In the News

• Salt Lake Tribune Monday, Aug. 23, 2021

  USU to help look for Paiute children believed buried at former school

  The bodies of Paiute children are likely buried below summer grasses at the site of an Indigenous boarding school they were forced to attend in Panguitch, Utah tribal leaders and history experts say. Utah State University plans to apply ground-penetrating radar to the 150-acre site.

• The Herald Journal Monday, Aug. 02, 2021

  USU Extension leads effort to get farmers' market produce to food pantries

  Through the “Buy Produce for Your Neighbor” program, Cache Valley residents can buy fresh produce for people in need.

  LaCee Jimenez, social marketing coordinator at Utah State University Extension Create Better Health, said what makes this program different from other food drives is the focus on fresh fruits and vegetables, which can be harder to come by at food pantries.

• KSL Wednesday, Jul. 28, 2021

  USU Donates Space To Charity Helping Disabled Express Themselves With Art

  CACHE VALLEY, Utah – “Jump The Moon” had to move in February after falling behind on a lease.  The charity, which helps people with disabilities express themselves through art, couldn’t help as many people in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

  “I tried to stay real positive, optimistic that something good would work out,” owner Michael Bingham said.

  Now, something positive is coming out of the closure. Bingham said Utah State University’s Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice has offered his nonprofit a space in their building.

• Fox 13 News Thursday, Jul. 22, 2021

  USU Botanical Center cuts watering in half during drought

  The USU Extension Botanical Center in Kaysville has let the lawn go brown, or at least slightly brown to save water.

  The center has been able to cut watering by half this year, Jerry Goodspeed, Director Utah State University Botanical Center, said.

• The Herald Journal Friday, Jul. 16, 2021

  Task Force Chaired by USU President Proposes Modernizing FDA Regulations

  A joint report released by a national task force of experts and chaired by Utah State University President Noelle E. Cockett has recommended federal regulations around gene-edited animals be updated significantly.

• Cache Valley Daily Wednesday, Jul. 14, 2021

  Utah State student-athletes earn 229 Academic All-Mountain West honors

  Utah State student-athletes earned a combined 229 academic all-Mountain West citations in the spring, as announced by the conference offices on Wednesday. The total represented the third-highest in the league as UNLV led the way with 243 and Colorado State followed with 235.

  The Aggies had the most honored among the MW in men’s cross country (19), men’s track & field (46) and women’s track & field (50). Utah State’s women’s cross country and women’s tennis teams each finished second in the league with 19 and eight honorees, respectively, while softball finished third with 18 honorees. Utah State was also represented in men’s basketball (9), women’s basketball (10), men’s golf (7), women’s soccer (25), men’s tennis (6) and women’s volleyball (12).

• Beef Magazine Monday, Jul. 12, 2021

  Regulatory changes needed for gene-edited animals

  “Gene editing has the capacity to create transformational change in our food production systems,” says Dr. Noelle Cockett, president of Utah State University, a renowned geneticist and chair of the task force. “But in order to realize those benefits in production and safety, we need a regulatory structure that has kept pace with technology. Our task force has thoughtfully and carefully considered many different aspects of this issue, including perspectives from the scientific and agricultural communities, and we have made our recommendations. We hope this work will meaningfully inform the work of government officials as they develop the best public policy in this area.”

• Cache Valley Daily Saturday, Jul. 10, 2021

  USU Extension ROI program receives national award

  Utah State University Extension’s Rural Online Initiative (ROI) program received the Creative Excellence Award from the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP) at their 2021 annual conference in May.

• YAHOO Finance Tuesday, Jun. 08, 2021

  Mia Love, former U.S. Representative, joins The CGO at USU

  The Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University (CGO) is excited to welcome Mia Love, former U.S. Representative (R-UT04), as National Outreach Director. Elected in 2014, serving two terms, she was the first Republican black woman to serve in The United States Congress, and beginning in June, she will drive the CGO's national coalition-building efforts in immigration, the environment, and technology & innovation.

  "I'm excited to be joining such a great group of people," said Mia Love. "The CGO's data-driven, non-partisan approach to research is a breath of fresh air and exactly what we need in DC right now. I'm excited to get the data from the research out there and work with students to give them a unique perspective of how policymaking works."

• Standard Examiner Thursday, May. 27, 2021

  Aggie Chocolate Factory makes USU a foodie triple threat

  For over a century, Utah State University has been known for its ice cream- and cheese-making expertise. More recently, chocolate has been added to its educational repertoire.

  The Aggie Chocolate Factory is the only bean-to-bar facility operated by an academic institution in the western United States, according to Silvana Martini, the food sciences professor who directs the program.

  “Bean-to-bar” refers to starting with the cocoa beans through the processes of roasting, winnowing, grinding, mixing, tempering and molding into a finished chocolate bar. Most of the factory’s small-batch artisan chocolate is made with only two ingredients, cocoa and sugar, to showcase the flavor of the beans.

• YAHOO Finance Wednesday, May. 26, 2021

  SDL President H. Scott Hinton Announces Retirement, Hancock Named Successor

  Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory announced today that President H. Scott Hinton will retire effective June 30, 2021. SDL and industry veteran Dr. Jed Hancock will succeed Hinton as SDL President.

• Cache Valley Daily Thursday, May. 06, 2021

  USU'S 134th commencement ceremony Wednesday was virtual

  LOGAN – Wednesday night Utah State University celebrated its 134th commencement, with what is likely the shortest such event in school history.

  The virtual 40-minute evening featured comments from both President Noelle Cockett and USU alumna and honorary degree recipient Julie Robinson, as well as brief remarks from honorary degree recipients Karen Morse and Linda Daines.

  President Cockett encouraged graduates to remember those who helped them along the way.

  “Many of you have experienced life-changing moments and forged lifelong friendships during your time at USU,” Cockett exclaimed. “I also anticipate that you had a professor or mentor who provided guidance and inspiration for your future endeavors. I encourage you to let those people know of your regard and your thanks.”

• The Herald Journal Wednesday, Apr. 28, 2021

  USU project among finalists for $3 million solar energy tech prize

  A team of USU researchers is getting some national attention for a project that could give electric vehicle batteries a second life as solar energy storage.

  The team from USU’s Utah Power Electronics Lab includes professors Hongjie Wang and Regan Zane as well as doctoral students Marium Rasheed and Mohamed Kamel. Working with Maryland-based research firm Dream Team, the researchers are developing technology that could adapt batteries retired from electrical vehicles for storing solar energy.

• Utah Public Radio Monday, Apr. 26, 2021

  USU Names New Dean For College Of Education And Human Services

  Utah State University Executive Vice President and Provost Francis Galey announced Friday that Alan L. Smith has been selected as the newest dean for the Emma Eccles Jones College Of Education And Human Services.

  Galey’s quoted in a press release saying, “Dr. Smith has extensive experience in research and interdisciplinary collaboration that will lend itself well to one of USU’s largest colleges.”

  Smith comes to Utah State after nine years as professor and chairperson in the Department of Kinesiology at Michigan State University. Additionally, he has more than 24 years of experience in academia. Smith will begin work as dean on July 1.

• YAHOO Finance Wednesday, Apr. 14, 2021

  Space Dynamics Lab to Support Newest NASA Energy Measurement Mission

  The Space Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University announced that it has been awarded a contract to support NASA’s new space-based instrument to continue the agency’s key climate record. The contract value was not disclosed.

  Under the leadership of Principal Investigator Dr. Peter Pilewskie from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder, the new instrument, named Libera, will be built to continue the 40-year data record of the balance between the solar radiation entering Earth’s atmosphere and the amount absorbed, reflected, and emitted.

• The Herald Journal Monday, Apr. 05, 2021

  USU names Odom as new men's basketball coach

  Ryan Odom was named the 20th head coach in school history by USU Athletics Director John Hartwell. He replaces Craig Smith, who left after three seasons at the Aggie helm to be the head coach at the University of Utah. Smith was named the Utes head coach on March 27.

  Odom has been the head coach at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) since 2016, where he compiled a record of 97-60, including a 50-29 mark in the America East Conference. He guided the Retrievers to their first-ever postseason win in the 2017 CIT Tournament, then made history in 2018 as UMBC became the first-ever 16th seed to knock off a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, when the Retrievers beat top overall seed Virginia, 74-54.

• Cache Valley Daily Monday, Mar. 29, 2021

  USU forms group to recognize the indigenous history of land it occupies

  USU President Noelle Cockett announced recently the formation of a working group to create a framework for future university land acknowledged statements and conversations.

  This is an effort to recognize and show respect for Native American peoples as original stewards of the land that Utah State University sits on and also many of the satellite locations sit on.

  On KVNU’s For the People program on Monday, a member of that work group, Marilyn Cuch, Secondary Teacher Education Program School of Teacher Education & Leadership/ Utah State University – Uintah Basin, was our guest and said that she and other educators have been talking about for a couple of years.

• Cache Valley Daily Tuesday, Mar. 23, 2021

  Neemias Queta named finalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year

  LOGAN, Utah – Utah State junior center Neemias Queta has been named one of just four finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award, as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Tuesday. Queta is joined on the list by Baylor’s Davion Mitchell, Alabama’s Herbert Jones and USC’s Evan Mobley.

  Queta has been a defensive force in the nation this season, totaling an NCAA-best 97 blocks and making him one of only three players in the nation with 90 or more blocks this season. The total also broke his own Utah State record of 84, set during his freshman campaign in 2018-19. Overall, Queta recorded 219 blocks over the course of his career, far surpassing the previous Utah State record of 155 career blocks set by Gilbert Pete from 186-89. Furthermore, Queta’s 219 put him tied for third in Mountain West history, matching the University of Utah’s David Foster (2006, 09-11). Queta is one of only five players in Mountain West history to record 200 or more blocks in a career.

• KSL Thursday, Mar. 18, 2021

  Did life once survive on Jupiter moon? USU space lab helping NASA find out

  NORTH LOGAN — In a few years, NASA will launch a new mission in the hopes of answering an existential question humans have asked for years: Are we alone out there?

  The mission, called Europa Clipper, will send a spacecraft to one of Jupiter's moons, Europa, to discover if it was once habitual to life. Utah State University's Space Dynamics Lab is now helping NASA answer that question, officials announced Thursday. The university's lab built and tested an integral piece of the mission, the thermal management system to the mapping instrument of the spacecraft, that will chart the surface of Europa.

  The Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa, or MISE, is tasked with mapping the moon's thick and icy surface to find the warmest spots. USU's technology will help keep the mapping device cooled down so it can function properly.

• Fox 13 News Friday, Mar. 12, 2021

  Guests to be allowed at Utah State commencement events

  LOGAN, Utah — Utah State University graduating students will be allowed to bring two in-person guests to commencement events this spring.

  The change was made due to the state's COVID-19 cases remaining low, and inceases in vaccine availability. Nearly 20 commencement ceremonies will be held, grouped by college, and take place May 6-7 inside two campus venues: Dee Glen Smith Spectrum and Daines Concert Hall. Each student will be allowed to invite two guests to their assigned event.

• Cache Valley Daily Thursday, Mar. 04, 2021

  Aggies who left USU without a degree are invited back to earn one

  LOGAN – Former Utah State University students who left school without completing their degree are being invited back thanks to a generous grant from the Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation.

  Janet Anderson, USU’s assistant provost, explains the program’s criteria.

  “They want students (who) have been out at least five years, they want them to be no more than 30 credits away from completing, and then they want them to try to finish in 18 months,” Anderson explained. “So, those kids are just right at the finish line and just need a little bit more to finish and I so appreciate how generous they’ve been.”

• Utah Public Radio Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021

  USU Offers Undergrads Top-Tier Research Opportunities

  Utah State University was recently recognized as a national leader in research programs for undergraduates.

  Undergrads at USU have many different opportunities to take part in research projects that go along with their majors and interests.

• Cache Valley Daily Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021

  USU sponsors virtual workshop on building body image resilience

  The Utah State University Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP), in conjunction with USU Extension, sponsors the virtual workshop, “More than a Body: Building Body Image Resilience.”

  The free event is held Thursday, February 25, from 6 to 7:15 p.m., and registration is required.

  Twin sisters Lindsay and Lexie Kite, Ph.D.s, founders of the nonprofit “Beauty Redefined” and authors of the new book, More Than a Body – Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament, will discuss how the beauty-obsessed world perpetuates the idea that happiness, health and the ability to be loved depend on how a person looks.

• Utah Public Radio Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021

  USU Receives Award For Best Undergraduate Research Program In The Nation

  Utah State University is the recipient of the 2020 Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishments. The award recognizes USU as a national leader in undergraduate programs for research and creative inquiry.

  According to a press release from the university, 60 percent of degrees at Utah State require a research or creative-activity capstone. The press release states that according to a national survey in 2012, this is the highest level of undergraduate research in the nation.