develops historically researched World War II content. Reproduction work for children’s show Yo Gabba Gabba! that Jennifer McGrew worked on with WSU students Her resume includes costumes and wardrobes for Showtime, Neiman Marcus, AMC and many others, along with teaching as an adjunct English professor for WSU for 10 years. Last year, she served as the university’s “Great teachers are teaching students things that they don’t realize.” Jennifer McGrew dance costume designer. “I don’t much care for working on the same kind of thing over and over again,” McGrew said. She credits Zublin for leading her to discover many paths. “I came back to school after years of dropping in and out, and I had only six credits left to graduate, but financial aid said I had to be enrolled full time. I looked through the Serving Students Until the End Zublin had one last adventure with her students course catalog and I said, ‘Wow, costume history, that looks fascinating,’” she said. before she retired in July 2023. For the fifth time, After her first day of class, she approached she led students on a summer study abroad trip to Zublin, nearly crying. “I was dumbfounded,” London and Bath, England; and Paris, France. McGrew said. “And I went, ‘You mean Students visited the Salisbury Cathedral, where an original copy of the Magna Carta is housed, numerous museums and a Parisian flea market, in WSU’s costume shop together. all while learning about theatre design. Now, McGrew guides others as In classic Zublin fashion, she made sure her students’ Zublin once guided her. needs were met by providing a packing list, and a She recently hired and worked with four pouch with bamboo flatware and a cloth napkin. Weber State students to build reproductions Students could use the napkin to cover a of Yo Gabba Gabba! characters for AppleTV’s park bench, or to wipe their face after getting relaunch of the beloved children’s show. takeout. Either way, they would pay less Additionally, McGrew Studios has hosted attention to messes and more to learning. over 70 student interns since 2010. weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 NO GRE/GMAT REQUIRED Becoming a healthcare leader shouldn’t require you to put the rest of your life on hold. Complete in just four semesters Our flexible, high-quality, low-cost online eMHA program allows you to earn your degree while continuing to work. Skip the entrance exam ACCELERATED PROGRAM FLAT-RATE TUITION No out-of-state increase VIRTUAL ORIENTATION people actually do this for a living?’” The student and teacher later worked 18 100% Online Designed for Working Professionals Attend one virtual orientation weber.edu/mha EXECUTIVE IN RESIDENCE Here to provide mentorship APPLY NOW FOR FALL 2024! NATIONALLY RANKED #1 Online MHA Program, 2021* ALUMNI DISCOUNT Weber State alumni who are accepted into the fall 2024 eMHA cohort will be eligible for an additional one-time 5% loyalty discount on the first semester’s tuition. *Recognized among EduMed’s Best Online MHA Programs for 2021 with a Side of Experiential Learning WSU STUDENTS RESEARCH MYSTERIOUS BACTERIA IMPACTING THE CHEESE INDUSTRY 20 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 PROFESSOR MICHELE CULUMBER STANDS IN A TRACY HALL LAB SURROUNDED BY WSU STUDENTS IN WHITE LAB COATS WRITING WHAT SEEM LIKE BASIC INSTRUCTIONS ON THE WHITE BOARD: "1. SWAB, 2. POUR, 3. LABEL." The small group of students quickly gets to work examining samples in test tubes. You wouldn’t know by watching them, but students in Culumber’s microbiology undergraduate research team are studying something universally beloved, delicious and great with crackers: cheese. Earlier in the day, most of the group had been at local company Beehive Cheese collecting samples for study to find out what’s causing cheese to release carbon dioxide, puffing up grocery store packaging industry-wide and making it difficult to sell. While unsightly, thankfully, the taste is unaffected. In 2015, then WSU microbiology professor Craig Oberg BS ’79 discovered the bacteria Paucilactobacillus wasatchensis, the cause of the puffing. Paucilactobacillus is Latin for a genus of lactic acid bacteria, and wasatchensis describes its discovery in northern Utah, at the base of the Wasatch Range. Oberg wasn’t even looking for it, and noticed it purely by chance. “Most great discoveries aren’t ‘Eureka!’ they’re like, ‘That’s a weird thing; let’s look at it,’” he said. Culumber has studied microorganisms in groundwater that degrade gasoline, Hawaiian soils, peat bogs, the Great Salt Lake and even tardigrades, more commonly known as water bears. TOP LEFT: A student researcher studies samples to lea rn more about what cau ses Paucilactobacillus wa satchensis. BOTTOM RIGHT: A Beehive Cheese em goes to work in one of ployee the work stations Weber State students swabbed for testing. CONTINUES ON PAGE 24 22 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 Fall 2023 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 23 Weber State and Utah State University with the dairy industry and farmers for mutually beneficial research. “If it’s coming in with the raw milk, maybe there’s a way to alter the pasteurization process,” she said. “If it’s coming in from some other contaminant or it’s just in the plant already, then maybe they have to do some different cleaning techniques. Britton Welsh MBA ’16, the president “It’s cool how things spoil, how they infect things and how they spread.” of Beehive Cheese, said the company is — BROOKLYN MATTHEWS up to 80 degrees, Welsh said packaging Maybe there’s an additive they could use “It’s not harmful to people; it’s just a little unsightly,” he said. While Beehive’s cheese is safe to eat will start to puff if it gets hotter than 50 degrees for a few hours. This hasn’t impacted profits to speak of so far, but they have to put The ongoing research on Paucilactobacillus wasatchensis in extra effort to stay on top of the problem and keep has received global attention. Oberg, WSU professor the cheese cool. the bacteria at the 14th International Symposium on Lactic Acid Bacteria in the Netherlands in August 2023. Weber State students and faculty collect samples at Beehive Cheese in Uintah. They are studying, Paucilactobacillus wasatchensis, bacteria impacting the cheese industry. and solve this problem. to control it.” emeritus, presented findings from WSU research on CHEDDAR DAYS AHEAD proud to partner with Weber State to try “It has been an unbelievable feather in Weber State’s “IT’S REALLY ANNOYING,” WELSH SAID. “IT’S NOT BAD PER SE, BUT IT ADDS A LOT OF VARIABLES TO OUR LIVES.” cap,” Oberg said. Intrigued by a new topic, she partnered with Oberg right But that’s just a theory. after his discovery. Culumber said this particular kind of research makes it “He’s like, ‘I isolated this little bacterium, and I need easy to find students who want to participate because help figuring out what it is,’” Culumber recalled. “So, we food is very approachable. They also gain experience in sequenced its genetic material, and it didn’t match up every aspect of the project, from planning and research with anything known. It was a new organism, and we to presenting results. just went from there.” “Our goal is to provide the students with the opportunity Culumber has been working with students for about to learn some skills and see if they want to pursue this eight years since the discovery to figure out how the industry for their careers,” she said. bacteria make cheese packaging so unappealing and Brooklyn Matthews, a WSU junior, works with Culumber how to stop it. and plans to graduate in spring 2024. She originally It’s a slow, methodical process of elimination with thought she might want to work with animals but has many variables. transitioned to studying what she calls “tiny animals,” Students collect samples from wire cutters, vats, drains aka microbiology. and even the cardboard boxes where workers get their She enjoys researching cheese but also has an interest sanitary gloves, anything that has to do with the cheese- in epidemiology. making process. “It’s cool how things spoil, how they infect things and Culumber’s running theory is that normally this how they spread,” she said as she looked at a test tube bacterium would eat five-carbon sugar molecules, containing a small amount of cheese in liquid. but the molecules are not common in cheese, so the To study every step of the cheese-making process, bacteria break down six-carbon sugars and release Culumber also partners with the BUILD Dairy program, carbon dioxide. which connects students and faculty at universities like DANCE | MUSIC | THEATRE | FINE ART | FILM EXPERIENCE WSU ARTS & HUMANITIES Theatre season flex pass: Receive eight tickets to be used for any 2023–24 theatre season performances for only $110. WEBER.EDU/ARTSCALENDAR 24 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 The view from Stewart Stadium’s updated east stands during the 2023 Homecoming football game compared to the stadium pictured in the stadium dedication program on Sept. 18, 1953 26 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 GROWING PAINS At the end of World War II, Weber struggled to contain its burgeoning student population at a constrictive downtown Ogden campus. With their minds set on expansion, administrators looked to the hills ... literally. On July 19, 1947, a deed transferring 175 acres of J.M. Mills’ property located east of Harrison Boulevard, between 37th and 40th Street, was made out to Weber College. To fill a gap between the boulevard and Mills’ land boundaries, Weber purchased additional property from Merlin Edvalson later that fall. A building committee chaired by Wallace D. “Wally” Baddley, superintendent of buildings and grounds, met to discuss building priorities. President H. Aldous Dixon lobbied for an administration building, a heating plant, 80,000-square-feet of classroom space, a library and a stadium. (Prior to having its own stadium, the Wildcat football squad played at Lorin Farr Park, Ogden Stadium and Affleck Park.) As the funding picture became ABOVE: Students help install a sprinkling system at the new Weber College campus. Photo courtesy of the Signpost, May 5, 1950 BOTTOM LEFT: Weber College’s student newspaper, the Signpost, announces a new campus on Jan. 13, 1950. clearer, Dixon had to choose between a library and a stadium, and he chose the latter. The WSU Marching Band watches from Stewart Stadium’s east stands during the 2023 Homecoming football game against University of California, Davis. In December 1948, architects Lawrence Olpin, Fred L. Markham and Arthur Grix formalized plans for Wildcat family, friends and football fans received a double jolt of purple pride the evening of Sept. 23, 2023. Not only did Weber State kick off Big Sky Conference play with a top-10 national FCS showdown against longtime rival Montana State, but the university also celebrated the opening of the recently renovated Stewart Stadium. the upper campus with construction commencing in the fall of 1949. FORGING THE FUTURE A bold headline in the Jan. 13, 1950, edition of the Signpost student newspaper declared, “STUDENTS! NEW CAMPUS NOW ‘IN YOUR HANDS.’” The issue In contrast to today’s building sites, where featured a story about how advanced diesel students boundaries are cordoned off and visitors are off used college equipment to contour the shape of the limits, student labor was heavily recruited. stadium, which saved the school nearly $10,000. The article encouraged more students to get involved. “There are many things which YOU can do … There are forms to be made and cement to be poured, as well as landscaping to be done,” the In construction that began in January 2023, the east- realize those times will never return. Many early side stands were demolished, rebuilt and split into psychological theorists considered nostalgia a two levels with a walkway and concession concourse. bad thing, but modern research shows nostalgic Previously updated in 2011, the playing field now reminiscence can strengthen our sense of personal features variegated strips of green turf, an enhanced continuity and remind us we have a store of Wildcat logo and vibrant purple end zones. powerful memories that are deeply intertwined The new east-side seating updates one of the oldest with our identity. structures on the Ogden campus. While the changes With a respectful nod to campus improvements, are worth cheering about, seeing such a dramatic let us reflect on a time before Stewart Stadium, transformation can trigger a bittersweet feeling. when the area it occupies was nothing more than a Nostalgia is sweet because it momentarily allows us rugged stretch of undeveloped land in the foothills to relive good times, but it’s also bitter because we overlooking Ogden City with the Great Salt Lake shimmering in the distance. 28 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 newspaper stated. In the newspaper’s May 5 edition, a large photo of students installing a sprinkling and drainage system demonstrated how Wildcats were “willing to work for what they want.” During the 1950–51 academic year, Weber students contributed more than 1,000 hours of labor toward stadium and upper campus construction. Fall 2023 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 29 SHIFTING GEARS On Aug. 8, 1953, H. Aldous Dixon left his Weber College presidency to accept a new role as president of Utah State Agricultural College in Logan. Ogden residents had come to rely on Dixon’s strong leadership and support of Weber attaining four-year status. But less than a month later, another strong administrator assumed the mantle of leadership and would remain at Weber’s helm for 19 years, the longest term of any Weber College president. William P. Miller’s first official presidential act was to preside over the dedication of the school’s new football stadium on Sept. 18, 1953. The four uppercampus classroom buildings were not dedicated until the following year on Oct. 27. He and Student Body President John M. Elzey cut a purple and white The Weber State College Marching Band taking the field in a photo from a 1965 band scrapbook streamer attached to a wire stretched between goal posts. Former President Dixon offered a dedicatory ABOVE: Cover for the program to Weber’s football stadium dedication on Sept. 18, 1953 BOTTOM LEFT: A view of the stadium seating from The Acorn yearbook in 1955 BOTTOM RIGHT: A group of students who helped prepare for the stadium’s official dedication in 1953; photo courtesy of the Signpost, Oct. 27, 1954 prayer after which coach Milt Mecham’s Wildcats In January 1967, the college hired alum and store the fertilizer on the south end of the west played San Diego Junior College in a hard-fought advertising agency executive Dean W. Hurst to bleachers and returned to the superintendent’s contest in their 1953 season opener. An estimated serve as the school’s first full-time director of the office with the good news. Baddley still refused to 2,300 fans turned out to watch, with the Signpost alumni association. He was also charged with budge. It was only after Hurst appealed to Dean of boasting in its Oct. 13 issue, “The stadium is one of leading Weber’s newly authorized development Faculty Robert A. Clarke that the standoff concluded the best of its kind in the country, with turf to equal that of Rose Bowl office. The first philanthropic gift Hurst received with the key in Hurst’s hand. specifications and lighting identical to Yankee Stadium in New York.” for the school was a $1,700 grant from the Elveretta In the stadium’s early years, football games had minimal seating; Littlefield Wattis Foundation. only about 3,700 seats were available on the hillside east of the field. “One of the first things I wanted to do was to Permanent bleachers were added later, with west stands and a new press have some means of attracting possible donors box built in 1966. to the school; a place where we could entertain The following year, a little known slice of school history played a pivotal role in the growth and transformation of not just the stadium, but the entire university. FROM STORAGE SHACK TO PRESIDENT’S BOX legislators, community leaders, prospective donors Hurst immediately arranged for the college building and others who might have an interest in the and grounds crew to paint the interior of the box school,” Hurst said. white. The eastern walls were adorned with photos He noticed the old press box on the east side of the stadium and assumed it was no longer in use. He pitched an idea to transform the space into a VIP box and received a green light from President Miller and Business Vice President James R. Foulger. However, Hurst recalls when he went to the building and grounds office and asked superintendent Baddley for a key, Baddley stated, “Dean, you can’t have it! That’s where I store my fertilizer!” Stunned, Hurst replied, “Well, Wally, if I find a different place for the fertilizer, would you consider giving me the key?” Baddley stood his ground with a resounding “No.” With development officers being tenacious by nature, Hurst didn’t give up. He found a place to of NFL football stars, like the Cleveland Browns’ Jim Brown. Then, Hurst and an assistant built a riser for a second row of chairs facing the large plate glass window and installed self-adhesive carpet. He reached out to Ogden Standard-Examiner owner A.L. “Abe” Glasmann, whose family also owned the defunct Paramount Theatre, which had been called the Alhambra when it opened on Kiesel Avenue in 1915. Glasmann donated 24 theatre chairs, and a college upholstery class reupholstered the chairs in purple fabric. “In all, there was room for 24 guests, a table for snacks and a coat rack,” Hurst said. Near the entryway, Hurst hung a small donor plaque memorializing Elveretta Littlefield Wattis as the fledgling development fund’s first “official” donor. Fall 2023 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 31 Charles Bowker Claudia Eliason Caden DeYoung Rob Higginson VISITS THE DUCKS AT ADA LINDQUIST PLAZA EATS PURPLE PANCAKES BECOMES A “TRUE WILDCAT” TAKES A HIKE The recently renovated Stewart Stadium with stands split into two levels with the addition of a walkway and concession concourse on the east (left) side 32 Nowadays, with the stadium awash with donor renamed Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart Stadium. placards denoting key structures and spaces — The fertilizer-storage shack turned President’s Box everything from the Barbara and Rory Youngberg on the east side of the stadium remained in use Football Center to Sark’s Boys Gateway to the Larry throughout the presidencies of William Miller, & Annette Marquardt-Kimball Plaza — it’s hard to Joseph Bishop, Rodney Brady, Stephen Nadauld imagine a donor sign on campus being a novelty. and Paul Thompson, until a 38,000-square-foot Sky “More than anything else, the plaque was just Suites & Press Box complex opened on the west side something to recognize donors and let them know in 2001. The complex features 26 suites, including how much we appreciate them,” Hurst said. “Before one used by President Brad Mortensen, along with that, there had been very little done at Weber to offices, meeting spaces and study areas for athletes. recognize individuals who had made charitable Shortly before the 2023 football season, 96-year- gifts to the school.” old Hurst, curious about the east-side renovation, Hurst’s small, but sincere, investment in donor visited the stadium and surveyed the eastern stewardship reaped dividends. Among the first hillside stripped of its metal benches and former VIP guests invited inside the newly christened box. More so than a nostalgic longing for what once President’s Box was educator and business developer was, Hurst said he felt humbled and grateful for a Layton P. Ott, who later donated substantial fulfilling career made successful by the generosity shares of stock to purchase equipment for the of others. school’s planetarium. “While I was instrumental in securing more Also on hand for the debut of the President’s Box than $50 million in gifts to Weber by the time I were avid football fans Donnell and Elizabeth retired,” Hurst reminisced, “it all began with that Stewart, who became major contributors to Weber. small $1,700 grant from the Elveretta Littlefield In fact, on June 11, 1997, Wildcat Stadium was Wattis Foundation.” weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 2023–24 WSU Alumni Association Leaders Keep Wildcat Traditions Board of Directors President Emeriti Alumni Council President New Alumni Council President Student Alumni Council President My favorite family tradition is... My favorite family tradition is... My favorite family tradition is... My favorite family tradition is... Lake Powell and Sunday afternoon dinners. gathering for family dinners — especially holidays. There are 39 of us now that our six children have married and multiplied, so the gatherings aren’t as frequent as they used to be. I have several: Christmas pajamas and breakfasts, the Ogden Greek Festival and annual trips to the mountains the first week in October. celebrating the Fourth of July in Huntsville, Utah, with kickball, sand volleyball and fireworks! My guilty pleasure is... watching the cartoon Bluey with my nephews. My guilty pleasure is... spaghetti noodles covered with butter and salt. I’m involved in WSUAA because... My guilty pleasure is... I love being involved with alumni and university leaders. most definitely chocolate. My guilty pleasure is... baking and writing when I can. I’m involved in WSUAA because... I’m involved in WSUAA because... Most people don’t know that I... I’m involved in WSUAA because... am afraid of singing in public. I love WSU and giving back to the university that gave so much to me and five of our children. My favorite season is... I love what WSU gave to me as a student and alum, and I hope to help others get the most out of their educational experiences. I love being a student at Weber State and want other students to enjoy it as much as I do. It’s a great opportunity to be able to give back to the university that is helping me achieve my academic goals. summer. Most people don’t know that I... Most people don’t know that I... Most people don’t know that I... My favorite spot at WSU is... dipped chocolates with my husband and gave them to family and neighbors at Christmas for many years. have a weird animal magnetism; most animals seem to find me strangely approachable. am a pretty big nerd! I’m extroverted and love playing sports, but I’m also majoring in microbiology and love learning about bacteria, viruses and diseases. the steps of the Miller Administration Building; that is where I first met my wife. My favorite season is... My favorite season is... spring, because it is so invigorating after Utah’s long, cold winters. I love listening to birds sing, watching the mountains turn green, seeing plants and flowers come to life and getting outside. fall. Temps are perfect, colors are breathtaking and activities are exciting. My favorite spot at WSU is... Ogden, Utah the McKay Education Building. After earning my doctorate, I was hired by the education department and spent the next 16 years with inspiring colleagues who collaborated with me on different projects. I also felt fortunate to interact with remarkable students. My favorite spot at WSU is... the Swenson Pool. I started taking swim classes there to unwind during my heavier semesters, so being there is calming and centering. My favorite spot at WSU is... Stewart Stadium. I love watching football while enjoying the view of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains and Ogden. WSU Alumni Association President Rob Higginson is holding what is believed to be the oxidized steel finial from the 20-foot-tall flagpole Weber students, faculty, alumni and administrators erected on Mount Ogden Peak during the inaugural Mount Ogden Hike in 1922. Forty-five years after the first hike, the U.S. Forest Service dismantled the pole and hurled sections of it over the cliffs. Until the fall of 2023, few knew of any other remnant of the original structure than a 24-inch chunk of base recovered by Weber State staff in 1970. ar-old case e Cracking a 56-y My favorite season is... fall. You’ll find me attending football games, hiking or anywhere outside enjoying the nice weather and the changing leaves. Now, an exciting new chapter of the story has been added by Ogden native and WSU alum James Crookston AS ’94. Around 1970, Crookston’s father, Ogden dentist Lynn Crookston, hiked below the peak with several of James’ older siblings when they discovered a weathered steel sphere about six inches in diameter. Recognizing its historic value, the family decided to carry it home. The arduous task fell to James’ sister, Miriam, who accidentally dropped it and stood by helplessly as the heavy ball rolled a long way down a rugged western slope. Years later, Dr. Crookston returned to find the relic with youth from his church. The hikers employed a systematic grid pattern method of searching and rediscovered the sphere. For nearly 50 years, Dr. Crookston and his wife, Melva, displayed the Weber College flagpole finial, with other antiques, in their living room. Since 2019, James Crookston has curated the heirloom, and he graciously lent it to WSU for this year’s alumni leaders’ photo shoot. Are you a WSU Traditions Keeper? Visit weber.edu/traditionskeeper to learn more. Fall 2023 | alumni.weber.edu 35 D L I W We’re ! g n i t n i r p t u o ab G SCREENPRINTIN BANN ERS G N I T N I PR G INDIN Wildcat 801.626.6107 wsucopy.com CLASS NOTES A LU M N I U P DAT E S EMBROIDERY B SWAG ENGRAVING Let us help you with your next project. We have lots of new equipment and want to make cool things for you or your business. You support us. We support Weber State students! for 20 years in Ogden and government as the executive They have four children and Weber school districts as a vice president. After nine grandchildren. Sherry Ellis Ferrin BS ’71 kindergarten teacher. She graduation, he began his has contributed to many also owned and operated career at Ogden High School Bill Gibson BA ’76 served art installations and murals Sherry Ferrin Photography as a seminary teacher. Jerold in the Utah State Office along the Wasatch Front, for seven years. Sherry has earned a master’s degree in of Education for 25 years. including artwork at the Rail served on numerous boards educational psychology from During that time, he held Event Center in Salt Lake and councils, including the Brigham Young University various roles, including City, Ogden River Parkway, Ogden City Arts Advisory in 1976. His career took him coordinator for rehabilitation Ogden Union Station, WSU Committee and Ogden to many locations, including and field services for Downtown and many other Christmas Village Advisory Montana, Minnesota and the blind, rehabilitation locations. For over 20 years, Committee. She met her Georgia. He worked for the counselor and director of the she has designed and painted husband of 54 years, Tres University of Minnesota, Division of Services for the backdrops for Imagine Ballet Ferrin, at Weber State. where he earned a doctorate Blind and Visually Impaired. Theatre in Ogden. She was They have four children, 10 in educational administration Before working for the State named the 2011 Honorary grandchildren and five in 1996. He later served as of Utah, Bill worked six years Mayor of Christmas Village great-grandchildren. a mission president for his for Weber State Disability ’70s R U O Y GET R TODAY A E G R E B E W and received the 2014 Mayor’s Award in the Arts for visual arts, a 2016 Enlightened 50, or E-50, recognition from OFFICIAL CAMPUS STORE OF WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY the Community Foundation of Utah and the 2016 Best Community Artist award by Nurture the Creative Mind. Previously, Sherry taught wildcatstores.com church in Brazil from 2004 to Services in cooperative Jerold Burns BA ’72 was 2007. Returning to Utah, he education placements, which a seminary teacher and taught at the Weber Institute allow students to work in administrator for 40 years until his retirement in 2009. their field of study before with the Church of Jesus Jerold serves on the WSU graduation. Bill earned a Christ of Latter-day Saints. Alumni Association Emeriti certificate of rehabilitation While attending Weber Alumni Council. He and administration in 1988 from State, he studied zoology his wife, Karen Williams, the University of Oklahoma. and served in student live in Pleasant View, Utah. Retired since 2015, he is the Fall 2023 | alumni.weber.edu 37 No need to go to the DMV! Scan the QR code to get your WSU plates from the DMV and support student scholarships! 1. 2. 3. 4. Select “Change Your Plates” Enter your information Select “Special Group Plate” Select “Weber State University” ALUMNI.WEBER.EDU/LP 10 running specialty store in from 2010 to 2017 and in charge of public affairs oversaw the directing and America by Formula4 Media. currently volunteers on and media relations for choreography and performed She started the company their community council. Cox Communications, the role of Beast in Beauty with her husband 28 years He has also raced at an elite covering Nebraska and and the Beast at Diamond ago. She is the 2018 Nike level in various endurance Iowa. Previously, he was Head Theatre in Honolulu, Just Do It Award recipient events over the years, over corporate social Hawaii. He earned a Master for an outstanding female including the pro division responsibility for Bank of the of Arts in theatre studies executive in the running at the XTERRA triathlon West (now acquired by BMO), from Montclair State industry. She has coached U.S. championships held at covering multiple states, and University in New Jersey. endurance athletes of all Snowbasin Resort, Utah. public affairs for Blue Cross & David and his husband own levels and ages since 1992. Blue Shield of Nebraska. After Timothy John’s Salon in She is a multiple-time All- Shaun Cutler BA ’93 graduating from Weber State, Manhattan, New York, which American, multiple world has spent the last 30 Rob worked in operations recently celebrated its 23rd championship qualifier, and years building successful for 10 years with Convergys, anniversary. The salon has former no. 1 triathlete in the partnerships in the now part of Concentrix. been recognized among Salon United States in the 35-39 age technology and financial He oversaw operations in Today Top 200 honorees three current president of the director of research at college graduates, three Year awards. She lives in group. Debbie is a former PTA industries. He has held Canada, Omaha and Utah, years in a row. He is also a Ogden Association of the Primary Children’s Hospital of whom have earned Ivins, Utah. volunteer and is an ongoing senior global leadership along with a call center in consultant for Summit Salon Blind, which hosts an annual Heart Center, where she advanced degrees. volunteer for her church. She positions with companies India. Rob serves on multiple Business Center, where he Weber State day, helping the manages the research of like Symantec (now Gen helps salons grow all aspects dozens of fellows and faculty former chairman of the boards and is currently organization better engage Brenda Barentsen Armstrong is a mother of five children. Digital Inc.), Veritas and of their business. He lives in members. She is the 2023 Northwestern Band of the board president of the with the community and AS ’84, BS ’99 is an associate Her husband, Guy Perry BA Visa. Shaun currently leads New Jersey with his husband, recipient of the American the Shoshone Nation. He Nebraska Sports Council. He Weber State. He lives on a professor and the chair of ’95, is the founder and CEO of daughter and son. Heart Association National has served on the tribal is a part owner of jazz club ranch with his wife, Sandra, the Department of Dental Salt Lake Running Company. international partnerships for Paysafe, a multinational Healthcare Volunteer of council for 20 years. He is a The Jewell in Omaha. He has where they raise cattle. They Hygiene at Utah Tech He is a former Independent two children. the Year Award for her storyteller, teacher, university Running Retailers Association online payments company. University. She joined Utah outstanding contributions Tech in 2013 as an assistant lecturer and author. In 2018, (now Running Industry He and his wife, Susie, have David Spangenthal BA Alumni Relations. Before her to improving cardiovascular he published The Bear River Association) board member four teenage daughters professor of dental hygiene. ’95 is a musical theatre role at Weber, she worked as care and delivery. In 2010, she earned a Massacre: A Shoshone History, and a 2010 Utah Business heavily involved in dance and professional who has a community health educator master’s degree in dental which was selected in “40 Under 40” honoree. Guy theatre. His motto is “Front has volunteered in church row, every show.” performed in multiple New at Davis County Health have seven children. ’80s Linda Lambert AS ’80 is a Darren Parry BS ’87 is the nurse practitioner at the Russell Murray BS ’82 has hygiene from the University 2022 as the Brigham Young University of Utah and been a Hill Air Force Base of Minnesota. She then University Department of Primary Children’s Hospital contractor for the past 28 moved to Virginia to become History’s book of the year. He Heart Center in Salt Lake City. years. He is a full-stack Java an assistant professor and has served on the National She completed her Master developer, writing software clinic coordinator for Thomas Advisory Council at Weber of Science in nursing, family that supports the Air Force’s Nelson Community College State since 2021. Darren nurse practitioner (MS-APRN) material processing system, (now Virginia Peninsula strives to promote a deeper from Westminster College which provides an efficient Community College). She understanding of the rich in 2000, and a Bachelor of way for Air Force mechanics is the 2023–2024 president traditions, knowledge and Science in nursing from to order and track the status of Utah Dental Hygienists’ ways in which indigenous the University of Phoenix of materials for a variety of Association and has received communities have long been in 1996. She is a nurse aircrafts and commodities. many awards, including the stewards of the land and a researcher and a longtime He has created several 2022 Utah Dental Hygienists’ more sustainable future. volunteer for the American interfaces that automate Association Educator of Heart Association. Linda has ways for systems to the Year, 2022 Dixie State authored or co-authored communicate with remote University (Utah Tech) Board more than 70 peer-reviewed part suppliers. Russell is of Trustees Excellence in Debbie Perry BS ’92 is the research papers on pediatric the first in his family to Education and the 2020 co-owner and chief financial cardiovascular health. She’s earn a college degree and American Dental Hygienists’ officer of Salt Lake Running also the administrative is a proud parent of four Association Educator of the Company, named a top ’90s leadership capacities for the last 30 years. He assisted his wife in coaching runners at Bonneville High School York City Broadway musicals. Department. She also taught Rob Trebilcock BS ’93 has Some of his credentials as a substitute teacher in worked in public relations include Cats, Beauty and Davis County from 2017 to and communications for the Beast and Thoroughly 2020 and spent over 20 years 15 years. He is currently Modern Millie. He recently as a stay-at-home mother. KNOW SOMEONE WHO NEEDS A SCHOLARSHIP? WSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIPS Scholarships through the Alumni Association are awarded based on a number of criteria, and students may qualify for several scholarships. Apply Jan. 12 through March 1, 2024. ALUMNI.WEBER.EDU/SCHOLARSHIPS 38 alumni.weber.edu | Fall 2023 Lisa Jensen BS ’96 is the alumni coordinator for WSU 2023 SPONSORS & PARTICIPANTS THIS YEAR’S WSU ALUMNI GOLF CLASSIC RAISED $70,480 FOR STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR! June 7, 2024 As a WSU student, she was Drum, New York, and the California; University of deviations throughout the to transfer and returning part of the Ogden community a writer for The Signpost 142nd Military Intelligence California, Los Angeles; production processes. He students, as well as those and volunteer with the student newspaper. In 1996, Battalion (Linguist) in Salt Tulane University and writes standard operating searching for a major American Youth Soccer Lisa was awarded Public Lake City. He also served in Yale University. procedures, manages internal or adjusting to higher Organization. In addition, Relations Graduate of the a variety of staff positions audits and trains operators education. After spending Cassity is on the PTA board Year by the WSU Department in the Utah National Guard, and technicians to ensure 10 years teaching English of their children’s school. safe products. In 2011, Jeff abroad in Taiwan and Hong earned a Master of Business Kong, she returned to Utah of Communication and also U.S. European Command earned the distinction of and National Guard Bureau. magna cum laude. After He and his wife, Heidi, have graduation, she worked three children. as a sales and marketing Jared Price BA ’03 is the director of sales for the Young Automotive Group, which includes 30 dealerships in Utah and Idaho, and serves on the ’00s WSU Alumni Association Grif Jensen BS ’98, is the Paul Draper BS ’02 is a the Young Caring for Our director of technology magician and mentalist. Young Foundation Board of services for Salt Lake City He owns and operates Directors. He is a member Corporation’s public safety Mental Mysteries and has of the Davis Chamber of division, which includes 911 performed in Las Vegas Commerce. His wife of 25 dispatch and police and fire and at Disneyland in years, Tanya Price AS ’01, departments. He has worked Anaheim, California. He has has been involved with Utah for Salt Lake City Information appeared on major television Share, a support service for Management Services for 23 networks, including History, those who have experienced years, beginning as a network Discovery, A&E, HBO, HGTV administrator. They live in and Hallmark. In 2004, professional for Iomega Corporation. Her husband, Board of Directors and Administration from the in 2022. Tawny is a Special University of Phoenix. He Olympics coach at WSU. has also earned a Six Sigma While attending WSU, she Green Belt certification from served as both traditional the David Eccles School of student senator and diversity Business at the University of and unity vice president. Utah, with an emphasis on Jason Loveless BS ’11 is a neurological physical therapist with the McKay-Dee Stewart Rehab Neurological Specialty Clinic where he has practiced since 2018. After graduating from WSU, he moved to Albuquerque, ’10s New Mexico, to pursue a Control) model. He has two Cassity Roberts BS ’10 had from the University of New sons and lives in Ogden. worked for Davis Hospital Mexico, which he completed (now Holy Cross Hospital in 2014. He then moved to Tawny Choi AS ’08, BA ’11 - Davis) for 15 years before Los Angeles and worked as a is an academic transition starting her own business, physical therapist at Physical pregnancy or infant loss, for advisor with Weber State’s NovaQuilts LLC. Her husband, Therapy Solutions and then 18 years. She is an actress Student Success Center, Trevor Roberts BS ’12 is a at the West Los Angeles Syracuse, Utah, and have he received his master’s and has been in many where she provides support, process engineer for Barnes Veterans Affairs Medical three children. degree in communication commercials and movies, connections and resources Aerospace. They love being Center. After four years in from University of Nevada, including the Nollywood California, Jason and his wife, the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Doctorate of Physical Therapy Cody Strong BA ’97 became Las Vegas. Paul is on the film Christmas in Miami. She Holly, moved back to Utah to commander of the Utah Diversity, Equity, and has strong connections in raise their family. Living in National Guard 300th Military Inclusion Committee for the the Nigerian community North Ogden, they have two Intelligence Brigade (Linguist) Magic Castle in Hollywood, and was recently honored sons and two daughters. and Utah counterdrug California, the EDI Council for as a Niger Delta Girl Child coordinator in Draper, Utah, the Magic Circle in London, Ambassador for The Delta Shaquille Heath AS ’13, BA in 2022. He received a Master England, and the board of Girls Youth Child Program ’15 is a writer and essayist of Strategic Studies from directors for the Inclusion in Nigeria. She also serves whose writing explores the United States Army War Center in Salt Lake City. As an on the Board of Directors the intricacies of identity, College in 2020 and a Master applied anthropologist, Paul for the Young Caring for Our particularly Black identity. of Public Administration from has taught anthropology- Young Foundation. They Brigham Young University focused magic, intercultural have three sons, whom Jared in 2022. He is also a 2022 philosophy and research has coached in baseball, flag Seminar XXI Fellow from methodology courses as an football, track, basketball the Massachusetts Institute adjunct professor at Soka and soccer. of Technology. Col. Strong University of America, while served tours overseas in Kosovo, Iraq and Germany concurrently teaching virtual creativity courses for Thomas and commanded Bravo Jefferson University. Paul has Company, 3-85th Mountain served as an instructor at Infantry Regiment, Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort UNLV and as a guest lecturer at University of Southern Jeff Hall BS ’05 is a senior quality assurance engineer What have you been up to since graduation? Share information on your professional and volunteer work, any credentials or awards you may have received, or other accomplishments and interests. It’s our opportunity to share a bit of your story with the Weber State community. The WSU Mentoring Alumni Program and Scholarship (MAPS) creates opportunities for WSU students to connect with a mentor monthly for 1 to 2 semesters. MAPS mentors have the opportunity to help a WSU student prepare for a successful future and connect with a MAPS Scholarship. Time commitment for mentors is approximately 10 hours per year. You’re invited to become a MAPS Mentor today. Lori Belnap Pehrson BS ’87, retired aerospace leader and WSU National Advisory Committee member, with her mentee, 2022 computer science graduate Dallin Welch magazine, a contemporary art publication, and has also been featured in The New York Times, New York Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle and others. By day, she manages public relations for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, equipment manufacturer, and investigating production Share your expertise, and connect a student with a MAPS Scholarship She writes for Juxtapoz WE WANT TO FEATURE YOU. with BD, a medical overseeing quality systems CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FORSuccess including the de Young ALUMNI.WEBER.EDU/CLASSNOTE and Legion of Honor museums, both located in San Francisco, California. alumni.weber.edu/mapsmentor alumni.weber.edu/golf 41 Ariel Olson AS ’13, BS ’15, 2022, Comma Copywriters Jasmine was recognized Roy, Utah. Cassidy graduated ME ’19 is the assistant passed the million-dollar with the NCI Director’s summa cum laude from director for WSU’s First revenue mark and was Award of Merit for Internal Weber State. As a student, Year Experience program, listed No. 24 on the “Fast Communications and she was the historian for which helps incoming 50” list by Utah Business Employee Engagement the Presidential Leadership students make a successful magazine. Crystalee also Excellence Group in March Fellows, where she transition into the university runs The Mama Ladder, a 2023. Now, she combines represented the university community. While attending community for mothers her expertise and passion at events and provided Weber, she was a mentor in building businesses. She for creating captivating photo documentation. the FYE Peer Mentor Program shares what she has learned narratives in the fashion for seven semesters and is about building businesses industry as a member of now the coordinator for that on her YouTube channel. the Vogue Club, attending part of the FYE program. Ariel Her husband, Ryan Beck BS events and documenting her served as the engagement ’13, is the director of land experiences on social media. coordinator for the WSU acquisition and development She lives in Washington, D.C. chapter of Utah Women and at Woodside Homes. They Higher Education Board of are the proud parents of four Directors. She is a current young children. Share your fun, quirky and original photos on Instagram. Tag us @weberstatealumni and #travelwithwaldo. "Wherever you go, near or far, I’m proud to be your travel partner." WE'LL SEND YOU ONE! ALUMNI.WEBER.EDU/UPDATEYOURINFO in West Haven, Utah. He is an entrepreneur and BUY 1 ERIC DOWDLE WEBER STATE TRADITIONS PUZZLE where she provides legally where she oversees a team and mentors students in operating 801Studios, a assistant for the University required violence prevention of facilitators who train becoming peer mediators video production company. of Southern California Race education on campus and businesses worldwide on on campus. He has produced videos for and Equity Center and a teaches about healthy “turning outward,” a method Sarah Bateman Story Ph.D. student in the urban relationships, consent, that improves interpersonal BS ’14 is an operations educational policy program bystander intervention, relations within an administrator and digital at the Rossier School of gender socialization and organization. Before this role, Zachary Twitchell BS ’20 company. Nathan and learning specialist for Education at USC. He more. She has been involved she was a communication is a second-year student in Cassidy live in North Ogden. WSU’s Department of presented his latest research in anti-violence work since and conflict lecturer at the doctor of osteopathic Online & Continuing findings at the Association she was a student employee Utah State University. She medicine program at Des Education, where she for the Study of Higher at the Women’s Center in is also a conflict consultant Moines University, where supervises the setup team Education’s 2023 General 2016, and worked in nonprofit with Canfield Conflict & he also served as a teaching of nontraditional courses, Conference in Minneapolis, victim advocacy prior to Collaboration Consulting. assistant in clinical medicine which include online classes, Minnesota. Gary served as rejoining the Women’s Center Carlee earned an integrated and osteopathic manipulative VISIT community education, the government relations in 2022. She will be receiving studies bachelor’s degree medicine. He was selected in independent study and liaison with WSU President her Master of Professional spring 2023 by DMU’s College alumni.weber.edu/puzzled from Utah Valley University teacher training courses. Brad Mortensen during the Communication in December in leadership and psychology of Osteopathic Medicine for ENTER PROMO CODE: She also oversees the 2023 General Session of the 2023. Mercedes has served and certifications from the Clinical Medicine Award, PUZZLED Department of Online & Utah State Legislature. on the WSU chapter of the The Center for Dispute which recognizes students’ Utah Women in Higher Resolution, Canfield high academic performance. cats living on campus. Bring me on your trip, whether you’re traveling internationally, across the country, within the state or around downtown Ogden. representative for IC ’16, MED ’23 is a research and shelters and cares for GOING ON AN ADVENTURE? merchant service account the WSU Women’s Center, volunteers at cat sanctuaries o d l a W assistant. Her husband, Nathan Miller BS ’22, is a processing company based the Safe@Weber violence LIMITED TIME OFFER Gary P. Duran AS ’14, BS of the WSU Cat Club, which TRAVEL WITH School District as a teacher’s Solutions, a credit card Mercedes Ziegler BA ’17 is prevention coordinator with member and past president She volunteers for Weber vents, his bout e med a y WSUAA. T cat r o f in ild and ed b s offer volved d our W Stay in d promotion g emails an ewsletter is in n ceiv ies a the n activit re you are re ach month, veryone. E re su r. o n e f e t l t g il le in w ometh i News Alumn aded with s lo Continuing Education videographer, owning and payroll team. She and her Jasmine Pittman BS ’17 Education Network Board of began as a consultant Consulting and The Daring husband, Keith, live in Directors as the marketing West Haven, Utah. for the National Cancer Way program. She helped coordinator and is currently Institute director’s office, create the Heravi Peace the president-elect. Institute, a peace initiative Crystalee Beck BA ’14 is the where she crafted messaging founder and CEO of Comma on behalf of the director. Copywriters, a copywriting She also streamlined MPC ’18 is the delivery agency that serves tech and internal processes to boost development coordinator real estate companies. In organizational efficiency. at the Arbinger Institute, Carlee Johnson Madsen at Utah State University, where she provides training for students to receive conflict management and peace-building certificates, ’20s WSU alumni events and commercials for X-Treme Trailers, a Utah-based Cassidy Miller BA ’21 is the alumni marketing coordinator for WSU’s Department of Alumni Relations. Before her role at WSU, she was a sales associate and the marketing director for Aaron’s Jewelry in GET 1 FREE. Charles“Chick” Hislop fostered success in sports and life By Corbin Talley, WSU Men’s Track & Field / Cross Country head coach Running at Weber State for Chick Hislop was truly one of the We worked incredibly hard in practice, and we laid it on the line most impactful experiences of my life, not just because I was in races. We competed with heart, passion and grit, because he able to learn from a legendary coach, but because of the culture taught us to run through a wall for our teammates, and we and environment that he created within our track and field and wanted to show him how tough we were — we wanted him to cross country programs. be proud of us. He taught us to trust. He taught us to work. He When I received word that Coach passed away on Feb. 22, 2023, taught us to dig deeper than we thought possible. Weber State at age 86, other than sadness for Coach and his family, I felt distance running was synonymous with teamwork, intelligent gratitude for the lessons he taught me and the time I was able to racing and tenacious performances. spend with him — particularly in the past few years in my role He demanded a lot from each of us, but he also had a way of as coach here at Weber State. making sure we knew we were important Prior to becoming the longest-tenured to him on and off the track. Some of my coach in any sport in Big Sky Conference fondest memories with Coach were at our history, mentoring Wildcats from 1969– summer cross country camps. We would 2006, Coach Hislop spent a decade as sit around the fire listening to Coach talk track and field coach at Ben Lomond High about legendary past teams and runners, School. He also ran track as a student at he would school us in the game of hearts the high school, graduating in 1955, and (his favorite card game), and we would get spent two years on the Weber Junior him laughing over the silliest of jokes and College track team, where he became stories. What I remember most about the a Junior College All-American in the camps, and even the daily routine with two-mile run and finished fifth in the Coach, was the amount of hard work he national championships. He graduated would get us to do. The miles, the hills, the from Weber in 1957 and transferred repeats, the tempo runs, all of it in order to Utah State. As a coach, he helped to make us hardened, fit distance runners. students find their own success. Now that I am back at Weber State as a He coached 26 WSU athletes to All- coach, I still want to make him proud. American honors in cross country, indoor track and outdoor Although he encouraged me to be patient in this role, these are track. Two of his runners, Farley Gerber and Charles Clinger, not easy shoes to fill. won NCAA individual championships. And five of his runners I am grateful for the regular interactions I was able to have broke four minutes in the mile. He also led the Wildcats to nine with Coach over the past six years. He loved hearing about Big Sky Conference titles. In 1973, Hislop became head wrestling how my athletes were doing — their latest races, workouts and coach, a position he held for five years. development. He loved talking about the potential high school While Coach left a legacy of championships, victories, impressive recruits. And he loved imparting wisdom and coaching advice marks on the track, and All-Americans, the real impact was in right to the end. I am already greatly missing his guidance. the creation and development of character. When we have outstanding performances, I find myself wanting to call and share them with Coach. When I am discouraged and “COACH HISLOP WAS A MASTER AT GETTING THE BEST EFFORTS OUT OF US.” need help figuring out a problem, he is still the first person I wish I could reach out to. He has remained my coach for the past 28 years, and the personal influence he has had on me will last my entire career. 44 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 Do you have memories of Chick Hislop you’d like to share? Write to magazine@weber.edu. Donations in Hislop’s honor may be made to the Men’s Track and Field Quasi Endowment. Leave a note regarding the dedication in our online donation form at give.weber.edu, or send a check with “Chick Hislop” in the memo line: Weber State University | 1265 Village Dr. Dept. 4018 | Ogden, UT 84408-4018 INSTA-RESPONSES “What wonderful progression the WSU School of Nursing has made. Many thanks to the Dee family for making it happen. There are so many possibilities and opportunities in this field.” “Weber. Smart smart smart” @myrthpriest in response to our feature story about the Annie Taylor Dee School of Nursing continuing to meet industry needs after 70 years @yacovbush in response to our article about the new Noorda Engineering, Applied Science & Technology Building “Would love to meet up with some fellow Wildcats here in Nashville” “Build the statue” In the fall of 1969, I met Weber State’s new track coach, Charles Hislop. I was in his new office with a couple of other track guys and Coach Hislop asked us to introduce ourselves to each other. We did, and that was the beginning of a 54-year relationship with Chick as well as [his wife] Dianne. Fall training began soon after and with that was the introduction of purple long underwear. As Chick advised us, they would keep our legs warm during early morning runs. They did, and we were all relieved it was early morning so there would be no gossip about the cross country boys wearing purple tights. As always, Chick was ahead of his time and our outfits would be considered stylish today. GEAR FOR YOUR THOUGHTS? Coach Hislop was very clear and concise regarding his workouts, but he was never overbearing, nor demanding. At the end of the day, what he said made sense and you knew he was right. I was very proud to have earned a letter, but more appreciative of his respect. He was always interested in more than track, wanting to know about your studies, your family and what you wanted to pursue in life. To better serve you, our reader, give us feedback on the magazine and what you’d like to see in it. You can also enter for a chance to win WSU gear. Use the QR code or find a link at weber.edu/wsumagazine. I returned to Wyoming in 1972 after graduation and we saw each other every year or so. Dianne’s Christmas card list included my wife, Dana, and me, and cards always included a personal note. The survey closes on Feb. 1, 2024. Law school took Dana and me to Sacramento, and I sat with Chick at a national college track meet in 1984. We enjoyed the meet and talked like we saw each other every day. He watched every event closely and made observations about individuals that escaped my vision. I know now that sense to observe was a gift that supported his ability to lead many team members to national prominence. After law school, we returned to Wyoming and I practiced law in Cody. Not long after, I was helping Chick recruit a middle distance runner. He always kept a close eye on Wyoming kids, and I was pleased to still be a part of the program. In 2006, I was appointed Wyoming State District Court Judge and Chick spoke at the robing ceremony, along with two U.S. senators, Al Simpson and Craig Thomas. During my remarks, I spoke of his admonishment during our practice where I mocked his suggestion of 20 220s all in under 30 seconds. He said, “Young man, you whip a mule and it balks; you whip a thoroughbred, and it responds.” I said, ‘Yes, sir!” and ran the 220s. After the robing ceremony, he said “Did I really say that? That’s really good!” Later on, I spoke at Chick’s retirement, and he spoke at mine in 2017. I arranged for him to speak at Cody High School, and, as always, he was very engaging, introducing his SPAM formula* to those in attendance. Hungry like the Cat Waldo Waldo In addition to this issue’s memorial to Chick by Corbin Talley, men’s track and field and cross country coach (page 44), we received the following letter from another of the coach’s mentees. Find your local network at alumni.weber.edu/ran. NOW PLAYING… Track and field and cross country coach Charles “Chick” Hislop helped shape many minds and futures. Sadly, Chick passed away on Feb. 22, 2023, at the age of 86. @ogdengent in response to our post about WSU’s 12 regional alumni networks @weberstateweekly in response to our article about former football coach Jay Hill’s top 10 memorable wins Dear editor, EMAIL US To: magazine@weber.edu From: WaldoTheWildcat@weber.edu Subject: Email Us! Want to share your thoughts on something you read? Email us at magazine@weber.edu. Please note that letters may be edited for length or clarity. SEND I loved Chick and Dianne, and I always felt their love in return. And I know I was one of many who experienced the same. He loved commitment and I think he appreciated his continued recognition but was motivated by a much deeper principle — “Do Your Best.” Thanks, Coach. Sincerely, Steven R. Cranfill *Super Positive Attitude Mentally: Hislop’s recommended approach to sports and life @WeberStateAlumni @WeberStateU @WeberStateU facebook.com/WSUAlumniAssociation 46 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2023 Fall 2023 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 47 Non-profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE 1265 Village Dr. Dept. 4025 Ogden, UT 84408-4025 PAID Permit No. 151 Salt Lake City, UT