In the News

• Deseret News Wednesday, Mar. 09, 2022

  1st-Of-Its-Kind Veterinary Program Coming To USU

  Students looking to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine now have the option to stay in Utah.

  The Utah Legislature this year funded the new College of Veterinary Medicine at Utah State University, making it the first program of its kind in the state.

  "We are grateful to Gov. Spencer Cox and the state Legislature for supporting the new USU College of Veterinary Medicine," USU President Noelle E. Cockett said in a statement. "We also appreciate Washington State University's partnership over the last 10 years with the joint doctorate of veterinary medicine degree. It is now time for USU to address the growing shortage of veterinarians in our state, particularly in rural areas."

• ABC4 News Friday, Mar. 04, 2022

  Political scientist breaks down Ukraine, Russian War complexities

  LOGAN, Utah (ABC4) – As peace talks continue in Ukraine, many wonder what will happen next. To get a better idea of what the future could have in store, ABC4’s Northern Utah Correspondent Kade Garner sat down with a political scientist from Utah State University who investigates “bargaining obstacles to peace processes.” Not only is Dr. Anna Pechenkina a political expert, but she is an ethnic Russian and Ukranian as well.  

• Cache Valley Daily Thursday, Mar. 03, 2022

  USU Extension offering free classes especially for step-families

  LOGAN — An event that is geared for step-families is being offered by the Healthy Relationships office through Utah State University Extension.

  It’s called Smart Steps for Stepfamilies a FREE 7-week course, and on KVNU’s For the People program on Wednesday, program coordinator Shauntell Kanigan said all families face some challenges.

  “But on the stepfamilies, they might have extra in-laws and they have other significant others in this combination that do add a little bit more complications that we help and give tools for. Just to help people out to be more successful.”

• Fox 13 News Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022

  USU students create tribute to Ukrainian student-athlete at basketball game

  LOGAN, Utah — The student section at a Utah State basketball game paid tribute to one of their own players whose home country of Ukraine is under attack.

  Scott Garrard, a play-by-play radio broadcaster for USU Athletics, posted a photo on Twitter showing hundreds of students holding up blue and yellow colored paper to replicate the Ukrainian flag design as Max Shulga checked in to the game.

• Cache Valley Daily Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022

  USU names new Executive Director for Office of Equity

  Utah State University has named Matthew Pinner as the next executive director of the Office of Equity. Pinner will oversee USU’s systemwide compliance with nondiscrimination law and policy, Title IX regulations, and USU’s policy on sexual misconduct. He begins at USU’s Logan campus on Feb. 23, 2022.

  USU Provost Frank Galey said, “Matthew brings important skills and experience in nondiscrimination, Title IX compliance, as well as in human resources. The office has made huge strides over the last few years in revising policies and procedures and in training the entire campus community. Pinner’s leadership will help the school continue this progress and further improve the university’s prevention and response efforts.”

• The Herald Journal Friday, Feb. 04, 2022

  USU Announces Restructuring of Campus Public Safety

  In an effort to “strengthen leadership and oversight,” Utah State University announced Thursday a new executive director position and changes to the reporting structure within the school’s public safety department.

• Science Daily Thursday, Feb. 03, 2022

  Using untapped tree ring data to calculate carbon sequestration

  Having a solid estimate of the amount of carbon that forests can pull from the atmosphere is essential for global accounting of climate change -- leaders are counting on forests to pull a good chunk of human-produced carbon back to earth. But in reality, forests' ability to sequester carbon isn't as straightforward as it might appear on paper. In a new research synthesis, Justin DeRose from Department of Wildland Resources and colleagues from across North America offered an alternative strategy to counter the uncertainty of calculating the carbon that forests can sequester, using tree ring data from forest inventory plots.

• ABC4 News Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022

  USU goes green with goal of net carbon neutrality by 2050

  Utah State University has swapped out more than 142,000 light bulbs, replacing old, high-energy bulbs with energy-efficient LED bulbs across USU campuses statewide.

  The effort comes as a part of a goal of net carbon neutrality by 2050.

  The project reached 95% completion in 2021, according to the recently released greenhouse gas inventory, helping to realize a savings of nearly 6 million kilowatt hours and a carbon emission reduction of 3,500 metric tons annually.

• ABC4 News Friday, Jan. 28, 2022

  USU launches tech bootcamps to help close skills gap in Utah

  With everything that’s happening in the nation right now from labor shortages to “The Great Resignation,” the demand for tech talent in Utah is at an all-time high. 

  According to CompTIA’s Cyberstates 2021 report, Utah is projected to experience a 27 percent increase in tech occupation by 2030, suggesting that many Utahns are interested in making the career switch.

  And there’s no better time to take up tech support than now, as Utah State University and Fullstack Academy have launched accelerated live-online tech training boot camps in coding, DevOps, cybersecurity, and data analytics. 

  These programs are designed to generate opportunities for participants to qualify for the many well-paying and in-demand tech careers in Utah by supporting them through creating a portfolio and providing them with the necessary qualifications and tech skills. 

• ABC4 News Friday, Jan. 28, 2022

  USU professor's COVID-19 work is published in two scientific journals

  As previously announced in an article by Utah State University, recent research studies which resulted from collaborations with the college’s very own Professor Zhongde Wang have been nationally recognized and published in two separate scientific journals. 

  The first research study supports the understanding of the COVID-19 disease course, or the process of the virus from the point of inception to the point of resolution. The second research study investigates how mutations of the coronavirus, specifically the omicron variant, allow the virus to enter and affect human cells. 

  A key factor of success in both collaborations was the use of a hamster model. 

  The first study, published in Nature, identified the hamster as the first animal model that has proven to be highly susceptible to the Omicron variant, showing signs of symptoms like weight loss, and in severe cases, death. 

  The other study, done in collaboration with The U.S. Army and published in the journal of the American Society for Microbiology revealed that the human ACE2 gene caused the hamster to become highly susceptible to previous strains of COVID-19 and led to the development of a more lethal disease. 

• ABC4 News Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022

  USU students make contact with their Earth-orbiting satellite

  LOGAN, Utah (ABC4) — Last month, a team of Utah State University students sent a small satellite up to the International Space Station on a SpaceX rocket. Today, that satellite successfully entered orbit and in doing so, launched the team into history.  

  A digital pinging sound could be heard playing from students’ phones and laptops on Wednesday. When listening closely, one could recognize the tune. It was USU’s fight song. The digital pinging was a recording made around 5:00 a.m. The sound was picked up at a radio station in Argentina, but it originated in space. The source? A small satellite called a CubeSat.  

  A team of undergraduate students woke up hours before the sun rose on Wednesday morning. Some told ABC4 it was hard for them to go to sleep at a decent time the night before. The lack of sleep was the result of a once-in-a-lifetime event. The students who form the USU Get Away Special Team were preparing to see their satellite be launched into space after spending a month on the ISS.  

  When it launched a packed room burst into applause. However, the big test was still to come. Would the satellite be able to communicate with its creators?

  After half an hour, a radio station in Japan picked up a signal from the satellite. The students said at that moment, they knew the satellite was working. Fifteen more minutes passed, and the satellite was now over Argentina. Finally, a series of morse code beeps were picked up loud and clear followed by the USU fight song.  

• KSL Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022

  USU Aggie Creamery celebrating 100 years of business

  There are birthdays and then there are birthdays. The difference? How about the treats? In that regard, it may be hard to top (no pun intended) Utah State University’s Aggie Creamery.

  The centennial celebration kicks off Friday with a “Birthday Bash.” The event will run from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. at the creamery in Logan (750 North 1200 East). There will be $1 ice cream cones and drawings for prizes.

• KSL Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022

  USU studies how cows can help with climate change

  Researchers at Utah State University are looking at ways to improve the air quality by focusing on methane gas that cows release into the air.

  We’ve all had to pass gas and so do cows but for them, it’s on a pretty regular basis. 

  The USU researchers believe the right diet can cut pollution from cattle. 

  “Cows are responsible for about 8% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the livestock sector,” said Dr. Juan Villalba, a researcher at USU. 

  He is heading up the project that has a seven million dollar grant from the USDA. 

• The Herald Journal Monday, Jan. 17, 2022

  NEHMA receives $1m in grants for Art Research and Education Center

  Utah State University announced the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art had received two grants totaling over $1 million on Thursday.

  The museum was awarded the maximum grant of $750,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities in support of the construction of a new Art Research and Education Center on the university’s Logan campus. NEHMA also received a Cultural Capital Facilities Grant of $310,000 from the Utah Division of Arts & Museums.

  The NEH grant is the largest federal grant for the arts received to date at USU. The UAM grant is also the first time the state has offered grant funding for arts facilities, allocating a total of $2 million across Utah.

• Fox 13 News Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022

  USU receives $41 million gift from Bastian family to develop Ag Center

  Utah State University has received a gift of $41.25 million from the Bastian family, the largest donation in its history, as a way to honor the state's farming tradition, according to the Utah State TODAY.

  This gift will go toward development of the Bastian Agricultural Center in partnership with USU Extension to educate the public about the importance of modern agriculture, and encourage future developments in agricultural technology.

  A previous gift of $6 million from the Bastian family helped create the Center.

• The Herald Journal Monday, Jan. 10, 2022

  USU engineering professor earns grant to help U.S. Navy with efficiency

  USU assistant professor Matthew Harris recently received a grant for $347,000 from the Office of Naval Research to help find new techniques to control and optimize the performance of mechanical systems such as spacecraft and underwater vehicles.

  “The research is addressing fundamental research problems in optimization and control,” Harris said in a prepared statement Friday. “I am thankful for ONR’s support.”

  Harris told The Herald Journal he has been teaching mechanical and aerospace engineering since 2019 when he joined the engineering department. He has been in the industry for five years.

• KSL Sunday, Jan. 09, 2022

  Utah State University acknowledges unique history of its land ownership

  In a move to recognize its unique history, Utah State University finalized its first official land acknowledgment statements, indicating that school facilities exist on spaces originally occupied by Indigenous peoples.

  "As a land-grant institution, Utah State University campuses and centers reside and operate on the territories of the eight tribes of Utah, who have been living, working and residing on this land from time immemorial," the statement reads. The tribes include the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Indians, Navajo Nation, Ute Indian Tribe, Northwestern Band of Shoshone, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, San Juan Southern Paiute, Skull Valley Band of Goshute and the White Mesa Band of the Ute Mountain Ute.

  "We acknowledge these lands carry the stories of these nations and their struggles for survival and identity. We recognize elders past and present as peoples who have cared for, and continue to care for, the land. In offering this land acknowledgment, we affirm indigenous self-governance history, experiences and resiliency of the native people who are still here today."

  The process of creating the statement, along with 28 others recognizing the various Utah State branches throughout Utah and beyond, began in Dec. 2020, Marilyn Cuch, of the Hunkpapa Lakota, director of statewide education for USU and chairwoman of the acknowledgment committee, said.

• The Herald Journal Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021

  USU professor to participate in international piano competition

  Utah State professor Elzbieta Bilicka is slated to take the stage at Hilton Head International Piano Competition in March 2022. Out of 165 applicants from 28 countries, Bilicka was one of 20 chosen to perform.

  Bilicka said she felt happy when she discovered she was selected for this competition.

  “It’s nice to feel appreciated, always,” she said. “I probably feel a little stressed and challenged… because I’ve done a few of these events before, I kind of know what they are all about, so I don’t have this very idealistic overview.”

• KSL Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021

  What prestigious R1 classification means for Utah State University

  Utah State University last week joined the highest level of research institutions in the nation by earning the prestigious R1 classification — meaning the university has "very high research activity" — in the latest Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education announced this month.

  The university, one of only nine institutions to obtain R1 classification in 2021, joined 136 other members as having R1 classification. The designation denotes USU as a state and national leader in research ventures and graduate education.

• KSL Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021

  Satellite built and designed by USU students launched into space

  NASA launched a small satellite into space that was designed and built exclusively by undergraduate students at Utah State University.

  The CubeSat is part of the payload on the SpaceX CRS-24, which took off on a Falcon 9 rocket early Tuesday morning.

  The rocket is bound for the International Space Station, where astronauts will load it into something called a NanoRacks CubeSat deployer. 

• Salt Lake Tribune Monday, Dec. 20, 2021

  Hogan at USU Blanding celebrates Diné culture

  The first snow marks the beginning of the shoe game, or Keshjee’, for the Navajo (Diné). It goes like this: Two teams, which represent day and night animals in the Diné universe, have balls made from yucca root that they hide in moccasins behind a sheet representing the sky.

  When the sheet comes down, the other team walks or dances across the space to guess where the yucca balls are. When a team correctly guesses, they are given some yucca strands. The team that gets all 102 yucca strands, which equates to a life span in Diné culture, wins. Participants take on the identities of animals and sing songs about them during the ceremony.

  The Keshjee’ happens in a hogan and recalls the time in creation when day and night animals were planning the natural cycles of life. Traditionally, the game has been a teaching tool for young Diné to learn about their culture.

  For Diné college students who are away from home, it’s hard to find space and community for ceremonies like Keshjee’.

  Now Diné students at the Utah State University Blanding campus will have a place to play the game and to meet: a hogan. Made of dirt and cedar, the hogan is built in a traditional manner and faces the eastern light, the first light a family sees in the morning.

• KSLtv.com Monday, Dec. 20, 2021

  USU attains Carnegie R1 Classification

  Utah State University received the R1 Classification in the latest Carnegie Classification of institutions of Higher Education in December. This means USU will be joining the highest level of research universities in the nation.

  “I am thrilled Utah State University has been designated a Carnegie R1 University,” said President Noelle E. Cockett. “To achieve this top-tier designation has been years in the making and now sets our university apart as a premier research institution in the nation. This is a historic achievement for our university, and I am proud of our faculty, staff and students who have worked to create transformational impacts through meaningful research.”

  USU is one of only 137 institutions nationwide in the R1 classification and one of nine that obtained the status this year. USU is the second institution in the state to receive this designation and joins the University of Utah as a national leader in research and graduate education.

• Cache Valley Daily Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021

  Aggies finish championship season with LA Bowl victory over Oregon State

  Utah State finished its turnaround season with an emphatic win on a national stage in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Saturday night, beating the Pac-12’s Oregon State 24-13 to secure one of the biggest wins in program history.

  USU finished the season with an 11-3 overall record and a Mountain West Conference championship. Oregon State fell to 7-6 overall.

  The win was USU’s first bowl game victory over a Power Five opponent and just the third time the Aggies have won 11 games in a season. It came after a tumultuous 2020 year where USU won just one game, had a coaching change and player protests that resulted in forfeiting the final game of the year.

• KUTV2 Monday, Dec. 06, 2021

  Psychology professor gives tips to address pandemic stress

  A Utah State University psychology professor has a suggestion for trying to address stress and anxiety that arises from the pandemic.

  “My simple suggestion would be instead of engaging in that circle, think about things that are important to you and then put your time and energy into that,” said Michael Twohig, who’s also a practicing psychologist.