President Cantwell Holds Listening Sessions at USU Moab

MOAB, Utah — As part of her promise to hold listening sessions for different segments of the Utah State University community, USU President Elizabeth Cantwell traveled to USU Moab to host listening sessions with various campus and community members on November 15.

President Cantwell spent the afternoon and evening hosting various sessions, each for different audiences and stakeholders. As part of these listening sessions, President Cantwell focused on the three questions she posed to the USU community when she initially announced her listening tour in August:

1. What’s the greatest untapped opportunity that you think we have?
2. What are the greatest risks that you worry will put us off course?
3. What is the one thing you worry no one has had the confidence to tell me as your new president that you think I need to know?

Throughout each session, attendees were able to discuss and actively engage with questions about opportunities, challenges and institutional priorities and had the opportunity to provide insight, assist in the development of actionable strategies, and contribute to the advancement of university goals and vision. Cantwell will use all of the information gathered in these sessions to help understand where USU currently stands and how to help guide the university where it needs to go to thrive as a modern land-grant university over the next 50 years and beyond.

“If we measure each community the same way, we will not meet the needs of the individual communities of Utah,” Cantwell told participants. “It takes constant conversation.”

Cantwell first held a listening session for USU Moab students, which was held in the conference center on the USU Moab campus. During the listening session, students conversed with the president about several items, including the under-tapped potential of trade skills and promoting technical education, funding streams that are available, need for more clubs, childcare options for students and more.

“The future of higher education everywhere is to serve people throughout their lifetime,” Cantwell told students. “We need to be fully engaged in that process.”

After this session, the president then met with USU faculty and staff to gain further insights and impressions. During this session, USU faculty and staff spoke with Cantwell about topics such as the need for more graduate program offerings in Moab, the potential for more outdoor tourism research and expertise, enrollment concerns, the potential of student housing, working with industry and offering a more diverse course selection, and various other topics.

“I am interested in how we can support this community in its research aspirations,” Cantwell said faculty members. “I’m not going to tell this community what research is valuable or what research to do. But I am interested in putting a research development strategy together.”

Cantwell finished the evening holding a dinner event at a local restaurant to meet with members of the Moab community. The group discussed making sure programs feed the local economy, helping students take the next step in attending college, student housing and how the community and university can better work together.

Cantwell also highlighted that those who were not in attendance, or who did not ask their questions publicly, could still submit their answers and concerns online. This can be done by visiting www.usu.edu/president/transition.

Located in the outdoor recreation paradise of Moab and boasting one of the greenest buildings on any USU campus, Utah State University Moab offers students the personalized attention and small class sizes of a small-town college with the resources of a large university. With programs such as Nursing, Elementary Education, Recreation Resource Management and Social Work, technical education in Health Professions, Automotive and Business, and degree options ranging from associate to doctorate degrees, USU Moab offers programs that help fuel local economies and empower individuals and their communities. Learn more at moab.usu.edu.