Brilliant Community Engagement

WSU Offers On-site Graduate Degrees at HILL AIR FORCE BASE

“Weber State is dedicated to supporting Hill Air Force Base and the Air Force... Not just because it’s good for our economy and creates good opportunities for our students, but because it’s good for our national defense and our freedom.” — Brad Mortensen, President

Weber State and Hill Air Force Base are expanding education opportunities for military personnel, their families, and civilian employees by offering classes on the base.

Last year, WSU became the first public university in the state to participate in an airbase education program.

“Weber State is dedicated to supporting Hill Air Force Base and the Air Force,” said WSU President Brad Mortensen. “Not just because it’s good for our economy and creates good opportunities for our students, but because it’s good for our national defense and our freedom.”

On-site offerings focus on high-demand programs for enlisted and civilian employees, like a Master of Business Administration. There’s also a non-credit course in project management, which helps students prepare for a project management certification exam. More programs are planned for the future.

WSU has a dedicated office on the base, where current and prospective students can learn about tuition assistance programs, earning undergraduate credit for military training and experience, student support opportunities, and peer mentorship.

Weber State faculty encouraging youth to cycle — Local youth learned all things mountain biking at Weber State's Mountain Bike Camp at the ENVE headquarters last June.

GOING FOR A SPIN
Weber State faculty encourage local youth to pursue their own path — on their bikes

The Jerry & Vickie Moyes College of Education, National Interscholastic Cycling Association, Utah High School Cycling League, and bicycle manufacturer ENVE partnered to host the inaugural mountain bike camp in mid-June.

Over two days, the camp offered middle school and high school students the opportunity to learn all facets of cycling. A different group of students each day had a chance to learn about bicycle maintenance, sports performance and leadership, wilderness first aid, nutrition, and exercise, as well as tour the ENVE headquarters in Ogden.

Outdoor recreation is a $9.5 billion industry in Utah, and mountain biking is the state’s fastest-growing high school sport.

“Mountain biking is the one high school sport where no one gets cut,” said Eddie Hill, associate professor of Outdoor and Community Recreation. “Everyone races and rides.”

During the camp, faculty and students researched the role of mountain biking on youth and resiliency.

Hill said they hope to learn from this year’s camp, with an eye toward including more students in 2026. NICA hopes the camp may serve as a model for a national version.

College of Science honored for supporting UTAH TEACHERS

WSU’s College of Science received the 2024 Friends of Utah Science Teaching Association (UtSTA) award for its support of the group’s work to improve science education in Utah.

The award goes to an organization or individual that “has gone above and beyond in support of the science teachers of Utah and UtSTA,” said Dawn Monson, executive director.

UtSTA members include K–12 teachers, professors, and members of the science industry. They provide information, support, events, and more for Utah science teachers and their students. WSU’s College of Science collaborates with UtSTA to provide professional learning and coursework for teachers, and hosts an annual awards dinner that includes tours of Tracy Hall Science Center.

Lindquist College
HOSTS BIG NAMES
to engage with students

Browning Presents! and the Hurst Artist-in-Residence programs brought artists and storytellers to WSU during the 2024–25 academic year.

*Musician, sound artist, and audio producer Alice Boyd served as Hurst Artist-in-Residence for the 2024–25 academic year.*

Browning Presents!, hosted by the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities, supports performances and educational residencies in a range of disciplines. In the past year, the program welcomed award-winning novelist Silvia Moreno-Garcia; author and musician Simon Tam; and writer, comedian, and director Julio Torres.

Film studies assistant professor Ben Kruger-Robbins facilitated an on-stage interview with Torres and said he offered valuable insights about working uncompromisingly within the margins of Hollywood.

“I was deeply heartened to listen in on the uninhibited and joyful conversations during which Torres advised aspiring mediamakers at WSU to immerse themselves in collaborative communities, privilege playful experimentation over industrial productivity, and engage personally affecting artforms in all of their visceral and spiritual — if also conflicted and messy — beauty,” Kruger-Robbins said.

The college established the Hurst Artist-in-Residence program in 1998 with an endowment from Dean W. and Carol W. Hurst. The program enables world-renowned artists and scholars to visit Weber State and interact with students, faculty, and staff. This year, the program hosted British musician, sound artist, audio producer, and field artist Alice Boyd.

As part of her residency, Boyd took poems by Utah writers and incorporated her own field recordings of the soundscape of Utah.

“Music and sound can be so visceral,” she said. “Sound is made of waves, and it can quite literally change us physically. Sound is so embedded in us; we react to a baby crying or to someone singing, or to a really horrible noise that makes us feel uncomfortable. I think for many of us, sound influences us in ways that we are not even always conscious of.”

Part of this article includes information from an interview in Weber: The Contemporary West. Read the full interview at weber.edu/weberjournal.

*Writer, comedian,* *and director Julio Torres.*

WSU SCORES WITH RSL

Weber State is the exclusive educational partner of Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake franchise and the National Women’s Soccer League’s Utah Royals FC. In addition to increased visibility at the teams’ America First Field in Sandy, Utah, Weber State hosted a booth to engage with fans ahead of several home games this season.

Growing Utah’s Economy Through
BILINGUAL EDUCATION

Weber State’s Building Puentes program saw an astounding enrollment boom during its first year.

The only program of its kind in the state, Building Puentes launched in 2024 with classes taught in Spanish to prepare bilingual professionals for high-demand careers in Utah.

Building Puentes went from four students enrolled in the entrepreneurship certificate program in fall 2024 to more than 100 students in spring 2025.

Community Education Center Director Yesenia Quintana said the entrepreneurship courses have helped students launch or expand businesses in areas such as elderly care services, eco-friendly home cleaning, parenting and family support, photography, and mental health services, among others.

With help from a $2.5 million grant from the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and private donations, WSU is growing Building Puentes over a five-year development phase with an ultimate goal to offer associate and bachelor’s degrees.

Building Puentes has since expanded course offerings in both Spanish and English to include certificates in early childhood education and computer science. Pam Allcott, multilingual programs director, was hired to lead the program in April 2025.

University leadership called the program “groundbreaking” in its approach to meeting state needs. As Utah’s Spanish-speaking population continues to grow, WSU will use workforce data to determine additional certificates and degrees to be offered in a bilingual format.

Bringing Ogden religious groups into the HISTORICAL RECORD

Ogden at its Core, a joint project between WSU Special Collections & University Archives and the Museums at Union Station, aims to update the historical record to include people from all backgrounds who have called Ogden home.

“As we did an inventory of collections at both institutions, we found that we were lacking stories, photographs, and history on Ogden’s ethnic and religious communities,” said Sarah Langsdon, curator and co-head of Special Collections & University Archives.

Since 2023, WSU staff, students, and Union Station employees have collected documents and photographs from the Ogden Buddhist Church and the predominantly African-American New Zion’s Baptist Church and Embry African Methodist Episcopal Church. They are now scanning materials to put them online and conducting oral history interviews with community members. “Church congregation members have also been sharing their personal family photos and history with us,” Langsdon said.

The museum and university have spoken with representatives of the Jewish community at Congregation Brith Sholem, Second Baptist Church, and the Islamic Center of Kuwait to expand the project.

A grant from the Alan E. and Jeanne N. Hall Endowment for Community Outreach supports the project.

Award-winning campaign proves BRILLIANT

Weber State’s Be Brilliant marketing campaign received the 2025 Judges Choice Award in print for best integrated campaign from the University & College Designers Association. In bestowing the award, judges raved about: “the visual impact, the sophisticated yet straight-forward use of copy, and the clever use of the existing logo design. The brilliance and vibrancy of the graphic draws the eye directly to the focal point, and pairs well with the bold tagline.”

REACH Weber receives grant for
DIABETES EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

Weber State’s type 1 diabetes educational programming received a $129,000 grant from the Intermountain Foundation during the fall 2024 semester.

In April 2023, associate professor Eddie Hill launched REACH Weber, Utah’s only year-round community recreation program for youth with type 1 diabetes and their families. REACH stands for Recreate, Educate, Advocate, and Climb Higher.

The grant will fund REACH Weber programming for the next three years, including educational camps for youth and their families. It will also fund research on the mental health of parents whose children have this incurable condition impacting blood glucose levels.

According to American Diabetes Association data from 2021, 2 million Americans had type 1 diabetes, including about 304,000 children and adolescents. In 2017–2018, the ADA reported over 18,000 annual cases of children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the U.S.

Hill said with the chronic disease affecting so many, he hopes people across the country use REACH Weber’s research to improve quality of life. “This will be evidence-based, and then we want to scale it so other programs can launch their own REACH program,” Hill said.

Youth with type 1 diabetes enjoy a game at REACH Weber, a community recreation program for youth and their families.

Sara Mejeur and Barry Bues, representing the Intermountain Foundation, present WSU associate professor Eddie Hill and Cass Morgan, former interim dean of the Jerry & Vickie Moyes College of Education, with a grant for the REACH Weber program.

Sustainability initiatives
STRIKE GOLD

Sustainability careers start at Weber State

Justin Owen, interim director of plant operations, and Drew Hodge, water conservation and stormwater coordinator, have led sustainable building projects across campus. Both are graduates of WSU’s geography program. Analeah Vaughn, sustainability engagement coordinator, works with faculty and staff to create a more sustainable campus and graduated from WSU’s geology program. All three are helping WSU reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040.

Weber State’s commitment to sustainability reached new milestones in 2024–25, from launching innovative projects to earning prestigious sustainability rankings.

The university earned a gold rating from the Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System, a self-reporting system from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education that helps institutions track sustainability progress. Earning the rating put Weber State a year ahead of its goal to earn gold by 2025.

Construction projects focused on sustainability. The newly renovated David O. McKay Education Building includes electrification of HVAC, LED lighting, energy-efficient glass and roofing, a solar array, and efficient kitchen equipment. Updates to the Dee Events Center include a dedicated ground-source field for energy. Additionally, a battery at the campus substation designed to provide backup power to campus for at least two hours, help stabilize services to the local grid, and allow WSU to build more with solar energy, is planned to go into operation in late October.

WSU installed 1,626 solar panels over a new covered parking structure, and solar power is being used to light the new permanent Flaming W on the hillside near campus.

WSU’s newly built irrigation system monitors water usage in real time and can shut down electronically during an emergency. Drew Hodge, water conservation and stormwater coordinator, said it will also allow WSU to improve its irrigation water quality and implement new conservation measures more efficiently.

Four faculty members received WSU Sustainability Teaching, Application, and Research Grants to launch sustainability projects. One project partners Ash Soltani Stone, associate professor of film studies, and John Mull, professor of zoology, to promote sustainability awareness and action through short documentaries, interactive media, and student-led research. Their project aims to highlight local sustainability efforts, environmental challenges, and solutions.

In the teaching space, 11 classes from four colleges were approved for the SUS designation, proving they cover sustainability within their disciplines. Twenty-two departments offered 296 SUS sections, with 7,261 students enrolled. The number of departments offering at least one SUS-approved course was 32, making up 65 percent of WSU departments.

Walker Institute goes ALL IN on voter registration

The Olene S. Walker Institute of Politics & Public Service received the 2024 Highly Established Action Plan and Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting awards from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.

“The Walker Institute is important because it plays a role in conveying local voices around issues that matter and how to have those conversations with respect,” said Leah Murray, director of the Walker Institute.

The institute worked with ALL IN to launch a digital voter registration tool that was accessible through eWeber, Canvas, and QR codes. The initiative achieved a 32.4% conversion rate, with 1,612 students registered to vote through the tool. Voters submitted 1,482 ballots to the campus ballot box.

Murray presented with Civic Nation in November at the National Student Summit to discuss digital registration and how to embed it in campus culture.

The AASCU’s American Democracy Project awarded Murray the 2025 Barbara Burch Award for demonstrating extraordinary commitment to civic engagement and learning.

**CLOCKWISE FROM TOP:** Associate Professor Aminda O’Hare, neuroscience student Salisha Isles, neuroscience graduate Benson Bush, and neuroscience graduate Colby Larsen work with electroencephalography (EEG) in O’Hare’s Cognitive and Affective Psychophysiology and Experimental Science Lab.
Photo by Benson Bush

Neuroscience students share their brain power with thousands in the Wasatch Front

Since spring 2024, WSU neuroscience students have connected with more than 2,000 community members through educational outreach events, making brain science fun and accessible.

Students have visited local schools and community functions, offering brain-related activities like blind taste-testing, dissecting sheep brains, and creating neurons from pipe cleaners.

Every year during Brain Awareness Week — a nearly decadelong tradition now led by the Neuroscience Club — WSU students log hundreds of volunteer hours as they engage with high school and elementary students.

“The students in the neuroscience program never cease to amaze me with their generosity of time and enthusiasm for sharing their knowledge with others,” said Aminda O’Hare, neuroscience program director.

WSU’s chapter of the Nu Rho Psi honors society, which many Neuroscience Club members are part of, was named the 2024 chapter of the year for these efforts.

“As an educator, it’s a joy to see students take ownership of their field of study and use it to benefit others,” O’Hare said.

WSU teams with Davis School District for in-depth teacher prep program

A partnership with Davis School District is giving WSU students an immersive opportunity to learn about becoming successful educators.

The Teacher Academy School program enables students studying teacher education to learn and practice at a local school.

Sunburst Elementary in Layton, Utah, offers an on-site classroom where WSU professors teach methods courses and students can discuss teaching practices they observe in the elementary’s classes. The school also provides WSU professors and students with the opportunity to share lessons with elementary students.

“It opens students’ eyes to the reality of day-to-day classroom experiences and provides opportunities for them to observe the varied approaches of skilled teachers,” said Marilyn Taft, teacher education assistant professor.

Taft said students have shared that the experience makes teaching “real,” empowering them to apply their coursework in meaningful ways and feel like professional educators.

Every semester, Sunburst hosts about 20 WSU students, giving them a chance to learn from current teachers who are skilled at mentoring future educators.

Students in the Teacher Academy School program work in a classroom with youth at Sunburst Elementary School.
Photo courtesy of Marilyn Taft

Automotive program drives innovation in
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION

Students in the Department of Automotive Technology work on electric vehicle batteries.

Weber State’s Department of Automotive Technology earned the Trailblazer Award from Utah Clean Cities & Communities in October 2024. The honor showcases the department’s leadership in clean transportation and electric vehicle training. From Toyotas to Teslas, WSU boasts 17 high-voltage training vehicles that attract students from all over the country and abroad.

According to Jessica Slater, department chair, WSU is the only member of the National Association of Automotive Universities to offer a Bachelor of Science focused on electric vehicles. Additional offerings include an Associate of Applied Science and two certificates of proficiency focused on electric vehicles.

Separate from its academic degrees, the department hosts bootcamps online and in person throughout the year to train attendees in EV service, diagnostics, and repair. Global experts, including Anthony Bonanno of the Australian Motor Traders Association, have traveled to campus for these bootcamps, which Utah Clean Cities Executive Director Tammie Bostick called “groundbreaking” and “best in the nation.”

John Kelly, professor of automotive technology, runs a successful WSU Automotive YouTube channel with over 180 videos and nearly half a million subscribers. Videos are related to material he teaches each semester and center on technical content.