A Career Built With Care

Rachel Badali BS ’17, MBA ’22, Marketing & Communications

Yasmen Simonian, longtime dean of the Dr. Ezekiel R. Dumke College of Health Professions, retired in June 2026 from a career built with care, passion, and a commitment to future healthcare leaders.

In 1981, Yasmen Simonian stepped onto campus for the very first time.

She was interviewing for an assistant professor position to teach hematology, a branch of medicine focused on blood. Three days later, the university offered her the job and, after consulting with numerous friends and colleagues, she accepted.

That was the beginning of a 45-year career at Weber State University.

“I loved what I did,” Simonian said. “The students were so wonderful and eager to learn.”

She quickly became known for her unique teaching style. Whether it was using food  analogies to make concepts stick (she once had students who worked in a bakery, so the class used donuts to model red blood cell abnormalities) or hosting potlucks in her closet-sized office and classrooms, Simonian wanted students to know that somebody cared.

“I didn’t know I was doing anything extra,” she said. “I was just there for them.”

Fulfilling a Promise

Simonian spent her early childhood in Iran with her parents and younger brother. She fondly remembers family traditions from her youth, like the delicious koukou — a frittata-like dish made with eggs and herbs — they ate every Easter.

Her family had long dreamed of moving to the United States, where Simonian’s parents hoped they could pursue more educational opportunities and a better life.

“Mom used to go to the American Embassy every month,” Simonian said. “It took 12 years, and she finally got the papers to immigrate.”

In 1967, the family was given one month to leave, so they hurriedly moved their lives across the world. They arrived in Salt Lake City that fall.

Simonian started at West High School just five days later. Though she didn’t speak English yet, she enrolled in a Spanish class thinking it might speed up the learning process. She already knew Armenian, which she spoke at home, along with Farsi and some Arabic.

Back in Iran, Simonian was a top student. But at a new school in Utah, she felt out of place. She recalls staying motivated by thinking about her family’s journey: “I knew my parents put everything into getting us here to be better educated.”

She was also driven by a promise she made at just 8 years old. Her grandma was dying of colon cancer, and Simonian told her she’d go to America to find a cure.

“All the education, all the learning, everything I did was directed toward that goal,” she said. 

After graduating high school, she attended the University of Utah and earned a bachelor’s degree in medical technology. She worked at a blood bank and, soon after graduating college, was offered a job in hematology at the University of Utah Hospital. This gave her the opportunity to work with world-renowned physicians and researchers, bringing her closer to the promise she made.

She later went on to earn two more degrees from the University of Utah: a master’s in medical laboratory sciences and a doctoral degree in patient education and counseling.

A Network of Thousands of Graduates

Today, Simonian is best known for the connections she’s made and the people she’s impacted. Thousands of students call her their mentor, and she keeps in touch with most of them. 

“I didn’t find a cure for cancer,” she said. “But I have a lot of graduates who’re now doing life-changing research. They’re getting us closer.”

Simonian stayed closely tuned-in to community needs throughout her career, ensuring WSU provides pathways for students to enter vital, fulfilling healthcare fields. She helped develop the university’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program, physician assistant program, occupational ther-apy assistant program, and fully online medical laboratory sciences programs. 

With her contributions, WSU has become well-known for being a top provider of health professionals in Utah. Travis Price BS ’03, a medical laboratory sciences graduate and current WSU Department of Health Sciences chair, first met Simonian a little over a year into his education. 

Almost 25 years ago, Price entered Simonian’s office with questions and curiosity, and he exited as an enrolled full-time MLS student.

“To this day, it’s probably the best decision that — and I like to joke — someone ever made for me,” Price said. 

A few years into the MLS program, he approached Simonian and said, “I think I want your job.”

His determination, along with support from Simonian, led him down a path of teaching, mentoring, and leading. 

“She saw something in me that I hope I have fulfilled,” Price said. “She believed in me.”

Khosrow Shotorbani BS ’85, founder and CEO of nonprofit organization Lab 2.0 Strategic Services, also credits Simonian for helping him build a foundation for success.

Shotorbani’s company aims to prevent and predict illness or disease early, making medicine more proactive than reactive.

“At Lab 2.0, we focus on how we can improve the human condition,” Shotorbani said. “Yas very much practices that in life.”

He met Simonian at 19 years old, when she was still a fairly new faculty member. Right away, he could tell she was committed to helping her students succeed.

“There’s an old saying in Farsi: ‘Others planted for us to eat. It’s for us to plant for others to eat,’” Shotorbani said. “I think that explains Yas’ philos-ophy — to give away more than you got.”

Julie Smith BS ’88 followed Simonian’s footsteps in shaping healthcare leaders.

“One of the best things she has taught me is to be a mentor,” said Smith, an oncologist in Wenatchee, Washington. “I have the opportunity of passing that forward.”

Smith treats cancer patients at Confluence Health Hospital Central Campus and has held various leadership roles throughout her career. She’s also a professor at the University of Washington, regularly working with medical student residents during their month-long internal medicine rotations.

She models herself after what Simonian was to her: someone who prepares and encourages tomorrow’s healthcare providers.

“Yas taught us that patients are more than just what’s under the microscope,” Smith said. “I took that with me through medical school and still today. She helped us see how important the relationships are. Connection to others, connection to the community is everything.”

The Next Chapter

Hundreds of colleagues, former students, and loved ones gathered to celebrate Simonian during a ceremony in the Stewart Stadium Sky Suites on April 14, spending the evening sharing memories made over her long career.      

“Yas is Weber,” Price said. “She’s Weber to her core, from the beginning. She knows who our students are, she knows what our teaching paradigm is. She’s always had her Weber State license plate, and she wears purple all the time.” 

Though she has retired, Simonian’s focus on care, compassion, and advocacy will never go away.

She plans to spend time at the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, where she can educate and support patients going through treatments. She also wants to continue some teaching, consulting, and occasional accreditation site visits, which means traveling the world to offer feedback for programs adhering to compliance standards. 

She’ll also maintain positions on boards and committees, staying involved in education.

In her downtime, she plans to listen to music, read, exercise at the Lions Recreation Center, and dance. She’ll also do more lunches with friends, including former students she’s built lasting connections with.

As the second-longest serving dean in the College of Health Professions, Simonian feels good about the college’s future. She envisions the next chapter might include expanding education into high-demand areas like pediatrics or oncology.

She’s confident graduates from WSU will continue to enter healthcare with the skills and commitment to positively shape every patient’s experience. And she’s hopeful the next generation will continue to reach out and share their successes with her.

Continuing Her Legacy  

Simonian loved getting to know students and showing them they can make a difference.

Retirement doesn’t mean ending her commitment to those students. And, thanks to the generosity of donors, it will continue.

The Yasmen Simonian Honorary Endowment Fund will support College of Health Professions students for decades to come.

Because endowments are permanent — safe-guarding the principal while distributing only a portion of the investment income — their financial impact can grow across generations, benefiting thousands more students.

The goal is to raise $500,000, which will generate more than $20,000 annually to spend on scholarships, faculty research, and healthcare program innovation.

The fund has reached about one-third of its target and continues to grow. Others can join the impact by contributing to the endowment, ensuring Simonian’s legacy continues long after she steps away from her office for the final time. 

Visit give.weber.edu/YasSimonian to make your donation to support research, innovation, and students with financial need as they pursue healthcare professions.