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Southern Utah University

Former names	Branch Normal School (1897–1913) Branch Agricultural College (1913–1953) College of Southern Utah (1953–1969) Southern Utah State College (1969–1990)
Motto	Learning Lives Forever
Type	Public
Established	1897
President	Scott L. Wyatt
Academic staff	282
Students	10,245 (Fall 2017)[1]
Undergraduates	9,324 (Fall 2017)
Postgraduates	921 (Fall 2017)
Location	Cedar City, Utah, U.S. 37°40′32″N 113°04′18″W / 37.675448°N 113.071632°W / 37.675448; -113.071632Coordinates: 37°40′32″N 113°04′18″W / 37.675448°N 113.071632°W / 37.675448; -113.071632
Campus	College town, 129 acres (0.52 km²)
Nickname	Thunderbirds
Colors	Red & White
Website	www.suu.edu

Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university located in Cedar City, Utah, United States, founded in 1897. Originally a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges.^[2] SUU offers more than 85 undergraduate degrees ^[2] and eight graduate programs. There are more than 10,000 students that attend SUU.

Most notably Southern Utah University is known for hosting the Utah Shakespeare Festival every summer. This prestigious theatre production has gained many awards and recognitions.

Southern Utah University is also the site for the Utah Summer Games.^[3]

SUU’s 17 athletic teams compete in Division 1 of the NCAA and are collectively known as the Thunderbirds. SUU joined the Big Sky Conference in September 2012.^[4]

History

Founding the University

Dedication of Old Main

In the spring of 1897, Cedar City was notified it had been chosen as the site for the Branch Normal School, the region’s first teaching training school in southern Utah. For the next three months, citizens labored to complete Ward Hall on Main Street for the first school year. In September, the school opened its doors.

School had been in session for two months when officials informed the school administrators that Ward Hall did not comply with state law and that a new building needed to be built on land deeded solely to the state by the next September or the school would be lost.

Cedar City residents came together and in January 5, 1898, a group of residents trudged into the Cedar Mountain through shoulder deep snow. It took them four days to reach the sawmills, located near present-day Brian Head Ski Resort. Upon arrival, they realized the wagons they brought with them could not carry logs through the heavy snow. Sleighs were needed.

The way back was just as hard as the trip up. The snow continued to fall destroying the trail they originally took. It was this phase of their march that an old sorrel horse proved valuable. Placed at the front of the party, the horse would walk into the drifts, pushing against the snow until it gave way. Then he would pause for a rest and then get up and start over again. “Old Sorrel” was credited with being the savior of the expedition.

From January through July they kept up their labors and when September 1898 arrived, Old Main was almost completed. It had a large chapel for religious assemblies, a library and reading room, a natural history museum, biological and physical laboratories, classrooms and offices.^[5]

University's first president

Milton Bennion was first principal for the Branch Normal School (BNS). Courageous and young, Bennion brought a code of integrity to the students of BNS. He established a self-governing student body. Bennion directed 161 students during his time as principal.^[6]

Branch Normal School

The BNS started classes with four teachers, now known as the Founding Four. Bennion, who acted as principal, taught history, geography and physiology classes during his three-year tenure before he left in 1900 to teach at the University of Utah. Howard R. Driggs acted as the first English professor at BNS until 1905. During his career, Dr. Driggs was both a professor of English education and historian of the American West. SUU still honors his name with the Howard R. Driggs Collection located in the Gerald R. Sherratt Library and plays host to a semi-annual lectures by national scholars. The third, George W. Decker was a southern Utah native and was adamant about teaching from the student’s point of view rather from a book. Students loved him so much that a request by the student body to proper authorities was the turning point to his appointment as the fourth principal of BNS. Annie Elizabeth Spencer Milne was also on the original BNS staff and she taught physical education and started the school’s first basketball team.^[6]

Under the leadership of Nathan T. Porter the Science Building was constructed in 1901—now known as the Braithwaite Building — which doubled as classroom space. Interested in the arts, Porter enhanced student theatrical production and started the school’s ballroom dance program.

Porter remained BNS principal till 1904 when George W. Decker took the position. Decker was among the first four faculty members at BNS and also the first southern Utah native to take the position. He served the school for 16 years, seven on the faculty and nine as principal before he was elected to the office of state representative.^[6]

Branch Agriculture College

Roy F. Homer took Decker’s seat as principal in 1913 and ushered BNS into the next stage as the Branch Agricultural College (BAC).^[6] BAC was a branch school of the Utah State Agriculture College (now Utah State University). BAC received its third building in 1927 as the Women’s Gymnasium—now known as the Hunter Conference Center. It was then that ties were created between the school and Zion National Park that are still intact, raising quality of classes, increasing enrollment and created the school’s first Greek societies.

The school continued to expand under the leadership of Henry Oberhansley and H. Wayne Driggs. Driggs oversaw the building of the Football Field Stadium in 1947 and the reconstruction of Old Main after it caught fire. Driggs also established a campus ROTC program for returning soldiers and expanded studies to a four-year program.

College of Southern Utah

In 1951 Daryl Chase took the president’s seat and was responsible for the schools heightened vision and name change to the College of Southern Utah (CSU).^[6] The next college president was Royden C. Braithwaite in 1955 and during his tenure CSU campus almost doubled in acreage, of the 28 structures on campus at the time of his death in 1991, very few had not been built or renovated under Braithwaite’s direction. He oversaw the construction of the Library (now the Auditorium) in 1955, Science Building (now the General Classroom Building) in 1961, the Music Center in 1967 and an additional Library (now the Electronic Learning Center) in 1969.

A monumental addition to the College of Southern Utah was the birth of the Utah Shakespeare Festival in 1961 by Fred C. Adams. In its first season it attracted 3,276 visitors and in 2012 it reached 130,000.^[7]

Southern Utah State College

In 1969 Braithwaite oversaw the school’s name change to Southern Utah State College. He also coined the school’s motto “Learning Lives Forever” and student enrollment grew from 360 to 2000. Orville D. Carnahan took over in 1978;^[6] during his three-year tenure he led the institution in an expansion of academic offerings.

The largest expansion of growth happened under the direction of Gerald R. Sherratt who took the presidential seat in 1982 till 1997. During his time as the SUSC president he oversaw the creation of the Business Building in 1982 and the Centrum in 1985.^[6]

Southern Utah University

The second oldest buildings on campus, the Braithwaite Liberal Arts Center (left), built in 1899, and the oldest building on campus, Old Main (right), built in 1898. Part of the R. Haze Hunter Conference Center, dedicated in the 1920s, can be seen on the far right

Southern Utah State College was given university status in 1991 under the direction of President Sherratt.^[6] Once reaching university status, Sherratt was able to receive funding to construct 14 other buildings during his tenure. Sherratt also helped with the launching of the Utah Summer Games^[8] and the athletic program achieving NCAA Division I status.

Steven D. Bennion, grandson of Milton Bennion, ushered in SUU’s next 100 years starting in 1997. He led movements to restore Old Main and built a teacher-education facility, and added two new colleges and several new baccalaureate and graduate programs.

Michael T. Benson took over the presidential seat in 2007. Benson received his master's degree from Notre Dame and his doctorate from University of Oxford. During his time as president he championed the most ambitious fundraising campaign in University history, raising more than $90 million of the $100 million goal, including the three largest donations in SUU history. He also oversaw the construction of the new Science Center, Cedar Hall and the Carter Carillon. President Benson heightened academic standards and increased resources for instruction, significantly raised retention rates, and realigned SUU Athletics in the Big Sky Conference.^[4]

President Benson concluded his tenure at SUU and Scott L Wyatt took the presidential seat ^[9] in November 2013. Since then, Wyatt finalized an unprecedented funding campaign, ending in the groundbreaking of the Beverly Taylor Sorensen Center for the Arts in March 2014 ^[9]

Administration

Since 1969 three administrational bodies have governed SUU: the President’s Council, Board of Trustees and ultimately the Utah Boards of Regents. The President’s Council consists of eight top University administrators. These groups convene on a regular basis to discuss issues of top importance to the University and help advise the president on executive decisions. The Board of Trustees, created by the Higher Education Act of 1969, is an integral part of the Utah System of Higher Education. The Board of Trustees help facilitate communication between the institution and community, strengthen alumni traditions and goals, select recipient of honorary degrees, and implement and execute fundraising and developmental projects. The Utah Board of Regents is composed of 20 Utah residents, appointed by the governor for a six-year term, and oversees all institutes of higher education in the state of Utah.^[10]

Academics

In May 2013, SUU had 8,000 students and 261 full-time faculty members and another 102 adjunct faculty to give a student/faculty ratio of 20:1. SUU admitted 57.3 percent freshmen that applied, making a total of 1,264 new freshmen in September 2012 that boasted an average GPA of 3.5 and an average composite ACT score of 22.95. SUU currently boasts a 53 percent graduation rate.^[11]

The University awards associates, bachelor's and master's degrees that are divided into four colleges and two schools. The combined total of 85 bachelor’s degrees are offered and eight master's degrees.

Rankings

For the last five years The Princeton Review has ranked SUU as a Best Value College and also five years running ranked in the western list of Best Colleges: Region by Region.^[12] In July 2012 the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges recognized SUU, one of only 27 universities in the U.S., as a designated public liberal arts and sciences university.^[13]Consumer Digest also has placed SUU seven times as one of the best colleges in the western U.S.,^[14] and it has been listed twice as one of "America’s 100 Best College Buys.”

Service Learning

The J L Sorenson Physical Education Building

A main academic practice by all SUU students is Service Learning.^[15] A curricular-based educational experience in which students participate in organized service activities that meet community needs. Curricular projects are assigned to students in the classroom and are designed to generate further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of discipline, and enhanced sense of civic responsibility. Service learning was further integrated into SUU students’ curriculum with the founding of the Education Designed to Give Experience (EDGE) program in September 2011.

EDGE has students doing projects that align with one of the five engagement centers located at SUU: Community Engagement Center, Creative Engagement Center, Sargon Heinrich Global Engagement Center, Leadership Engagement Center or the Harry Reid Outdoor Engagement Center. Students work closely with faculty and do projects outside the classroom to better prepare for the 21st century and giving them a competitive edge.

Many students that get involved in the Community Engagement Center do so within the many student-run organizations operated under the philosophy of the service learning concept. Between 50-100 students per academic year spend their Spring and/or Winter Breaks in Mexico or other locations in the U.S. (recently Colorado, Washington state, and New Orleans) providing service to orphanages, schools, and even Habitat for Humanity. Other programs include Sub for Santa, Make A Difference Day, After School Program, and Adopt a Grandparent program. On location in the center is the HOPE Pantry where students can anonymously donate or receive food as needed, the pantry is typically filled through the center's popular Bread and Soup Nite. Students can also participate in the Service-Learning Scholar and AmeriCorps programs through the center.^[16]

Performing and visual arts

SUU has a large amount of performing and visual arts opportunities for students and local community. Students perform more than 250 performances each year and vocal students have won countless competitions with the National Opera Association and National Association of Teachers of Singers.

The Department of Music is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music^[17] and offers SUU students a wide array of musical opportunities. The Department of Theatre Arts and Dance offers two types of degrees and is closely connected with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, which is housed at SUU. It recently created a minor in Shakespeare studies and has had its students performing across the globe, most recently in China.

Student life

Student Involvement and Leadership

The Student Involvement and Leadership Office houses the three main branches of student leadership: Southern Utah University Student Association (SUUSA), STIL marketing, and the Student Programming Board (SPB). The Student Programming Board is a separate branch from SUUSA but still falls under the Student Involvement and Leadership Office. SPB plans activities for students and plans athletic events such as tailgates. Activities range from comedians, concerts, carnivals, outdoor movies, and dances. Event directors and athletic directors work with assistants on SPB. The President of SPB is popularly elected in March and directors are later found through an application and interview process.
The main branches of SUUSA are academics, clubs, finance, senate, and student life. SUUSA is governed by four executive council members, elected each March, along with one representative per college in the Student Senate, by the general student body. Club Directors, Student Life Directors, and controllers are appointed by the Executive Council through an application and interview process. They are then investigated and ratified by the Academic Senate. Students can apply for funding from the Academic Senate for academic initiatives or travel expenses for conferences.
The STIL marketing branch is composed of the executive marketing director and their various directors of marketing who are hired by application and interviews.

Community service

Many of the student organizations at SUU are service orientated and take part in community service days each year. Through the Corporation for National and Community Service, President Barack Obama recognized SUU’s students for outstanding service when the University earned a Distinction for Excellence among the schools included on the U.S. President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This marks SUU’s fourth consecutive appointment to the prestigious honor roll. The SUU community carried a 64 percent increase in service completed, logging in 141,307 hours of community service among 4,468 students between July 2011 and July 2012.^[18]

Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service

The Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service is named after alumnus Michael O. Leavitt (former Utah governor and George W. Bush Cabinet member). Student leaders in the Leavitt Center engage the student body through voter registration drives, public policy awareness, public service, and internships. The mission of the Center is to help students prepare for a life of public service and responsible citizenship. The Leavitt Center helps to fulfill this mission by helping to provide internships on the local, state, and national levels. Some internships that are offered include in the Cedar City City managers office, with the Iron County Commissioners office, the State Legislature, and Utah's Congressional Delegates, including Senator Hatch and Representative Chris Stewart. .^[19]

Student news

SUU students operate and write a weekly newspaper, The University Journal, which is delivered to campus and local community. Its news website, SUUNews.com, which carries and streams archived debates and news stories, is a digital news delivery system. The website has ranked within the top three collegiate news websites in the nation by the Society of Professional Journalists.^[20]

KSUU 91.1 FM (Thunder 91) is a student-operated radio station at the university. Many of its disc jockeys are students. It airs games by SUU Athletics teams in Football and men's and women's basketball and women's gymnastics. In conjunction the Michael O. Leavitt Center, Thunder 91 also hosts weekly political debates.^[21]

SUTV is a cable TV channel operated by the university's Department of Communication. It is operated on an Educational-access television channel of the Bresnan Communications Cable TV system in Cedar City, Utah. It is affiliated with the Classic Arts Showcase. Most of the local programs are produced by students enrolled in communication classes at the university. The include SUTV News, a weekly broadcast of newsworthy local and campus events, and the T-Bird Zone, a showcase of Thunderbird athletics featuring interviews with coaches and players, as well as highlights of games and sports news.

Utah Shakespeare Festival

Fred C. Adams Theatre on SUU's campus

The Shakespeare Festival, which is housed on SUU’s campus, was founded by Fred C. Adams in 1961 and presented its first season in 1962, bringing in 3,276 spectators. The initial two-week season yielded $2,000 and demonstrated the cooperative relationship between SUU and the community. Now in 2003, nearly 150,000 ticket-holders viewed 246 performances in three theaters during a sixteen-week season. The Festival is now a year-round operation with a full-time staff of 26 and now an outgoing educational outreach program, including workshops and a touring version of one of the plays.^[22]

The Festival’s well-known outdoor theatre materialized in stages. The Adams Memorial Shakespearean Theatre, located on SUU’s campus and one of the most authentic Elizabethan theaters in the world, was dedicated in 1977. The Festival continued to grow and opened the modern, indoor Randall L. Jones Theatre in June 23, 1989, offering classics of world drama. With two theaters under its belt, the Festival has spanned it repertoire to more than three centuries of playwrights and has included classics of France, England, Norway and the U.S. In 2015 the Utah Shakespeare Festival completed its last season in the Adams Shakespearean Theater. In 2016, the new Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre and the Eileen and Allan Anes Studio Theatre add to Festival's facilities as part of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts at Southern Utah University.

Utah Summer Games

In 1986, President Gerald R. Sherratt was inspired by the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and with the help of the local community the first Utah Summer Games commenced. Now after more than 25 years the Utah Summer Games brings in more than 10,000 athletes from the surrounding region. In nearly 40 different Olympic-style competitions, Cedar City hosts the competition for athletes starting at the age of 3 all the way to 93. Competitions such as volleyball, water polo, tennis, archery, gymnastics, basketball, and much more.^[23]

Intramural sports

Intramural sports are large aspect of student life for Thunderbirds. More than 3,300 students participate each year. From badminton to pickleball to rugby, students have long list of intramural sports to choose from that run the entire school year, with tournaments and events for each sport.^[24]

Outdoor recreation

With SUU located in the southeast Great Basin, and about 20 miles north of the northeastern edge of the Mojave Desert, gives it a cooler and less arid compared to the nearby Dixie region only 45 minutes south. With 13 national and state parks near SUU’s campus^[25] outdoor recreation is a popular student activity with many participating in rock climbing, hiking, backpacking, camping, mountain biking and boating in the surrounding red cliffs. SUU is a 60-minute drive from Zion National Park, 90-minute drive from Bryce Canyon National Park and only a 30-minute drive to Kolob Canyon.

Greek life

SUU is home to four Greek-letter organizations: Alpha Phi (sorority), Delta Psi Omega (sorority), Sigma Chi (fraternity), and Chi Phi (fraternity). Every year Greek students provide hundreds of hours of community service, raise thousands of dollars for charities and build leadership skills. Greek students also tap into a network of chapters around the world and build connections with Greek alumni such as former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman (Sigma Chi), award-winning actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Alpha Phi), renowned news anchor Walter Cronkite (Chi Phi).

Student traditions

Carter Carillon: When a student begins their education at SUU they walk beneath the 76-foot tall bell tower heading east and are asked to not walk beneath it again till they graduate. When students graduate the formal processional line walks beneath it, heading west toward the setting sun, symbolizing an end of an era.

True T-Bird: The Student Alumni Association hosted the inaugural True T-Bird night in 1994 and it has been an SUU tradition ever since. Students and alumni gather the Friday of Homecoming at midnight on the plaza surrounding Old Sorrel and kiss a person of their choosing, thus becoming and renewing their commitment as a True T-Bird of Southern Utah University.

Pancake Study Break: At the end of each fall semester SUU students are invited to Pancake Study Break, a late night study break where SUU faculty and staff serve students an all-you-can-eat pancakes, eggs and bacon the night before finals begin. Food for the event is free and students get their one shot to be served by their professors and even the University president.

Thunderbird Awards: The Thunderbird Awards have been a part of SUU’s campus life since 1950. Each year at the end of the spring semester, faculty, staff and students celebrate the year’s accomplishments, outstanding students and employees and recognize community members. The Thunderbird Awards is planned by SPB.

The Scream: Previously known as the Howl, the Scream is the largest one night event held by SPB and attracts students from all over the state of Utah.^{[citation needed]} Entertainment varies from year to year, but has generally included bands, hypnotists, mentalists, costume contests, comics, acrobats, caricature artists, photo booths, and a dance in the America First Event Center. The event usually occurs on a Friday within a week of Halloween.

Miss SUU Pageant: The Miss SUU Pageant is a pageant that has been held every year since the early 1950s.^{[citation needed]} The winner is crowned as the Homecoming Queen and a representative of SUU at the Miss Utah pageant. Past winner Jill Stevens went on to represent the state at the Miss America Pageant. The ties to the Miss America association were broken in 2010 due to budget cuts but SPB still continues hosting a pageant as a Homecoming Week activity.

Athletics

The university's sports teams are known as the Thunderbirds. The colors are red, white and black. Teams compete in The NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, formerly known as division I-AA) in the Big Sky Conference. SUU also competes in The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, in the Rocky Mountain Region. The school became a full member of the Big Sky Conference in 2012.^[26] With the move, SUU discontinued its baseball program and established a men's tennis team in its place. The most decorated program both athletically and academically is the prestigious "Bowerman Award" winning Cross Country and Track & Field programs at SUU. The SUU Gymnastic team competes within the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and in 2013 received a total of six academic all-WAC citations in 2013 with the list including two seniors and four sophomores. The group was made up of seniors Caitlin Kennedy and Michaela Chernoch and the four sophomores included Jamie Armijo, Rochelle Bernier, Ana Jaworski and Brittney Jensen. All six had GPA's higher than a 3.3 with three above a 3.8 cumulative grade point average.^[27] The team placed fifth at the 2013 NCAA regional competition^[28]

The Thunderbirds compete in:

Alumni Association

The Southern Utah University Alumni Association supports the University by fostering a lifelong spirit of loyalty, service, and fellowship among alumni, faculty, students, parents and friends of SUU.

Chapters

Iron County, UT, Northeast, Northwest, Salt Lake City, UT, Southern Arizona, Southern California, Southern Nevada, Utah County, UT, Washington County, Washington, D.C.^[29]

Networks

Boston, MA, Central Utah, Chicago, IL, Davis County, UT, Florida, Fresno, CA, Juab County, UT, Lincoln County, NV, Logan, UT, Michigan, North Carolina, Nebraska/Iowa, San Francisco, CA, Texas, Weber County, UT.^[29]

Notable alumni

• 
  Ricardo Dominguez (professor), Electronic Disturbance Theater, University of California, San Diego
  


• 
  Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, 110th Congress
  


• 
  David C Houle, National Coaches Hall of Fame, US record 68 State championships at Mountain View High School
  


• 
  Michael O. Leavitt, 14th Governor of Utah and Secretary of Health and Human Services in the George W. Bush cabinet.


• Thomas Burr, 109th President of National Press Club. Graduated from SUU in 2002.^[30]
  


• 
  Jill Stevens, Miss SUU 2006, Miss Davis County 2007, Miss Utah 2007, Miss America 2008 "People's Choice" semifinalist.


• 
  Nick Miller, NFL wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders, SUU wide receiver from 2007-2008. 2008 Great West Special Teams Player of the Year.


• 
  DeWayne Lewis, NFL Cornerback, Lewis was a 2 Time Conference Athlete of the Year.


• 
  Lonnie Mayne, Professional wrestler in the 1960s and 1970s. NWA United States Heavyweight Champion.


• 
  Cameron Levins, 2012 NCAA Track and Field Champion in the 5 and 10k, 2012 Olympian, and 2012 Bowerman Award Winner.


• 
  Sean O'Connell (fighter), professional Mixed Martial Artist^[31]
  


• 
  Tysson Poots, 2012 Arena League Rookie of the year with 109 Receptions 1,183 Yards, and 30 Touchdowns for the Utah Blaze. Currently a member of the Arizona Rattlers.


• 
  Keala Settle, Broadway performer and Tony Award nominee, featured role in the major motion picture The Greatest Showman.


• 
  Brad Sorensen, 2012 and 2013 Payton Award finalist, threw 3,139 yards and 23 TDs in 2012, drafted in 2013 to the San Diego Chargers^[32]
  


• 
  James Cowser, NFL defensive end currently playing for the Oakland Raiders. All-time career FCS leader in sacks.


• 
  Miles Killebrew, NFL safety drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.


• 
  LeShaun Sims, NFL defensive back drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Southern Utah University.

• Official website


• Southern Utah University athletics website