enter C g in n w o r B A. THE Val Arts g in m r o f r e P E FOR TH WILDCAT ! 0 5 S N R TU Volunteering Abroad Leading by Artistic Example Capturing the Ebola Outbreak WSU Alumni Magazine | SPRING 2015 From POLAND to PARK CITY to WEBER Monika Wolowiec Wrona, Polish Olympian, Radiologic Technologist and Weber State Student Poland native Monika Wolowiec Wrona didn’t have a coach or manager when she arrived in Turin, Italy, for the 2006 Winter Olympics. She had gained clearance to compete for Poland only the week before. Everything had happened so quickly, including her journey to become a skeleton racer — she trained for just two short years; whereas, most Olympians train their entire lives — but that was OK. “I like to go fast,” she said, laughing. You have to, or racing head first down a solid sheet of ice at 80+ miles per hour would be out of the question. Monika trained in Park City, Utah. At one point, she worked seven jobs to be able to live and practice there. “Some days I only got an hour of sleep,” she said. But it was worth it. “I was glad to compete in the Olympics. I didn’t do as well as I had hoped” — she placed 15th in the women’s single skeleton race — “but I was still happy to be there.” Today, nine years post-Olympics, Monika is working toward another dream — earning her Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Sciences degree. “I like photography, and radiologic sciences is medical photography,” she said. She still doesn’t get much sleep — she and her husband have three young children, she splits her 50-hour workweek between Park City Hospital and the Rosenberg Cooley and Metcalf orthopedic clinic, and she maintains a 4.0 GPA. But again, it’s worth it. Monika plans to specialize in CT imaging. “Weber State offers an excellent program,” she said. “I love it.” For more information on WSU’s radiologic sciences program, visit weber.edu/radsci. weber state university News for Alumni & Friends wildcat Vol. 20, No. 1, Spring 2015 editor in chief creative director Amy Hendricks Hillary Wallace ’98 contributing writers designers Shane Farver ’04 Matt Gerrish ’10 Amy Hendricks Allison Barlow Hess Karin Hurst Marcus Jensen Emily Caraballo Amy Hajdas Becky Jorgensen Hillary Wallace ’98 Need some Weber wear? photographers contributing editors Nancy B. Collinwood ’94 Ivonne Dabb ’14 Margie Esquibel John Kowalewski Brad Mortensen Amber Robson ’05 Robert Casey Sara Lleverino ’01 Joe Salmond special thanks Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities WSU Archives Comments and questions may be sent to Wildcat, Weber State University, 1265 Village Drive Dept 4025, Ogden UT 844084025. The editor may also be contacted by phone: 801-626-7359 or email: magazine@weber.edu. Send address changes to Advancement Services, Weber State University, 1265 Village Drive Dept 4018, Ogden UT 844084018, call 801-626-6138 or email giving@weber.edu to update your records. postmaster : Send address changes to Advancement Services, Weber State University, 1265 Village Drive Dept 4018, Ogden UT 84408-4018 weber state university board of trustees 2014-15 Alan Hall ’69, chair Retired Gen. Kevin Sullivan, vice chair Louenda Downs ’78 Karen Fairbanks Joe Favero Stop by the new Nolan Karras ’70 Andre Lortz ’91 Scott Parson Steven E. Starks ’03 Jeff M. Stephens ’84, ’87 weber.edu/wsumagazine | alumni.weber.edu A NEW LOOK We are excited to unveil Wildcat’s new website. We’ve made it much easier to read and use from any computer or mobile device. Visit weber.edu/wsumagazine to see the new design and read online exclusives. at the Dee Events Center right outside portal 8! CONTENTS 10 In the Spotlight Celebrating 50 years of the Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts 19 Art Stroll 40 WSU Salutes Browse through photos of the inspiring and intriguing faculty art exhibition. Outstanding alumni and friends receive recognition. 28 What the World Needs Now 44 Class Notes Student humanitarians act globally. Wildcats share their successes and updates. 36 Inside an Ebola Clinic Photojournalist spends nearly three weeks at ground zero for West Africa’s Ebola outbreak. WEBER WATCH WEBER WATCH Allison Barlow Hess and Marcus Jensen MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS For providing exceptional opportunities and enhanced access through the institution’s Dream Weber program and Weber State’s partnership with the Northern Utah Academy for Math, Engineering and Science (NUAMES); For the university’s fulfillment of its mission to provide public service and community-based learning through entities such as the Center for Community Engaged Learning, the Student Involvement and Leadership program, and collaborating partners; and For the degree to which curricula, faculty and staff responsibilities, and Five-Star Review Sometimes news is so good, it takes a before seen a report without a single support services — such as academic, recommendation,” said WSU Provost library, student and infrastructure Michael Vaughan. support — are integrated across WSU’s dual mission and multiple locations. moment to process. After the results of the Northwest Commission on WSU received the following commenda- Colleges and Universities’ accreditation tions for exemplary performance: evaluation report were read at a Weber State University site visit in October, audience members paused, then erupted in applause. The accreditation team’s preliminary report praised WSU in five areas. In addition, the university received no official recommendations, defined as areas for improvement, from the committee. “As an accreditation reviewer of other The report and campus visit required more than 70 individuals to contribute For the people comprising the univer- over 1,000 hours in preparation, guided sity committing to a complex mission by Associate Provost Ryan Thomas. that includes not just open access, but also the attainment of a diploma; “The review team’s preliminary report is a great testament to Weber State’s For the offices of Institutional Effec- dedication to our mission,” said Presi- tiveness and Institutional Research, dent Charles A. Wight. “The remarkable in regard to their development and achievements of this university are the distribution of timely data in support of result of the hard work of our faculty, the university’s mission, objectives and staff and students. I congratulate them core themes; all for their commitment to excellence.” universities’ programs, I have never Spring 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 5 WEBER WATCH Virtual Cadaver If practice makes perfect, a new 3D, virtual cadaver in WSU’s health sciences lab will help students perfect their knowledge of the human anatomy. The virtual cadaver lies embedded in a 6-foot interactive table that is much like a gigantic iPad. With just the swipe of a finger, students can “slice through” skin, bone, muscle, organs and other tissues to peer closely at anatomic details. When done, they can erase the cut and try again. The table’s images come from the Visible Korean Project, which photographs and scans male and female cadavers in sections as thin as .3 millimeters. A generous gift from Gary Close BS ’67 helped fund the purchase of the table. “The table includes a database of 100 clinical cases,” explained health sciences chair Kraig Chugg BS ’96. “These are 3D renderings of CT and MRI images that allow students to apply their knowledge of anatomy and physiology to specific diseases and clinical conditions. We are very proud to have this learning tool in the Dr. Ezekiel R. Dumke College of Health Professions.” Photo courtesy of the Standard-Examiner On Key Talent, patience and hard work … that’s what it took for WSU student Ling-Yu Lee to win the MTNA Southwest Division Steinway Young Artist Collegiate Piano Competition. Of the six competitors, Ling was one of only two undergraduate students. She surpassed doctoral and master’s degree candidates from schools such as Arizona State University and the University of Southern California. “To be able to win a competition, students spend hundreds of hours with non-stop lessons and practice,” said Yu-Jane Yang, WSU’s director of keyboard studies. “The MTNA competition is really a true test of endurance and patience, starting at the state level in October and continuing to the national competition in March.” Lee will represent the Southwest Division in the final round of the competition March 23 in Las Vegas. She will compete against first-place winners from the other six divisions. The grand prize is a Steinway grand piano. 6 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2015 WEBER WATCH Great, Great, Great Value U.S. News & World Report has confirmed Weber State’s TOP 10 claim of a “great education at a great price,” recently ranking the university as one of the nation’s top 10 “Cheapest Public Schools for In-State Students.” WSU’s 2014-15 in-state tuition and fees cost $5,184. The article observed, “At some schools, in-state tuition and fees are just a few thousand dollars, making the cost of a year of education similar to the price of a two-week vacation abroad.” U.S. News also ranked WSU No. 24 on its list of “Top Public Schools” in the category of Regional Universities West and No. 23 in the West for “Best Colleges for Veterans.” Attitude of Gratitude Engaging Our Community In January, WSU received the esteemed 2015 Community Engagement Classification from the “Thank you.” It’s a simple phrase that can have a great impact in the work- Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. place. That was the topic of an international award-winning thesis by WSU The distinction is an acknowledgement of WSU’s alumna Crystalee Webb Beck MPC ’14 (read more about Beck in class notes longstanding commitment to the greater Ogden on page 51). community, the region, the state and the world, as The Corporate Communication International Conference awarded Beck best theoretical paper at its conference held in Hong Kong in June. well as its dedication to teaching students through community-engaged learning. The foundation selects schools that model an Her survey of 900 employees found that 28.2 percent of employees prefer “excellent alignment among mission, culture, verbal, one-on-one appreciation as their favorite medium of receiving leadership, resources, and practices that support gratitude. Monetary bonuses ranked second at 25 percent. Employees were significant commitment to and demonstration of also asked how frequently they like to receive praise and about potential community engagement,” according to Carnegie negative effects of over-communicating or withholding praise. President Anthony Bryk. “I am definitely coming away from Weber State instilled with more confi- Only 361 of the more than 3,000 colleges and dence in my abilities as a professional communicator,” Beck said. “For me, universities in the United States earn the designation. the capstone experience was writing this thesis and presenting it at an international conference.” Spring 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 7 WEBER WATCH High Point in Death Valley What started with a little curiosity has become a collaborative, multi-departmental project to help a struggling Native American tribe. On a recent trip with students to Death Valley National Park, WSU associate geography professor Julie Rich BS ’81 met leaders of the Timbisha Tribe and learned of their desire to build a cultural center. Rich brought the project back to Weber, and with the help of the construction management, interior design and design engineering technology departments, designs have been drafted to build an energy-efficient structure. The new cultural center will be based on the Zion National Park visitor center. Construction will begin after May 2016. (Rich also led a group of students to Mozambique, Africa, in the summer of 2014 to help build a women’s center. For more on that story, see page 28.) Broadcasting Cats Digital media students hope a larger audience will see their work now that they’ve launched WildcatONE-TV. A-maze-ing The new 24-hour channel offers free Firefighters from around the state will have a better chance to get out of the Shepherd Union Building and residence a burning building thanks to design engineering technology students. halls and on personal computers and tablets Working in conjunction with the South Davis Metro Fire Agency, students with a WSU login. The content includes free designed a state-of-the-art fire-training maze. blockbuster movies as well as video projects Internet television in public areas such as produced by Studio76, Weber State’s student The maze was constructed inside railroad shipping containers at the video-production group. HollyFrontier Woods Cross Refinery. It consists of multiple obstacles, including an off-kilter floor, entanglements, stairs and sliding panels. Although digital media students always have produced a plethora of entertainment The plans for the maze will be made available on the Internet, so and news programs, this is the first time firefighters across the country can build their own structures to be better they’ve had a dedicated TV channel to prepared to fight fires and save lives. showcase their work. 8 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2015 WEBER WATCH Civics Lesson Community members received a crash course in city government and ways to initiate change when the Olene S. Walker Institute of Politics & Public Service partnered with Ogden City to offer the “Citizens Academy.” “A knowledgeable populace is critical to the strength of Taking Manhattan Dylan Allred BS ’14 had just one step to graduation, and he decided to make it a mighty big one. The digital media major set his sights on a New York City internship with Comedy American democracy,” said Carol McNamara, director of the Walker Institute. “Low electoral turnout and public apathy are symptomatic of a civic-education deficit, concerning the function of government and the needs of the community. The Walker Institute’s aim is to encourage active leadership and civic participation.” Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart — a wildly popular The four-session course, part of the Ogden College Town late-night satirical television program — and got it. initiative, discussed the inner workings of government, the Allred’s résumé was filled with a variety of experience on WSU’s radio and television programs. He grew up around entertainment as the son of Bill Allred BA ’72, an admired election process and then ended with a mock city council, where citizens got to make decisions about the many issues cities face, including taxes, roads and utilities. Utah radio personality and WSU alumnus. “I sent out dozens of applications to shows all over the country,” Allred said from his New York home. “I’m happy I got a job at this show in particular, because when it comes to latenight talk shows, there is none better than The Daily Show.” Allred completed the internship and graduated in December. He hopes to land a job in entertainment and permanently move to the Big Apple. Correction In the fall 2014 edition of Wildcat, two national champions were inadvertently left out of the athletics infographic on page 28. Darol Wintle BS ’69 was the national champion in the javelin event at the 1968 NCAA Division II outdoor championship. The women’s golf team took home an NCAA Division II national title in 1982. We are proud of these Wildcats’ accomplishments and sincerely apologize for the omission. To view the updated infographic, visit weber.edu/wsumagazine. Spring 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 9 The Browning Center at Celebrating a cultural milestone Karin Hurst MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS The Ogden Standard-Examiner’s national weather report was grim enough to send diehard winter worshippers scrambling for shelter. Tuesday, Feb. 23, 1965: A major storm sweeps wide areas in the West, Midwest and eastern half of the nation. Ominous phrases like “zero visibility,” “arctic blast” and “hazardous driving” dominated local forecasts from Montana to New York. Residents of Ogden, Utah, on the other hand, were basking in unseasonable warmth and sunshine. With daytime temperatures creeping to a balmy 55 degrees, the heat was on as Weber State College eagerly prepared for a Hollywood-style spectacle befitting a history-making event. T he musical My Fair Lady demands a large stage, full in two phases. Phase one included 12 classrooms, speech orchestra, sumptuous sets and grandiose production and music faculty offices, and an 1,800-seat auditorium. numbers. And in 1965, for the first time in its 76-year When construction began in 1962, there were only eight history, Weber State College had a physical facility capable structures on the Harrison Boulevard campus: a heating of making such an ambitious student production possible. plant, four classroom buildings, the Union Building (later On that oddly mild February evening in 1965, as powerful renamed Shepherd Union), the Technical Education Building beacon lights pierced the sky above campus, an invited and the gym. audience of state and local dignitaries, wearing formal A BEHEMOTH BUILDING FOR A BURGEONING CAMPUS gowns and tuxedos, arrived for the premiere of My Fair Lady — the first of many Broadway musical productions to be staged in Weber State’s magnificent new Fine Arts Center, a building now called the Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts. The sprawling, three-story Fine Arts Center was designed by Ogden architect Keith Wilcox. Principal contractors Alfred Brown Co., of Salt Lake City, completed the center 12 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2015 In 1964, with recently acquired four-year status, Weber State was one of the fastest-growing colleges in Utah, but faced a serious lack of classroom space. Not everyone was pleased with the building and grounds committee’s decision to erect a gym and the Fine Arts Center before a library and more classrooms. An editorial published in The Signpost on Jan. 17, 1964, accused the committee of having skewed priorities: “It would seem, as an institution of higher learning, we need a library and more classrooms before the other two.” President PHASE TWO: TWO MORE STAGES AND A LOT MORE SPACE William P. Miller, however, remained a steadfast champion of An unprecedented 7,000 students were attending Weber the Fine Arts Center project, repeatedly stating that a senior State College when the second phase of construction was college had an obligation to promote, develop and extend finished in 1966. The $741,000 Little Theater (later renamed cultural opportunities for campus and community. the Allred Theater in memory of longtime speech and THE CURTAIN RISES On Sunday, Dec. 13, 1964, the $1.8 million Fine Arts Center was dedicated with back-to-back performances of former music professor Roland Parry’s Christmas cantata, A Child is Born. The following day, the Ogden Standard-Examiner ran a front-page photo of Governor-elect Calvin L. Rampton and Mrs. Rampton chatting with President and Mrs. Miller drama professor M. Thatcher Allred) was dedicated on Feb. 3, with a preview performance of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. In addition to more classrooms and a scene shop, phase two also included the Cellar Theater (an intimate, arena-style theater that was later renamed the Monson Theater in honor of former humanities chair and debate coach Leland H. Monson) and a 10-watt, educational FM radio station on the top floor. in the foyer. The politically savvy Rampton had seized The completion of the Fine Arts Center symbolized Weber an opportunity during the dedication ceremony to tell State’s cultural coming of age and the promise of a bold the sizable audience that the bonding program he was new future. No longer would lack of performance space putting together would include almost $11 million for new force Weber to find alternate venues off campus for college buildings at Weber State. productions or significant community events. Although The Fine Arts Center’s most striking architectural feature was an exposed aggregate concrete colonnade — a long sequence of exterior arches that gave the building a clean, modern beauty. The glistening, white facade represented a culmination of dreams for a great many people over a long period of time. A central planning committee had spent more than five years touring performing arts complexes around the region, and working with architects to create a first-rate venue that would enhance Weber State’s ability WSC groups were given first priority, external organizations clamored to book the exciting new venue. The Utah Symphony, whose first appearance in Ogden was a onenight-only performance at Ogden High School in 1949, had found a permanent home away from home. Ballet West opened its first complete Ogden Season at the Fine Arts Center Auditorium in fall of 1969. A BENEVOLENT NAMESAKE to educate students, and fulfill a much broader objective to In 1977, after a decade of charitable giving to several of the serve the northern Utah community as a cultural catalyst. college’s fine arts programs, Ogden philanthropist Val A. Browning established a $1 million trust fund at Weber State that would, in his words, “give the people of Ogden the opportunity to come in contact with the finest culture the world has to offer.” In appreciation, the WSC Institutional Council unanimously voted on April 19, 1978, to memorialize the fine arts building as the Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts. PUBLIC SAFETY THREAT NO. 1 By 1996, WSU enrollment had skyrocketed to 14,000. Once again, performing arts students, faculty and staff were frustrated by a critical shortage of space. Former music department chair Ronald L. Wooden likens his first office to a broom closet. “It was all you could do to put a half-size desk in there and stuff a piano in.” Wooden also recalls that next door in the choir room, members of his choral groups were struggling to fit inside. “The tall men on the back row would Spring 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 13 hit their heads on the ceiling tiles. The room was simply option, the structure lost all of the delicacy that made it too small.” According to costume designer and theater very attractive.” arts professor Catherine Zublin, the dance program was especially shortchanged. “They were still using studio space Instead, the architects employed the notion that a in the gym because there were better dance floors there.” performance begins the second you enter the building to create an illusion of height and circular space, and to While overcrowded conditions in the mid-1990s were soften the center’s box-like structure. “The theaters all had indeed problematic, the Browning Center itself posed a far this soft geometry. With the entrance, we were trying to more sinister threat. In 1994, State Fire Marshal Lynn Borg communicate that there are these wonderful, curved places told the Standard-Examiner the building was a firetrap and inside the building,” Herman says. would have already been shut down if not for the economic loss to the university and surrounding areas. Wooden The downside of the extensive renovation was the remembers a terrifying incident Browning Center’s two-year closure one night when smoke pots used that tested the endurance of the for a theatrical production in the Austad Auditorium triggered the fire alarms. “The only exit was down a hallway that was not nearly large enough to accommodate the crowd. Ushers had to lead people up all those stairs, and elderly people literally had to crawl out of there.” “For me it was a case of ‘have boombox — will travel.’” Ronald L. Wooden With more than 120,000 patrons entire Department of Performing Arts. Wooden’s office was moved to Building 1, and he taught classes in rooms scattered across campus. “We had to bring our own equipment because many of those rooms didn’t have sound. For me it was a case of ‘have boombox — will travel,’” he says. Zublin transported her costume studio to Miller Administration. “Admissions had these little white attending an average of 600 events a year, the Browning desks that sat in the cubbyholes, so we put all our sewing Center topped the State Division of Risk Management’s list machines on those desks,” she recalls. “I put a washer and of Utah’s most dangerous public buildings. This dubious dryer in one of the closets and let the custodians do rags distinction prompted the 1996 Legislature to appropriate there so they’d like me.” $17.9 million toward a colossal renovation, expansion and earthquake retrofit. When the Val A. Browning Foundation When the reconstruction dust finally settled in fall of kicked in an additional $1 million, generous private donors 1999, the Browning Center had an exciting new look. Most came forward with matching funds. important, the building met all safety codes and had gained 32,000 square-feet of instructional and performance space. The Ogden firm of Sanders Herman Architects was hired to make the Browning Center safer, bigger, energy-efficient and more accessible. Architect Robert Herman explains that between 1964 and 1996, industry standards had changed. “So, the original building had a number of things that were really no longer compliant to issues related to life safety and the ability for people with disabilities to actually move around.” Hard as they tried, Herman’s team was unable to save the center’s iconic Mo-Sai arches. “We actually did a number of studies to determine how the colonnade itself would have to be reinforced,” says Herman, who admits he took a personal interest in the project because he had grown up just east of Weber State and considered the campus his childhood playground. “The structural engineer recommended building a second colonnade behind the original to make it beefier, but when we looked at that MONTAGE OF MEMORIES Training student-musicians, actors, dancers, technicians and designers, and giving them multiple opportunities to perform for a live audience in a well-equipped facility, is at the heart of the Browning Center “experience.” And with 50 years of Browning Center productions, come 50 years of precious memories. Former music and theater student John Rust is a Los Angeles-based alumnus who has worked in the themepark industry as a creative director, show director, media producer and voiceover actor for more than 30 years. Nostalgically, he describes taking general education classes all over campus, but always returning “home” to the Fine Arts Center. “Our living room was the lobby of the Little Theater,” Rust recalls. “The staff was young and 14 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2015 we had more than a teacher-student relationship. We had same kind of life-changing experiences inside that building a friendship.” Rust claims that onstage at the Browning that I had, because we only pass this way once.” Center, he learned how to use his voice and body to pitch a concept. “Because of my experiences at Weber State, I have absolutely no fear of people or public speaking. As a member of an industry that requires lots of selling, I just click into character and sell, sell, sell.” CHALLENGES FOR THE NEXT DECADES Looking ahead, Browning Center administrators admit that with rapid-fire technological innovation and increasing emphasis on home entertainment, staying ahead of the Ric Starnes calls his time at Weber State and the support he performance venue curve is a huge challenge. For the received from former theater professor T. Leonard Rowley, university’s ongoing Dream 125 fundraising campaign, transformative. The Texas native joined the military out the staff prioritized a list of upgrades needed to keep the of high school and was stationed at Hill Air Force Base building in immaculate condition — starting with replacing when, on a whim, he auditioned for Clearfield Community the 50-year-old seats in the Austad Auditorium and Allred Theater’s production of Oklahoma. With his self-confidence Theater. “We’ve got to compete with theater seats at boosted by landing the lead role of Curly, Starnes eventually home,” says Browning Center director Frank Bradshaw. found his way to the Browning Center in 1971 where Rowley “Because people can get so much entertainment on TVs and was casting Hello Dolly and My Three Angels for Weber State’s computers with live streaming, there’s no reason for them Golden Spike Summer Repertory Theater. “There’s so much to get up and go out. That’s a major, industry-wide challenge good that happened there,” says Starnes. “Sometimes it’s for theaters right now.” Event production manager Kirstin difficult to express the depth of that good. It’s a place that “Fluffy” Blake echoes Bradshaw’s concerns, but says she’s gave me an opportunity to do what inside I really wanted counting on people 50 years from now still being able to to do, but wasn’t sure I could. It was there I learned that I recognize the value of a live performing arts facility. “Nothing absolutely could do whatever it is I put my mind to.” can ever replace live theater because it’s so interactive,” says Blake. “It’s the give and take between the audience and Robert Glasmann BS ’72 is a former associate professor performers that sets the live experience apart. You don’t get and choral music director at Wichita State University. More that same sensation by looking at a screen, listening to a than four decades after he played a supporting role in recording or even reading a book at home.” Weber State College’s 1972 production of Man of LaMancha, Glasmann still marvels at set designer David Barber’s BS ’67 A former professor once likened Weber State culture to ingenious use of the Austad Auditorium’s maneuverable a magic carafe that keeps flowing and flowing. With five orchestra pit. “The technical people built an incredible decades of performing arts excellence as a foundation, the raked stage, the front of which was rigged to the hydraulic Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts is uniquely pit, while the back of the stage was hinged. At the beginning poised to continue serving northern Utah as a cultural of the musical, the pit was slowly lowered and the raked showcase. That was the idea from the very beginning. In stage descended into place, revealing the set for the show. It 1964, before the Browning Center was completely finished, was like a huge ramp that lowered into a dungeon.” humanities chair Leland H. Monson predicted the center’s influence. He told the Ogden Standard-Examiner, “With the In fall of 2014, 871 WSU students were enrolled in one or planned facilities in operation, Ogden will experience its more of the 177 different classes taught inside the Browning own Cultural Renaissance, with Weber State College the Center. Thinking back to his undergraduate days in the motivating force.” 1970s and early ’80s, Starnes urges current students to savor every hour spent at the Browning Center. “At the time, we may not see the outcome of what the present can really mean to us. My wish is that the current crop of students is having the How right he was. Sources: Acorn yearbook; Deseret News; StandardExaminer; Salt Lake Tribune; The Signpost; Weber State College… A Centennial History, Richard Sadler; WSU Archives; WSU Institutional Research; Stewart Library My Fair Lady was not meant to be the Fine Arts Center’s first student production. Assuming the new building would be open by SECRETS AND LEGENDS OF THE BROWNING CENTER fall of 1964, The Salt Lake Tribune ran a story on June 7 announcing that Weber State College would present A Man for All Seasons, directed by M. Thatcher Allred, as part of the center’s opening ceremonies. Opening night was set for Nov. 19 but was canceled because stage lights and sound equipment had not yet been installed. The play was eventually presented in the big auditorium in May of 1965 — after My Fair Lady was produced in February. For weeks leading up to the 1965 production of My Fair Lady, Ogden merchants ran newspaper ads touting their merchandise and promoting Weber State’s upcoming musical. Window displays at The Bon Marche, for example, featured a collection of My Fair Lady-inspired Jr., Karen and Richard Carpenter, Ralph Nader, Herb Alpert, fashions. (For $27 you, too, could own a broad-brimmed, Edgar Bergen, Charles Kuralt, John Wooden, Aaron Copland, beribboned hat just like the one Eliza Doolittle wore to the Robert Redford, Ronald Reagan, Jane Fonda, Jacques Royal Ascot horse race!) Cousteau, Bella Abzug, “The Amazing Kreskin,” Rosey Grier, Neil Armstrong, G. Gordon Liddy, Jake LaMotta, Charlton For Weber State’s 1966 production of The Sound of Music, 132 Heston, Alex Haley and Fred Rogers. Tucked into a drawer local children auditioned for the show’s seven von Trapp and forgotten during the Browning Center’s 1997-1999 siblings. One at a time, the pint-size thespians walked onto renovation, the guest book resurfaced in September of the monstrously large main stage and “acted” themselves 2013, and Broadway’s most decorated performer, Audra out of an imaginary dilemma conjured up by director T. McDonald, resurrected the Browning Center’s tradition of Leonard Rowley. The lead role of Capt. von Trapp went to collecting celebrity autographs. nontraditional student, Fine Arts Center evening custodian, and father of five, Duane Hedin AA ’53. “After the show Because costume designer Buckley C. Jeppson did not one night,” Duane recalls, “I was standing onstage greeting think lead actor John Rust had the build of a professional guests when I heard a woman call out, ‘Where’s Gaylord?’ baseball player, he constructed a bodysuit bulging with fake It was the real muscles for Rust to wear under his clothing during the 1976 Maria von Trapp! production of Damn Yankees. She had been in the audience, and Try as he might, alumnus Ric Starnes can’t forget the I had no idea. We terrible night the MGM lion mauled a fellow performer had a nice chat, during an LDS Student Association production at the and I had my Browning Center. “The dress rehearsal went fine, but during picture taken with the actual performance the lion pounced on a girl standing her. She told me next to me and clamped its jaws around her head,” Starnes she really enjoyed says. “The lion trainer runs onstage. I yell, ‘Lower the our show.” curtain!’ We get the girl downstairs, and she’s bleeding like crazy. The first words The Browning out of her mouth are, Center was ‘Did I ruin the show?’ It home to an early was the most incredible original Norman thing I’ve ever been a Rockwell oil part of.” painting. Around 1926, the budding artist painted a portrait of Frederic Dixon, an up-and-coming concert pianist who Shortly after WSU lived in the same New York City apartment building. Dixon became an All-Steinway later moved to Utah and taught a select group of students School in 2011, costume in Ogden. After Dixon died, his longtime friend, Elmer J. designer Catherine Aaron, donated a Steinway concert grand piano to WSC Zublin went online to in Dixon’s name. Aaron also donated furnishings and see if Bernina USA had a personal memorabilia for the rosewood-paneled Frederic comparable recognition Dixon Memorial Lounge — a private room located on the for universities that use lower floor of the Fine Arts Center. Among those items nothing but Bernina were several original works of art, including the Rockwell sewing machines. “I painting, which is now stored in the Kimball Visual Arts wanted to be an All- Center for security reasons. Bernina School,” Zublin says slightly tongue-in- The Dixon Lounge also featured a celebrity guest book. The cheek. “Instead, I found first person to sign was longtime Utah Symphony conductor a link to something Maurice Abravanel on October 5, 1971. Between 1971 and called the One Million 1996, dozens of famous guests added their signatures, Pillowcase Challenge. including Norman Luboff, John Denver, Arthur Schlesinger So now, students in my Spring 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 17 costume fundamentals class have “I don’t think he ever caught him. It the option of making pillowcases could have just been a homeless person for charity. We’ve made about 40 so looking for a warm place to stay. ” far and donated them to the Weber Current stage operations supervisor Morgan Children’s Justice Center.” and theater student Austin Hull insists Some insiders truly believe the he’s seen the apparition of a young boy cavernous Browning Center is… playing with stage props. “He’s dressed haunted! like a little ‘newsie’ from the 1900s with knickers and a cap,” says Hull. Former music professor Ronald L. “He also likes to play with the drinking Wooden laughs about the morning fountains and sinks in the basement he caught a glimpse of the notorious near the dressing rooms. He’s not “Phantom of the Fine Arts Center.” mean, just a little mischievous.” Soon after Wooden was hired in 1967, the building was abuzz with rumors And, yes, the Browning Center really that a furtive intruder was living in the does have a ghost light — a perpetually prop room and sleeping in the dressing illuminated lamp onstage. Historical rooms. “Around 6:30 one cold, winter morning, I pulled into reasons for its existence vary, but Hull and Browning Center the parking lot and saw the head custodian chasing this so- director Frank Bradshaw maintain it’s to keep ghosts happy, called phantom across the parking lot,” Wooden chuckles. or altogether away. To read an extended version of this story, visit weber.edu/wsumagazine. EDUCATING THE 21ST-CENTURY communication professional The Master of Professional Communication program at Weber State University “I could not have applied for the job I have now without being in the master's program. Having this degree has propelled me forward and given me the credentials I need to be successful in my career.” Monica Schwenk Master of Professional Communication ’13 Development Director, Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College To hear more from Monica and others about the MPC program, visit weber.edu/mpc. WORK ART A photographic stroll through the Shaw Gallery’s 2014 FACULTY EXHIBIT Matt Gerrish ’10 MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS No Re-Entry, 96” x 72”, acrylic on canvas, 2014, by Matthew Choberka N estled inside Weber State University’s Kimball Visual Arts Center is the Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery. A gem in the northern Utah art scene, the vibrant space serves as a center of creativity, inspiration and intrigue for faculty, staff, students and community members. Now under director Lydia Gravis, the Shaw Gallery is reaching new audiences and successfully establishing itself as a premier venue for contemporary Edna, Meriam and Nagyeong, daguerreotype, 2013 & 2014, by Tyler Suppha-Atthasitt art exhibitions. Receiving rave reviews was the gallery’s 2014 Biennial Faculty Exhibition, which showcased more than 30 artists from WSU’s Department of Visual Art and Design. Andrea Silva of SLUG Magazine (one of Utah’s longestrunning independent publications) reviewed the exhibit, writing, “ … I had momentarily forgotten, despite the Faculty Exhibition being my purpose for attending, that every installation, painting, printing, sculpture and image in the gallery, was the work of not just artists, but the professors teaching at Weber State. Which reminded me of how true a previous statement made by President (Charles) Wight was, in regards to the faculty practicing what they teach. I later justified that my forgetting wasn’t the result of my failure, but the artists overwhelming success.” Corporeal, video, 2014, by Tatiana Svrckova Larsen The following pages offer a glimpse into the faculty exhibition. To see more and to learn about upcoming events at the Shaw Gallery, visit weber.edu/wsumagazine. Photos courtesy of the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities foreground: (from left to right) Flicker, digital medium, 2014; Rising Water Levels, woodcut, 2014; and Spoonbill, digital medium, 2014, all by Susan Makov background: (from left to right) Electric Pulse and Kill Your Television, acrylic on canvas, 2014, by Steve Stones BFA ’96 Spring 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 21 left: Game Pieces, ceramic, 2014, by Stephen Wolochowicz foreground: Drive Through, metal sculpture and lights, 2014, by Jason Manley right: Pages from Everything Half Off, digital assembly, 2014, by Mark Biddle ‘Floating Garden’ Makes Top 10 Japanese artist Motoi Yamamoto’s complex table salt creation that was featured at the Shaw Gallery made designboom magazine’s list of top 10 exhibits of 2014. Photos of the unique art installation can be viewed at weber.edu/wsumagazine. LYDIA GRAVIS — DIRECTOR, TEACHER, COLLABORATOR Lydia Gravis has always been a passionate educator. Prior to being named director of the Shaw Gallery in May 2014, she was an adjunct instructor at Weber State, and she managed the visual arts outreach programs for the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities. While her title and responsibilities have changed, her primary goal remains the same: to educate. foreground: Her Favorite Time of Day, acrylic on canvas, 2014, by Margaret Reimschussel BA ’88 Gravis’ immediate goals are to increase gallery awareness on campus and in the greater community. While many university galleries and museums charge admission to outside visitors, the Shaw Gallery is free and open to the public, something Gravis wants to maintain in the coming years. “I want the gallery to attract art novices, experts and everyone in between,” Gravis said. “We want more visitors from all backgrounds and of all ages, and we want to offer them welcoming experiences that expand their idea of what art is.” Gravis says the gallery involves Weber State students in day-to-day operations now more than ever, helping with the sustainability of its long-term future. In conjunction with WSU faculty, students are the driving force behind ensuring accessibility for everyone. As gallery attendants, they greet visitors, lead tours and answer questions about the art and artists. Students also serve as technicians during the installation and de-installation of exhibits. Color Shark, found styrofoam, dyed epoxy resin, 2013, by Jared Clark NOW SHOWING Pure Paint for Now People Through April 10 Untitled 90” x 80” oil, ink, acrylic and flashe marker on canvas, by Joanne Greenbaum 24 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2015 In less than a year on the job, this type of collaboration has already created a sense of accomplishment that Gravis hopes to magnify. “I appreciate the impact of art on many levels and feel fortunate that I can serve as a catalyst for bringing art to campus that will challenge people to expand their perspectives and lead to the type of quiet contemplation that art can evoke,” Gravis said. “I enjoy the satisfaction of seeing an exhibition develop from start to finish, and I value the opportunity to work around artists who are constantly inspiring and challenging each other in their artistic pursuits. We are fortunate to have such a beautiful gallery space and hub for culture, ideas and experiences.” foreground: KMB 35.9, invisible tape, 2014, by Kathryn Bradshaw BFA ’05 Spring 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 25 foreground: Commander GA, cherry wood, 2014, by Jim Jacobs Get the INSIDE SCOOP! join the PRESIDENT’S SOCIETY exclusive in f o r m a t io n s s e c c a p i v YO U! Password: “benefits” President’s Society membership allow s you to: • Support colleges & programs that mean something to YOU. • Get “insider” inf ormation not rea dily available to nonm embers. • Attend special campus events an d receptions with Pre sident Charles Wight. (Out-of-st ate members will be invited to VIP even ts in their area.) • Receive The Wi ght Paper, Presiden t Wight’s quarterly e-newsletter. Automatically becom e a member of the WSU Alumni Association (unless you decline or have previously joined the WSUAA). Platinum $10,000+ Gold $5,000 to join or learn more about the President’s Society at WSU Kyle Braithwaite 801-626-6566 • kylebraithwaite@weber.edu $2,500 $1,000 Silver Bronze WILDCATS BEYOND Thousands of miles away, on two separate continents, two groups from Weber State University empowered communities to make positive, lasting changes. Amy Hendricks MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS BORDERS I n Mozambique, Africa, women in the Boane district live in Rich has been at Weber State for 27 years as both a faculty tiny cinderblock homes on dirt plots. They don’t have much and staff member. After spending two years (2003-2005), at but are proud of what they do have. They keep their houses the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, she developed clean and their yards tidy. Most are widows — single moms an interest in community-engaged learning (learning with precious little mouths to feed. They walk to farms, where that incorporates service, democratic engagement and/or they work for miniscule wages. “We go out on the farm, do a community research). Her motto is, “You can’t live life singly. little bit of work, get a little bit of money, get a little bit of food You have to step out and make a difference.” and give to them (the children). There’s no other way to do it,” one Boane woman said, speaking her native Portuguese. Several years ago, Rich served as president of the Worldwide Despite their challenges, they live happily with very little Organization of Women. It was then she met Charlotte and — they dance, sing and tell stories. But these women also David Hamblin, founders of the nonprofit organization No Poor want to learn and create better lives, if not for themselves, for Among Us. “I knew they had been doing work in Mozambique, their children. and Charlotte shared a few of their experiences with me,” Rich Across the Atlantic, gang-related graffiti splatters the walls of parks in the poverty-stricken Peruvian neighborhoods of Jorge Chávez and Simón Bolivar. Known for drug deals and other illegal activity, these areas are so notoriously dangerous that taxi cab drivers often won’t go there. “We won’t go over the said. “She said some of the women had approached her and expressed a desire to have a center, a place where they could find hope, where they could learn English and other skills to strengthen their families and community.” And the seed was planted. white bridge,” one said, pulling over before crossing into Jorge Chávez. Despite the threats that exist, local kids play in the “I thought, you know, I have all of these wonderful students, parks, on rusted and broken equipment. They run barefoot wouldn’t it be great to get the power of Weber State University through sand littered with shards of glass. They laugh, enjoy behind this project,” Rich said. From there, she met with high-spirited fútbol games and return to their modest homes. faculty members Alicia Giralt, WSU’s women and gender Their parents want to protect them from the dangers within studies director and foreign language professor; Joanne their communities. They want to make a statement to the Lawrence, dance professor; and Jeremy Farner BS ’03, drug dealers and gang members: “These parks do not belong associate professor of design engineering technology. The to you. They belong to our children.” Hamblins and several students joined them. These are just glimpses into two areas of the world visited “We started writing what our goals would be for a project by two separate groups of WSU students, alumni, faculty like this,” Rich said. “We wanted to build a women’s center. and staff in 2014. They left with big plans to help these We wanted to focus on education for the women. And, of communities — plans initiated by the community members course, we wanted our students involved in every aspect, from themselves. Along the way, they faced tests, and surprises. research and travel to interpretation and teaching. At the end, They came back humbled, with gut-wrenching, yet uplifting we looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s put together a class.’” images etched on their hearts and one question echoing through their minds: Did we truly make a difference? In spring 2014, Weber State offered a course called “Mozambique: Place, Gender and Dance.” Rich thought 10 to The answer: absolutely. 12 students might sign up. “We had 35. 35!” Rich said, smiling. Twenty-four of the 35 signed up to travel to Africa. INTO AFRICA “A women’s center in Mozambique: This was one of those projects that you just get caught up in,” said associate geography professor Julie Rich BS ’81 (read more about Rich on page 8). “An idea is presented. You start sharing that idea. It begins to snowball. And you find yourself 10,000 miles away in Africa.” 30 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2015 It was an eclectic class. Students learned about the geography and culture of Mozambique. They researched topics the There were no structural supports. The concrete footings — the bottom part of the foundation that helps distribute and support the weight of the building — were only about a half-inch wide. There was no floor. “It was just scary construction. They had already cemented the outside of the building, and there were several places we had to dig out and put footings,” Farner said. A lot of work needed to be done — and construction materials were scarce — but everyone pitched in to help. “Only two students had previous construction experience, but everyone accomplished every task I gave them, despite short shovels and small ladders, and, for a time, the lack of a cement mixer,” Farner said. The challenges were overwhelming, but the experience was life-changing for Farner. “I went with the mindset women had expressed interest in, including literacy, that I was going to bring them the Western way of gardening, hygiene, chicken raising and first aid. They danced living,” he said. “I thought, ‘I’m going to provide them this African dances. They designed a mural for the center and large center and the happiness that we have by giving them started producing a documentary (visit weber.edu/wsumagazine a higher quality of life,’ and I came away knowing they’ve got to watch the video). some things figured out that maybe we’ve forgotten — that family is the most important The students also learned to fundraise. By the end of the semester, they had $50,000 to cover building costs and additional funding for travel expenses. That same semester, Farner and his design engineering technology students drew up building plans for the women’s center. The challenges were overwhelming, but the experience was life changing. Designed at 10 meters by 20 meters, the thing. It’s not the size of your home, it’s what happens in that home that matters.” The construction of the building was never intended to be one of the students’ main focuses, but they had to roll with the punches. Rich said, “When we plans were passed on to a Mozambican construction crew to got there and saw the state of the building, we had to stop build the structure. The overall plan was to have the center and ask ourselves, ‘How do we respond? Do we sit and weep 90 percent completed so that, by the time students arrived in because this wasn’t the plan or do we take action?’” May, it would only require some finishing touches. That way, students could concentrate on the women’s needs. They took action. But something got lost in translation. For 21 days, the students put in long, hard hours at the A BIG Surprise construction site, but also worked to teach the women, who gathered in mass to learn about basic financing, disease prevention, hygiene, and how to prepare soil for large- “We’ve built the Taj Mahal of women’s centers.” That was scale gardening (in the hopes they could sell their crops to Farner’s reaction when he first saw the building in person. local restaurants and hotels). “They were so grateful,” said The construction crew had mistakenly built the structure to elementary education major Ryann Thoits. “They sang to us be 20 meters by 30 meters. “Now, that doesn’t sound like a big about how happy they were that we were there. And they were difference, but in square footage it is. We went from 2,000 to just such hard workers. When we would arrive in the morning, 6,500 square feet,” he explained. Assured the space would be they were already there. These women know how to work, and put to good use, Farner was happy to see the center. they are willing to do whatever it takes to help their children.” But then he walked inside. Spring 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 31 A Difficult Subject “A big problem for girls in poverty-stricken areas is access to clean water,” explained Giralt. “Once they start to menstruate, they often stop going to school because they have no protection, they have no way to wash, no way to stay clean.” Kylie Peterson, a women and gender studies major, provided the girls with a solution: a reusable feminine care pad. Prior to leaving for Africa, students sewed 160 washable pads and 80 travel bags so the girls could carry them to school discreetly. While there, Peterson hosted two feminine hygiene classes. Nearly 150 girls attended. Not a single one had ever attended a feminine hygiene or sex education class, Peterson said. “In many countries, menstruation is just not spoken about,” she explained. “We chose this project because when you help girls manage their menstrual cycles, you help them stay in school. They won’t miss an entire week every month. They were so thankful, and I truly feel like I made a huge difference INTO PERU “Adding an international service project has been one of our goals for quite some time,” said Mike Moon, assistant director of WSU’s Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL). In fact, it was written into the center’s five-year strategic plan. In 2013 — with year five fast approaching — Brody Barnes BS ’04 and his wife, Jennifer Banach Barnes BS ’02, contacted Weber State (read more about the Barnes in class notes on page 49). The couple wished to fund an international trip — one that would bring students to a Spanish-speaking country that had tremendous community needs. Not even 12 months later, the Peru trip was a go. To get an idea of where to start and what to do in Peru, Moon reached out to the Peruvian consulate in Salt Lake City, Utah, David Utrilla, who also happens to be an alumnus of Weber State (see page 12 for more on David). “He gave us contacts in their lives.” at a Peruvian university that he was familiar with, Juan Mejía What’s Next? is interested, as Weber State is, in community engagement. Baca University,” Moon said. “As it turned out, Juan Mejía Baca They sent representatives to visit WSU’s campus, and we were A lot has changed since the WSU contingent left Africa. The really able to tie in our visions.” garden that was planted has yielded tomatoes, onions and parsley. The chicken house is up, meaning the women now In November 2013, Moon, CCEL director Brenda Kowalewski will learn to raise chickens. A water well has also been drilled. and Trevor Annis AS ’09, who, at the time, was the WSU Student Association’s (WSUSA) service vice president, traveled In January, Devin Gilbert BA ’14, who was an interpreter as to Peru (read more about Annis on page 12). There, they visited well as a makeshift construction worker on the trip, went back the communities that Juan Mejía Baca had been surveying and to Mozambique. Having recently graduated from WSU with a observed projects the university had been stewarding. They degree in Spanish (he also speaks Portuguese), he is serving witnessed a little boy suffer a gash while playing on broken an eight-month internship through No Poor Among Us as the playground equipment. They watched families rush to a water director of the women’s center. truck desperate to get enough water for the next two weeks (it Gilbert lives at the center — “It’s definitely big enough,” he joked — and teaches the women Portuguese literacy and wasn’t that the water in their homes was unclean, it was that they didn’t have any water in their homes). simple budgeting skills. “We will eventually teach them “These communities not only were impoverished but also English, but first we want them to know the business language forgotten, at least it seemed to me,” Kowalewski said. “The of their country as well as basic math skills so they can start people truly struggled.” their own businesses (such as sewing or selling produce or chickens),” he said. “We want to make sure they are educated Seven months later, Moon, Kowalewski, 18 students and six and can make it on their own. alumni boarded a plane to Peru. “That’s an important aspect of any humanitarian project. The The People change must come from the people themselves, from their own doing. Sometimes, even though their intentions are good, humanitarian organizations try to give help that isn’t in line with what the people want. In Mozambique, the women have decided what they want. We’re just helping them get there.” 32 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2015 “A huge welcoming party was waiting for us when we landed,” said elementary teaching major Tessa Diamond, the current WSUSA vice president of service. “They were just so thrilled to see us, and us them. They greeted us so lovingly, which I found out, is very Peruvian.” While there, students and alumni visited local elementary strategies on how to address those needs,” she said. “We schools, helped deliver water to families and worked on three just came in and provided the people power to help them main renovation projects — two parks and a daycare called implement those strategies. Today, they’ve established Rayitas de Sol, or Little Rays of Sun. “Some stuck to one place; community neighborhood committees who are working to others went to a different work site each day,” Diamond said. create safe spaces for their children. It’s a kind of governance, “Wherever we were, we worked hard, learned from the people if you will. Those people are assets. Those people are the ones and learned more about ourselves. who will make sure that these projects are sustainable.” “There’s something about going outside of your country into a The people were also memorable for Chris Sonognini BS ’06. place where things are completely strange. There’s a different “It was fun to be in the Peruvian communities and see their kind of humility and learning that accompanies service in a reactions to us being there,” he said. “It was cool to see the foreign land.” children interact with our group. The kids always seemed so happy and full of life. Some of the Diamond learned that a simple piece excitement was just the novelty of the of candy could make a child’s day situation. It’s not every day they get the and that a Peruvian man named chance to see people from America. Lucho could show her what it meant They were all very appreciative.” to work hard and be dedicated. “He was at Simón Bolivar every day. He Sonognini, who is an air traffic controller outworked everybody by a mile. in Idaho, was grateful to spend the He was so humble. When we were three weeks in Peru with students and finished, we nominated him to fellow alumni. While they accomplished christen the park and named him much, he wishes he had been able to the park’s godfather. The look on his do even more. “I think so many people face — he was not expecting that kind of recognition, but we are attracted to service for so many of the same reasons — to were so excited to give it. I don’t think I’ll ever forget him.” feel like we’re making a difference, to do something bigger for somebody else,” he said. “We definitely did that in Peru, but I There are resources like Lucho in every community, which think when you see the situations and the challenges that we is exactly what Kowalewski wanted students to see. “The were seeing, there’s always the desire to want to do even more.” community members identified what their needs were and Spring 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 33 The Promise of an Education “After the WSU group left, Lindsay and Josh stayed in Peru to travel, but they said, ‘This doesn’t feel right; we’ve got “For every trip we take, every service project we do, I feel like something bigger left to do here.’ So they went in search of my job is to give everybody the best experience possible,” this young man. Miraculously, they found him and pledged Moon said. “This trip, while wonderful, felt a little different to pay for his education — both high school and college, if he because some of our projects that we had planned fell through chose to pursue it.” (due to city regulations or requirements).” An education will make a huge difference in this boy’s life, Moon — quite arguably — felt like he had failed. A post-trip Kowalewski said. reception made him see otherwise. Each person had the opportunity to reflect on the trip. Two alumni, Josh Crawford- “Prior to Josh and Lindsay’s intervention he had said, ‘I’m Bizzel BA ’09, M.Ed ’14 and Lindsay Beddes BIS ’06, M.Ed. ’11, going to learn how to set up a juice stand on the corner.’ Now surprised him with their story. that he’s back in school, his intention is to become a police officer in the community. That’s a big difference, not only in “Josh and Lindsay worked on the daycare project,” Moon goals but also in the living wage and the financial stability of explained. “Every day, youth from a nearby school would his family. come help. Lindsay said there was one boy who had just this tremendous thirst for knowledge. As time passed, they learned “That’s huge. That’s the ripple effect.” he was no longer going to school because his family couldn’t afford tuition. A New Project, A Different Continent A humanitarian trip to Thailand is in the works for May 2015, this time including the trio of Julie Rich, Jeremy Farner and Mike Moon. Learn how to get involved and read the interesting backstory of this trip — how a WSU alumna connected with her former WSU supervisor, Carey Anson BS ’01, to help orphans in her native country — at weber.edu/wsumagazine. Should you wish to donate toward the students’ fundraising goal of $20,000, email mikemoon@weber.edu or call 801-626-7737. RESPECTED INNOVATIVE AFFORDABLE Earn your MBA at Weber State — a program that focuses on you and your success by: • Offering outstanding faculty and innovative curriculum • Accommodating your hectic schedule, meeting one evening per week with supplemental online learning • Providing flexibility, allowing you to switch between full and part time, anytime Choose your path. In addition to foundation courses, WSU also offers four graduate certificates* in: • Aerospace Management • Contract Management • Sustainability for Business • Information Systems & Technologies/ Information Assurance * Graduate certificates may be pursued as stand-alone degrees or as tracks within the MBA curriculum. Katie Barker - MBA, Class of 2005 Contracting Officer and Section Chief Precision Guided Munitions & Components Contracting, Hill Air Force Base weber.edu/MBANow A Weber State Alumnus Shares Stories from the World’s Most Perilous Regions Shane Farver BS ’04 MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Photos by Neil Brandvold BA ’06 At least Chela the pit bull was there to keep Neil Brandvold BA ’06 company. Sure, he got a lot of photo editing done, but it’s a bit lonely when you’re in the midst of a 21-day quarantine. And then there was the paranoia. Every sneeze or cough elicited the same question: Could it be Ebola? The email from his homeowners association representative didn’t ease his mind: “Are there precautions we need to take for the building if you were to get sick? My apologies for being paranoid. I just want to have a plan to protect everyone in the building if the worst were to happen.” Despite Ebola being difficult to transmit, and his assertion that the panic in much of the media coverage was unwarranted, Brandvold understood the fear the disease can create. After people who aren’t able to tell their stories,” he said. all, he had just spent more than two weeks at ground zero for That calling wasn’t as clear when Brandvold was a student West Africa’s Ebola outbreak: Sierra Leone and Liberia. Along with Guinea, those countries represented the heart of the outbreak that had killed more than 4,000 people by the time he left Africa. at Weber State, but it was forming. He remembers becoming enthralled with stories from across the world that he heard in his political science classes. He became co-president of the university’s Amnesty International chapter. He heard from It wasn’t like he was merely in those countries either. He was guest speakers like Carl Wilkens, the only American to stay right there, in the Ebola treatment centers, out on body- in Rwanda and bear witness to the 1990s genocide there. retrieval missions, pointing his bleach-cleansed camera at all He expressed his political opinions in a column for The the horror and devastation that surrounded him. Signpost and also served on a delegation for a model United “There (in Sierra Leone and Liberia), it’s just complete des- Nations on campus. peration and chaos,” he said. “They can’t build facilities quick Nancy Haanstad, retired WSU political science professor and enough, so people are just dying in the streets. People are in former faculty advisor for WSU’s Amnesty International chap- front of the entrance to get into the hospital, and there just ter, said Brandvold’s passion for helping his fellow man was aren’t enough beds.” apparent years ago. Then there’s the aftermath. For instance, there was the girl, “That’s the sort of thing that interests Neil: the people on the 16-year-old Miatta, who suddenly became the head of the bottom of the social and economic ladder,” she said. household after Ebola killed her parents. Not only was she Brandvold’s passion for exploration was evident during his caring for her 1-year-old son, she was now caring for her two younger sisters and her younger brother. She was responsible for their food, clothing and shelter. No one was left to lift that burden from her. with questions to ask her — what do you talk about?” Brandvold asked. “I don’t know that she even understood the gravity of the situation.” It’s Brandvold’s job to convey the gravity of situations across the world. Since graduating from Weber State with a political science degree, he has charged into environments that others run from: disease outbreak in West Africa; a Congolese civil war; revolution in Libya, Egypt and Honduras; Voodoo rituals in post-earthquake Haiti; snake-handling churches in the deep South. The freelance photojournalist and videographer — whose work has appeared in National Geographic, The Washington Post, USA Today, BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera — sees running toward danger as his life’s calling. “The most important thing I can do with my life is to try to put myself in situations where I can help tell the stories of weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2015 that, on a whim, he took a quick weekend trip to New York City’s Central Park to see “The Gates” art installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. He just “had to see it,” she said. “Just coming up 38 college days as well. One Monday morning, he told Haanstad “That spirit of adventure, he’s always had that,” Haanstad said. “He wants to be where the action is.” A 2009 trip to Honduras as a citizen journalist documenting a coup started Brandvold on a path to the most dangerous regions in the world. Since then, he has not only documented the world’s most threatening places, he advises others how to safely operate in them. In addition to his work as a photojournalist, he serves as an operations manager for FHI 360, a global, family-development-focused nonprofit. There, he provides security and safety logistics for various regions across the world. He has prepared himself for conflict zones by taking post- traumatic stress disorder courses and emergency medical courses, but nothing could prepare him for the invisible enemy of Ebola. It isn’t as simple as running away from the sounds of gunfire, he said. Regardless of whether the assignment is about civil war or Ebola, the fear never really goes away. “If people say they’re not afraid, they are either lying or they’re stupid,” he said. Danger aside, he’s not done documenting. He’s wrapping up a feature-length documentary on the March 23 Movement rebels he spent time with in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And he keeps in touch with the Weber State faculty who helped form who he is today. Haanstad said he still sends his pictures to her from time to time. Brandvold’s Weber State education enabled him to turn his curiosity about the world and his sense of adventure into a career. He encourages others to do the same. Brandvold produced and edited a video for National Geographic that takes people through a Doctors Without Borders Ebola clinic in West Africa. To view the video, visit weber.edu/wsumagazine. “The world is small,” he said. “There are a lot of opportunities to do what you really want.” MASTER OF SCIENCE IN NURSING Weber State University’s Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) curriculum offers two concentrations: Nursing Education and Nursing Administration. Both programs are designed to promote national guidelines and competencies that enable graduates to make a significant contribution to education and healthcare environments. A Post-Master’s Certification is also available for those looking to expand existing nursing knowledge and advance employment opportunities. For more info: 801-626-6753 or weber.edu/MSN An education that speaks for itself. Salutes WSU WSU Salutes 2014 honorees: left to right Back row: Robert H. “Bob” Garff; James S. “Jim” Hinckley; Lonah G. Masinde BS ’09, MED ’10; Roger J. Trinchero BS ’69; H. DeWayne Ashmead BS ’70; Trevor Annis AS ’09; George E. Hall Front row: Troy R. Child BA ’89; Katharine Garff; Eugele “Jill” Baird Ashmead BS ’91; India Nielsen AS ’13; David Utrilla See next page for biographies. Photo by Robert Casey Salutes WSU { DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS } Twenty years ago, civil unrest drove David Utrilla from his native Peru to the U.S. At Weber State, he perfected his English and learned how to capitalize on his entrepreneurial spirit, eventually starting the successful U.S. Translation Company. Utrilla is Utah’s honorary consul to Peru (see page 32 to read how Utrilla helped with WSU’s trip to Peru). He generously supports the Goddard School of Business & Economics and also serves on the school’s advisory board. He is a former advisor to WSU’s Richard Richards Institute for Ethics. { DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS } When Troy R. Child BA ’89 was in Yasmen Simonian’s hematology class, she was convinced he wasn’t paying attention. So every day she called on Child to answer an impossible question. He was never wrong. Child is now McKay-Dee Hospital’s chief of anesthesiology. A dedicated humanitarian, he has provided free health care in West Africa. For more than seven years, Child has prepared classroom presentations for Weber State students. He also established the O. Rex Child Medical Laboratory Sciences Scholarship in honor of his father. { OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNA } Lonah G. Masinde BS ’09, MED ’10 was teaching school in her native Kenya when she made the gutsy, but heartwrenching decision to leave her 13-year-old daughter with relatives to further her education in the U.S. After earning a bachelor’s degree in child and family studies, and a Master of Education, Masinde was hired by the Weber School District. Masinde dreams of returning to Kenya to help change the harsh way children with mental and physical challenges are treated there. { DISTINGUISHED SERVICE } Ogden business owner George E. Hall is not a Weber State alumnus, but you’d never know it given his devotion to the university and its Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities. Hall’s vision and funding of the “Blue Bottles” installation art project at Utah Bottling Works allowed visual art students to gain real-world experience. Hall chairs the Lindquist College’s advisory board, sits on the WSU Research Foundation board and belongs to the Wildcat Club. George and his wife, Mary Hall BS ’85, frequently host dinners to support students, faculty and programs. They also established a scholarship in memory of George’s mother. { EMERITI ALUMNI LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT } Roger J. Trinchero BS ’69 played for the 1966 Rose Bowlwinning UCLA Bruins before transferring to Weber State where he earned honorable mention All-American honors. Following graduation and a tour of duty in Vietnam, he developed marketing and distribution strategies for Sutter Home, his family’s winery. In 1998 he helped launch Trinchero Family Estates — now the U.S.’s second largest family-owned winery. In 2012 Trinchero received the Patriot Award for holding jobs open until employees return from military service. He generously supported the construction of WSU’s Marquardt Field House. 42 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2015 October 9, 2014 { PRESIDENT’S AWARD } Starting with entry-level detail jobs at his grandfather’s car dealership, James S. “Jim” Hinckley worked his way up to general manager and eventually bought the Ogden dealership in 1987. Now retired, he operates an auto body and race shop that has built two cars that set six land-speed world records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. He is a staunch advocate of higher education and chairs a Hinckley family investment committee that oversees funding for thousands of Utah college students, including two scholarship funds at Weber State. { LEWIS W. SHURTLIFF AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION } Auto magnate and former Utah House Speaker Robert H. “Bob” Garff and his wife, Katharine, established the Success in Education Foundation, with a vision of Utah elementary students becoming the best readers in the country, and Utah high school graduates having the nation’s highest college enrollment rate. Today, almost every Utah public school has adopted the foundation’s incentive programs. The foundation also offers college scholarships. Katharine is a past member of the Utah State Board of Regents and former chair of the State Board of Education. As an advisor to WSU’s Richard Richards Institute for Ethics, Bob helped create an annual ethics scholarship. { EMERITI ALUMNI HOMECOMING ROYALTY } Smitten with his high school sweetheart, Eugele “Jill” Baird Ashmead BS ’91, H. DeWayne Ashmead BS ’70 followed her to Weber State where he majored in business and she studied early childhood education. After their 1966 marriage, Jill supported DeWayne’s efforts to expand his father’s small pharmaceutical company into one of the world’s leading manufacturers of mineral health products. Currently Albion’s president and chairman of the board, DeWayne still finds time to serve on advisory groups at WSU, including the National Advisory Council. The couple established a scholarship program for single mothers at Weber State. { STUDENT HOMECOMING ROYALTY } India Nielsen AS ’13 and Trevor Annis AS ’09 share a passion for volunteer work. Nielsen is a senior studying civil and legal advocacy. While serving as the Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities student senator, Nielsen was named Senator of the Year by the WSU Student Association. She was awarded a summer internship in Washington, D.C., through the Olene S. Walker Institute of Politics & Public Service. Annis, a senior majoring in microbiology, hopes to attend medical school. He helped plan the Center for Community Engaged Learning’s first international service trip to Peru (see page 32 for more about the trip). Annis is a former vice president of the student association’s community service program. To view biographical videos on each of the award recipients, visit weber.edu/wsumagazine. To nominate outstanding individuals for the 2015 WSU Salutes awards, visit alumni.weber.edu/wsusalutesform. GOURMET DRINKS & PASTRIES | WEBER WEAR | WSU MERCHANDISE NAME-BRAND TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS & ACCESSORIES | APPLE AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTER Visit our gorgeous new location in downtown Ogden! 2314 Washington Blvd., Ogden • Open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. CLASS NOTES A L U M N I U P D AT E S ’50s Paul Favero AS ’54 has owned his own dental practice for over 50 years. Though his son and granddaughter now run the practice, Paul continues to see patients one day a week. He works and operates his large cattle ranch five days a week. Paul has served on WSU’s National Advisory Council for many years. He and his wife, Jeri, live in Sacramento, California. Nelson E. Wright AS ’55 practiced internal medicine in Salt Lake City until he retired in 2007. He graduated from the University of Utah School of Medicine and received additional training at the University of Washington. He spent three years with the U.S. Air Force at Ramstein Air Base in Germany during the Berlin crisis. He began his practice in 1968 and served on the Cottonwood Hospital tumor board and cardiovascular panel. Nelson is married to Nancy Frasier Wright AS ’55. A retired secondary education teacher, she taught in the Salt Lake City, Granite and Seattle school districts, and for the U.S. Air Force. Nancy has served as the local, state and national Medical Alliance president and as a member of the Utah State Crime Victims Reparations Board and the Domestic Violence Council. She is a PTA and church volunteer. Nelson and Nancy have one daughter, two sons, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Utah State L University, L. George Stettler AS ’56 was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, Let’s Party… like we used to! Greek Life and Social Club Reunion Homecoming Weekend, Sept. 18-19, 2015 Join your brothers and sisters for a reception and dinner on Friday, then cheer on the Wildcat football team Saturday. For more information or to register, visit: alumni.weber.edu/greekreunion 44 alumni.weber.edu | Spring 2015 where he served for five years with a final rank of captain. He spent 18 years in management at Mobil Oil Corporation. George has been an insurance agent at State Farm for the past 31 years in Cathedral City, California, where he served two terms as mayor and was also president of the chamber of commerce and senior center. He is also a past president of the Palm Springs chapter of the Association of Naval Aviation and First Marine Division Association. George and his wife, Louise, have a blended family of seven children and 13 grandchildren. After graduating from a small high school in Sanpete County, Utah, Dean L. Allan AS ’59 became an orderly at LDS Hospital. Soon thereafter, he was accepted into Weber College’s two-year nursing program and was the sole male member of his class. After graduation, Dean worked in the Dee Hospital psychiatric unit before attending the University of Utah, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Dean worked at LDS Hospital until 1968, and then moved to Washington state, where he worked at Cabrini Hospital until 1972 and Group Health Cooperative until 1995. He received a master’s degree in psychology in 1991 and opened a private psychotherapy practice. He There are more than 26,000 REASONS * was also a telephone triage nurse. Dean retired in spring 2013. He is married to his longtime partner, Peter. taught for nearly eight years. Previously, he was a county planner in Wyoming, Utah and Nebraska. Steve is a member of the American Institute of City Planners and a 17-year member of the Utah National Guard, serving as sergeant A Bob Newman BS ’66 spent 34 first class while working as a years as an Ogden physician German linguist. He served and surgeon specializing in two missions in Germany, one obstetrics and gynecology. with his wife, Vicki Thurston After serving in the military A Young BS ’68. Also a teacher, and as an LDS missionary Vicki retired in 2009 after in Brazil, he attended Weber 32 years in the profession, State and later graduated from 23 of which she taught civics the Washington University and geography at Central School of Medicine in St. Davis Junior High. Vicki Louis, Missouri. Bob served his has been a recipient of the residency at Parkland Hospital Huntsman Award and the Utah in Dallas. While practicing in Geography Alliance Teacher Ogden, he led surgical teams of the Year award. She is also on 10 trips to Mali, Africa, to in the Davis School District consult and treat patients. He Hall of Fame. Steve and Vicki was honored by the Standardhave four children and seven Examiner as a Weber State grandchildren. distinguished alumnus in the field of medicine and was L C. Robert Day BS ’69 retired a recipient of the “Heroes in after serving 38+ years in the Workplace” award from federal service. His last the University of Utah. He position was supply systems served on the Utah Medical analyst for the Department of Association Board of Directors, Defense’s Defense Logistics and in 2003 was named Weber Agency. Bob received County Doctor of the Year. He a Meritorious Civilian and his wife, Eleanor, have two Service Award as well as a sons, four daughters and 15 Distinguished Career Service grandchildren. Award. He has worked and ’60s lived in Spain, England, Puerto Rico and seven states. He worked at Weber State for 36 L and his wife, Nancy H. Day, years, retiring in 2005. He live in Etters, Pennsylvania, began as assistant to the dean and have three children, of students and retired as the three grandsons and a university’s registrar. His wife, granddaughter. They volunteer A Judith Jeppson Hurst BS ’64, at a local elementary school MS ’86, retired from Weber and at a no-kill animal shelter. State after 20 years of service, working as the director of student activities and assistant dean of students at WSU A Marge Haviland AS ’70 Davis. Both Winslow and retired from McKay-Dee Judith served on the Emeriti Alumni Council. They have six Hospital as a registered nurse children and 24 grandchildren. after 35 years of service in the emergency room, where A Robert S. (Steve) Young she was an ER Employee of BA ’68 retired from North the Year. She played semiLayton Junior High, where he professional softball for the A L. Winslow Hurst BS ’67 ’70s TO JOIN THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION HERE’S ONE: “This is my senior year at Weber State, and I am so grateful for the financial help I have received from the Alumni Association. I can’t put into words what a difference it has made, in my schooling and my personal life. I will be forever grateful to the people who made this possible. My only hope is that one day I will be fortunate enough to return the favor.” — Nick DeYoung, zoology major SPONSOR A STUDENT.* Join the Alumni Association. alumni.weber.edu/sponsor *One student per Alumni Association member L A Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association Annual Member of the Alumni Association Member of the Alumni Association’s 125 Club CLASS NOTES A L U M N I U P D A T E S Utah Shamrocks for 11 years and was inducted into the Utah Softball Hall of Fame. Marge is a volunteer nurse with the Red Cross, the Medical Reserve Corps for the Weber-Morgan Health Department and the Ogden Rescue Mission’s free clinic. She serves on WSU’s Emeriti Alumni Council. A Sondra Anne Reed BS ’70 retired after more than 39 years as a medical technologist for a special coagulation laboratory at the Mayo Clinic. She volunteers for Safe Haven Pet Rescue and March of Dimes. She lives in Rochester, Minnesota. A In 2001, Gerrit W. Wolthuis AS ’70, BS ’71 started his own company, Wolthuis Financial Group, in South Ogden, Utah. He is involved in residential lending and insurance sales. Prior to graduating from Weber State, he worked at Walker Bank (also known as First Interstate Bank, then Wells Fargo Bank). Gerrit worked at Zions Bank from 1984 until retiring in 2000 as vice president over residential loan production in Weber County. Born and raised in Ogden, he served a mission in the Netherlands, the birth country of his father. He and his wife, Marilou, live in North Ogden, Utah, and are the parents of five sons and 10 grandchildren. Gerrit is a member of WSU’s Emeriti Alumni Council. America. Fran is the first Utah lawyer to serve as the ACTL president. Thomas (Tom) L. Wilkinson BS ’73 is the president and owner of Heritage Financial Services. He previously was a managing partner with MassMutual and worked as development director for the Pi Kappa Alpha national fraternity. Tom is president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Nebraska Foundation Board, and is a member of the Superintendents Business Advisory Council, Millard Rotary and Hogan’s Junior Golf Heroes/The First Tee of Omaha Board. He is also the public affairs director for the Omaha Stake of the LDS church. Tom lives in Omaha, Nebraska, with his wife, Catherine (Cathy) Wright Wilkinson BS ’73. A teacher, Cathy has taught in Ogden and Omaha. The Wilkinsons have four children and four grandchildren. of the Weber Association of Master Gardeners and a past president of the WSU Alumni Association Board of Directors. Ruby is currently a member of WSU’s Emeriti Alumni Council. A Carolyn Rich-Denson BS ’79 is a neonatologist for McKayDee Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. She graduated from the University of Utah Medical School in 1983. Prior to working in Ogden, Carolyn worked in Arizona. She has two daughters, two sons and three grandchildren. ’80s A Toni Green Perkins BS a “top ten small business to work for” in the Los Angeles area. Epic Freight Solutions is a domestic and international transportation provider, specializing in expedited and managed deliveries. Robert currently lives in Redondo Beach, California. Gary Stidham BS ’84 is the director of administration for Questar. He and his wife, Debbie, live in Taylorsville, Utah, and have five children and six grandchildren. They are active in the United Way of Salt Lake’s leadership council. Scott B. Sessions BA ’85 works for LDS Employment Resource Services and lives in Mesa, Arizona, with his wife, Julie. He is the vice president of recruitment for the Arizona Chapter of WSU’s Alumni Association. ’82, MS ’92 retired after 32 years of service to the Weber School District as a resource reading and math teacher. She worked at South Ogden Junior A Brian W. Motes AS ’86, BS High, Roy Junior High and ’89 is a buyer for Weber State Riverdale Elementary. Toni A University. His wife, Sondra belongs to the Utah Education Jolovich Motes BS ’89, is Association and Weber an executive director at the Education Association. She Ogden City School District. has one son, four stepchildren, They have two children. Edward D. Armstrong BS and nine step-grandchildren. ’74 is the owner of Cactus A Brenda Mason Wheelwright She and her husband, Brett, Consulting, a company BS ’86, MS ’87 is the chief live in West Point, Utah. in Loveland, Colorado, deputy treasurer for Weber that specializes in project A Joan Loffredo BS ’83 is a County. She and her husband, management and controls diocesan finance officer for the Paul, have two children and integration. He previously Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake one grandchild. Brenda worked for Kodak Polychrome City. She previously spent volunteers for the Boys and Graphics and Eastman Kodak three years in the brokerage Girls Clubs of Weber-Davis. Company. industry as a financial Nathan J. Oliver BS ’87 is a principal and seven years in L Ruby Fuller Raccasi BA ’74 public accounting. Joan serves delivery manager for Experis retired after 34 years of federal IT, a global information on various diocesan boards service, most of which were technology consulting firm. He and committees. She lives in A senior litigation shareholder spent in human resources lives near Portland, Oregon, Salt Lake City. with Parsons Behle & Latimer with her last position being where he oversees software in Salt Lake City, Francis the labor relations officer at Robert E. Reis BS ’84 is the development for clients in M. Wikstrom BS ’71 has Hill Air Force Base. Ruby founder and chief operating Oregon, California, Utah and been elected president of the has a daughter, a son (who officer of Epic Freight Idaho. Nate was formerly American College of Trial is also a WSU graduate) and Solutions, which was recently the vice president of IT for Lawyers (ACTL), the premier two grandchildren. She is the recognized by The Los a specialty finance firm in professional organization treasurer for the Ogden Valley Angeles Business Journal as Beaverton, Oregon. He is of trial lawyers in North Land Trust, a board member 46 alumni.weber.edu | Spring 2015 L A Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association Annual Member of the Alumni Association Member of the Alumni Association’s 125 Club BRINGING THE a member of the Portland chapter of the Society for Information Management and serves on the board of the Columbia County Coastal Conservation Association. Nate also serves as an officer for the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the WSU Alumni Association. He and his wife, Patricia, have two daughters. A to You Lois Pritchett Graviet BS ’89 works part time for consulting companies CITTA, Inc. and CITTA Brokerage Company, where she assists with legal research, graphic design and writing. She has a son, two daughters, seven grandchildren (one of whom is deceased), four greatgrandchildren and a longtime boyfriend. She and her daughters provide volunteer care for feral cats, having them spayed or neutered and returned to their habitat. ’90s Ted M. Bixby BA ’90 is the owner and head of sales for FINA Collectibles, a highend retailer of collectibles specializing in Disney and Golden Age comic books. Previously, he was the owner and head chef at the five-star Cardinal Room Restaurant and Art Gallery in the Midwest. Ted also worked for Caterpillar as a sales marketing manager responsible for generator sales in Florida. He and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Dunlap, Illinois, with their two children. They are members of the Bradley University Braves Scholarship Society, which supports the tuition needs of scholar-athletes. Ted is the head of the Dunlap Youth Basketball League. T wenty years ago, Joe Dallimore BS ’97, Chris Hatch BA ’97, Casey Madsen BS ’99 and Ryan Taylor BA ’97 hopped in a rented Ford Taurus and hit the road, Tallahassee bound to watch the Wildcats play No. 3 seed Michigan State in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. They left on a Wednesday afternoon and arrived 44 hours later, stopping once, very briefly, to sleep in the press box at a random football stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The die-hard Wildcats traveled over 4,000 miles round-trip and were rewarded with a huge Weber State win. Today, the four friends are scattered across the U.S., but their affinity toward WSU is as strong as ever. Joe is on the Alumni Association’s board of directors. Chris, Casey and Ryan are officers for the newly formed regional alumni chapters in Texas, Southern Utah/Nevada, and Arizona. They’re proof that no matter where you live, you can still be involved in your alma mater. If you’re looking to find fellow Wildcats in your area, or if you’d like to know more about regional chapters, visit alumni.weber.edu/regionalchapters or call 801-626-7535. To read Ryan’s full account of the Tallahassee trip, visit weber.edu/wsumagazine. CLASS NOTES A L U M N I U P D A T E S Thomas C. Daniels BS ’92 is a supervisory attorney and hearing office director for the Social Security Administration’s Office of Disability Adjudication and Review for Orange, California. He was previously a career diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, last serving as the human resources officer for the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Germany. He was also a political officer in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a political liaison officer at the German-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kunduz, Afghanistan, and a consular officer in Washington, D.C., and Surabaya, Indonesia. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps. Thomas graduated with honors from the University of Tulsa College of Law, and later worked in private practice in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After 9/11, he sold his practice and joined the Foreign Service. Thomas was awarded the U.S. State Department’s Superior Honor Award for service in Bali and Afghanistan. He was also awarded the Meritorious Honor Award for service in Sri Lanka. Thomas is a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans. He and his wife, Linda, live in Temple City, California. A 14-year associate English professor at Brigham Young University, Brett C. McInelly BA ’92 received the institution’s Alcuin Fellowship in General Education. He is the author of Textual Warfare and the Making of Methodism, and is a member and past president of the South Central Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. Brett and his wife, Kristin, live in Spanish Fork, Utah, and have five children. A Shauna Nielsen Gibby BS YOUR ALUMNI ASSOCIATION YOU T O U P D AT E Y O U R P R O F I L E . By filling out a quick form online, you can make sure you receive important notifications, including event invitations and regional chapter news. VISIT alumni.weber.edu/update TO UPDATE YOUR INFORMATION. 48 alumni.weber.edu | Spring 2015 ’94 is a graphic designer for Deseret Book Company. She volunteers with Boys Scouts of America and her church. Shauna and her husband, John, live in Layton, Utah. They have one daughter, four sons and 13 grandchildren. Russell L. Porter BS ’94, MS ’05 is a member of the South Ogden City Council, a position he’s held for five years. A graduate of Bonneville High, he has dedicated 20 years to teaching and mentoring young people there and also spent 12 years as the school’s varsity baseball coach. He authored the South Ogden City History book published in 2012. Brian L. Schiele BA ’94 was recently promoted to a lead legal administrative specialist at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Salt Lake City regional office. He was instrumental in raising awareness for veteran suicide with the 2014 state resolution that declared July 3 “Call Your Military Hero Day.” A fly fisherman and photographer, Brian has been featured in Kype Magazine, an online fly-fishing magazine, and on the film photography blog Develop & Fix. For the past three years, former Ogden mayor Matthew R. Godfrey BA ’95, MS ’95 has been the chief executive officer of Better City, a real estate brokerage and economic development consulting company. Matthew and his wife, Monica A. Godfrey BS ’95, have five children. David M. Dixon BS ’96 is a human resource director for Petersen Inc., a manufacturer of equipment, machinery and specialized parts. He serves on the State Workforce Investment Board, Weber Workforce Development Committee and the Northern Utah Human Resources Association. Dave and his wife, Stephanie, live in North Ogden, Utah, and have three children. Mark D. Peterson BS ’98 was recently promoted to executive director of Ernst & Young LLP’s assurance practice in Salt Lake City. He joined the practice in 1998 and had been serving as a senior manager. Mark assists clients in a number of industries, including technology, home security, solar energy, manufacturing, utilities, business consulting and life sciences. He is a certified public accountant licensed to practice in Utah and is a member of the American Institute of CPAs. A Betty H. Simons M.Ed. ’98 was a coordinator and advisor her husband, Scott, live in for quota attainment. He is a WSU Career Services for WSU’s Education Access Syracuse, Utah, and have three is president of the Pacific counselor, a position she’s held and Outreach program and children. Denise volunteers Northwest Chapter of the WSU for more than 16 years. She for the Your Community for the Student Affairs Alumni Association and is a is a member of the Mountain Connection organization. He Advancement Council and volunteer basketball, soccer, Pacific Association of Colleges was also an educator for Davis participates in various roles softball and baseball coach. A Brody and his wife, Jennifer and Employers, a past officer of and Box Elder school districts. with Crossroads Christian the Rotary Club, and past chair Sheldon is the co-chair of Fellowship. Banach Barnes AS ’05, live of the Ogden City Mayor’s WSU’s StrengthsQuest in Camas, Washington, and David L. Carter BS ’02 Multicultural Advisory Advisory Committee and a have three children. Jen is a co-founded and is CEO of Council and Ogden-Weber past president of the Ogden stay-at-home mom who does ZumaVentures, a venture Applied Technology College Area Youth Alliance. His wife, photography on the side. She studio in Santa Monica, board. She has also been Shauna Mann Cheshire BSN is a school volunteer, and a member of various WSU ’98, BS ’10, is a registered labor California. He has personally teaches and leads youth at her funded 23 companies primarily church (see page 32 for more committees and planning and delivery nurse for McKaybased in California and Utah. groups. Betty has presented Dee Hospital. on the Barnes). He served on the board and in at a number of national and As a 14-year river restoration an advisory role for 13 of the Jason Murray BA ’04, BS international conferences. She specialist for the Utah companies, and was the CEO ’08 is president and CEO of lives in Syracuse, Utah, with Division of Wildlife Resources, and founder of three. In 2012, Providence Group, which owns her husband, Jeff Simons, A Benjamin K. Nadolski BS ’00 David was listed by Forbes as and operates skilled nursing and has six children and 11 engages local communities “one of the 12 entrepreneurs facilities, assisted living grandchildren. and partners in efforts to that are changing L.A. forever” facilities, and home health Howard S. Stoker BS ’99 was restore the wildlife habitats for his work in co-founding and hospice agencies across promoted from senior manager and socio-economic AmplifyLA and serving as a several states. He previously to partner of Ernst & Young opportunities that rivers strategic advisor. David lives worked as operations officer LLP’s assurance practice in provide. Ben currently serves in Malibu, California, and for Intermountain Healthcare Salt Lake City. He is a certified on the board of directors serves on WSU’s National in Park City, Utah. He lives in public accountant licensed for the Wildcat Club and Advisory Council. Mountain Green, Utah. to practice in Utah and is a the GOAL Foundation. He Melanie VanZweden Conger Nicole Swander Wycherley member of the American is active in numerous other BS ’03, MBA ’13 is a fund BS ’04, M.Ed. ’08 is a nutrition Institute of CPAs. Howard community-based committees accounting manager for educator for Weber State. serves clients ranging from and initiatives. Ben and UMB Fund Services, formerly She previously worked as a development-stage companies his wife, Jaynee, have two JD Clark & Co. She began health educator for McKayto large multinational daughters. as a fund accountant, was Dee Hospital. Nicole and companies in technology, Ginger Bess Simons BA promoted to senior fund her husband, Nathan, live in biotechnology and consumer ’01 is an adjunct faculty accountant, then promoted Hooper, Utah, and have two products markets. voice teacher at Weber State to her current position. Her children. She has qualified Corey C. Thornock BS ’99 and a professional actress. husband, Nate Conger BS ’09, for the Boston Marathon, and is an information systems Ginger sings smooth jazz and is a partner channel manager she teaches Pilates and group director for Intermountain adaptations of America’s most for MarketStar. Melanie and fitness. Healthcare. He completed his beloved songs from the ’30s, Nate live in Mountain Green, A Michael T. Meyers AS MBA in 2014 and belongs to ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. Ginger Utah, with their daughter. ’05, BS ’10, MTax ’11 is a the local and national chapters belongs to the Actor’s Equity A Brody I. Barnes BS ’04 is senior associate for Schmidt of the Information Technology Association and is married an area sales manager for Westergard & Company, PLLC, Senior Management Forum to Daniel T. Simons BA ’00, Lumenis, a global leader a professional accounting firm and Help Desk Institute. He also a professional actor. They in the field of minimally in Mesa, Arizona. He and his and his wife, Amy, live in live in Ogden with their two invasive clinical solutions for wife, Anna, have six children. Ogden with their four children. children. the surgical, ophthalmology A Lester L. Stone BS ’05 A Denise G. Thielfoldt BS ’01 and aesthetic market. He became the director of the is a development director previously worked for Intuitive 523rd Electronic Maintenance for Student Affairs at Weber Surgical-daVinci Robot and Sheldon Cheshire BS ’00, Squadron at Hill Air Force State. She previously worked Covidien as a senior clinical M.Ed. ’10 is the coordinator Base in 2013. He manages 160 as a development director for sales representative and has of leadership programs at personnel who are engaged in March of Dimes and Makebeen a three-time recipient Weber State. He previously providing valuable electronic a-Wish of Utah. She and of the Winners Circle award ’00s L A Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association Annual Member of the Alumni Association Member of the Alumni Association’s 125 Club Spring 2015 | alumni.weber.edu 49 CLASS NOTES A L U M N I U P D A T E S support to the nation’s warfighters. A 38-year federal employee, he previously served as deputy director and chief of exchangeable production support for various squadrons at Hill. Les is also an adjunct athletic training and health and human performance instructor at WSU, and supports concurrent enrollment for athletic training at surrounding high schools. A Mountain Green Fire Protection District volunteer, he has served as fire chief since 2003 and has led 15 volunteers in providing EMS and fire services to the local Mountain Green and Morgan communities. Les has been involved in the State of Utah Emergency Medical Technician Instructor/Trainer leadership. Jonathan is State University College of Dentistry for dental school an expert at reading body language and created a system and residency. Michael and his wife, Candice, have three of reading body language children. specific to U.S. military interrogation operations. He Jonathan R. Volcansek BS ’05 and his wife, Amanda, live in L Sean A. Franzen AS ’08, BS ’11, MS ’13 previously worked serves in the Utah National Eagle Mountain, Utah, with for Costco Wholesale and at Guard. He is a freelance their four children. the Weber State Bookstore. writer and is in the process A Ron Boyer MBA ’07 is the Sean serves as the vice of starting a consulting information technology president of service for the company based on reading Theta Tau Chapter of Beta body language. Jonathan director for Summit County, Alpha Psi, an accounting Utah. He was previously was a military interrogator in honor society. For the past employed by Fidelity Trust Ninewa Province, Iraq, from three seasons, he has assisted 2010 to 2011 and earned both Company and AT&T. Ron his brother, Brad A. Franzen and his wife, Suzanne, live in the Army Commendation and Coalville, Utah, and have three BS ’08, with clubhouse Army Achievement medals. manager duties for the Ogden He also ran a team of human children. Raptors. Sean’s older brother, intelligence collectors. He Michael R. Richards BS ’07 is Charlie A. Stoll, works as a speaks French and Arabic an orthodontist at Farr West machinist for Parker Hannifin fluently and instructs the Orthodontics in Farr West, in North Ogden, Utah. U.S. military on interrogation Utah. He attended The Ohio techniques and military program since 1999. In 2008, he was named Volunteer of the Year for Red Cross of Northern Utah. He has a daughter and grandson. Add Weber whimsy to your walls! Famed folk artist Eric Dowdle’s oh-so-popular campus landscape captures the heart and soul of Weber’s past, present and future. Get your puzzle or keepsake print for $18.89 (in honor of the university’s founding year). A number of other specialty items are also available. Be Part Of The Art: For an additional $200, Dowdle will draw you and up to four others into the picture. Proceeds help fund student scholarships. alumni.weber.edu/dowdle 50 alumni.weber.edu | Spring 2015 Aaron M. Halley BS ’09 is a project manager for Sorensen Construction in Syracuse, Utah. He and his wife, Leah, live in Ogden and have a son and two daughters. ’10s Christopher W. Bentley BIS ’10 is a public affairs specialist for the U.S. Forest Service. He received a master’s degree in public administration from Indiana University, where he worked as a service corps fellow. He completed internships at the White House and a corporate bank. Chris lives in Gresham, Oregon, where he is president of the Central City Neighborhood Association board. He also serves on the Gresham Arts Foundation board and the City of Gresham’s Natural Resource and Sustainability Committee, Redevelopment Advisory Committee, and the Mayor’s Revisioning Committee. Jace Warren AS ’10 is self-employed as the CEO and founder of Freelance Programming. He and his wife, Ariel, live in Ogden. Jason M. McOmber BS ’11 is the director of DirecTV for business for DSI Systems. He previously served as vice president of sales for Groove Satellite. Jason has one son. Lonald D. Wishom BS ’12 is a legislative correspondent for U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch. Lonald lives in Washington, D.C. Lauren Gardner BA ’13 is a producer for KTBC Fox 7 in Austin, Texas. She previously worked as a producer for Fox 13 News in Salt Lake City. Lauren is a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas and is a member of the Writers’ League of Texas. Mandee Miller Thomas BA ’13 is a graphic designer for Grant Victor, a retail-style ATM service and solutions provider headquartered in Kaysville, Utah. Her husband, Isaac Thomas BS ’14, is employed by Enterprise RentA-Car in Ogden. Mandee and Isaac have one son. Taylor Ward AA ’13, BS ’14 qualified for the 2016 Olympic Trials after running the Houston Marathon in January. With a time of 2 hours, 38 minutes, 30 seconds, she placed 10th overall in the women’s race and was one of four Americans finishing in the top 10. Crystalee Webb Beck MPC ’14 is the social community manager for MarketStar in Ogden. She previously developed training content and was a flight attendant for SkyWest Airlines. Crystalee presented her master’s thesis research at an international conference in Hong Kong, where she was awarded best theoretical paper and best presentation (see page 7 for more on Crystalee’s research). She and her husband, Ryan K. Beck BS ’12, have one daughter. EXECUTIVE MHA Weber State University’s new Executive Master of Health Administration degree is designed for working professionals who may not have the ability to travel to a traditional campus. HYBRID FORMAT Each course combines the convenience of online classes with the benefit of faceto-face instruction. Classes meet just once per semester. ACCELERATED PROGRAM The entire program is just five semesters long. ALL-INCLUSIVE PROGRAM The flat-rate tuition fee covers everything. Your tuition, fees, books, and even your lunch during your on-campus visits are all included. Tuition is not higher for out-of-state students. STARTS FALL 2015 - APPLY BY APRIL 1 Learn more at WEBER.EDU/EMHA This program prepared me for a leadership role because the faculty are industry leaders with years of real-world experience. There’s only so much you can learn from a textbook. —Jordan Clemente, MHA Non-profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 101 1265 Village Dr. Dept. 4025 Ogden, UT 84408-4025 SLC, UT WEBER STATE FOOTBALL 2015 Season tickets on sale now! 801-626-8500 or visit WeberStateSports.com Connect with us...