President Cantwell Holds Listening Sessions at USU Tooele

TOOELE, 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 Tooele to host sessions with various campus and community members on January 18-19.

Spending time with various stakeholders in the Tooele community, President Cantwell focused these listening sessions 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?

Arriving on the campus in the late afternoon, President Cantwell first took a tour of the campus, familiarizing herself with the campus’ facilities. Later in the evening, the president held a dinner meeting with local members of the Tooele community, discussing the community’s ideas for what USU Tooele should offer and provide for the local area.

After spending the night in town, President Cantwell then met with USU faculty and staff to gain insights and impressions from USU employees. She listened to concerns about the need for financial aid representatives on campus, expanded need for digital course options and availability, better integrating the campus with Logan for resources and class opportunities, tuition affordability, and utilizing the growing number of alumni in Tooele.

“One of the things we have to do as an institution is to find ways to shift a little more quickly, because the world outside is shifting much more rapidly,” Cantwell told faculty and staff. “And we have to demonstrate to our students how to do that and live it, so they can observe that. One of the great things about this university is that we are student focused and are excellence focused. There are challenges ahead, but that doesn’t mean we have to lose track of our public service mandate and the way we serve our students.”

She finished the morning hosting a listening session with USU students, who gave further insights. They spoke on online learning opportunities and difficulties, the need for more in-person and broadcast classes, more training in technology for online educators, more opportunities for traditional students to have a little of the college experience, and the opportunity for research in a county ripe with abundant opportunities, especially in natural resources.

“This system will be here for a long time,” Cantwell told students. “Technology is changing really fast. Students are changing really fast. Jobs are changing really fast and where people live is changing really fast. Everything is going to change in a decade. Thank you for being a part of it.”

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 valley of the Oquirrh Mountains, Utah State University Tooele offers students the personalized attention and small class sizes of a small-town college with the resources of a large university. With degree options ranging from associate to doctorate degrees, plus technical education offerings, USU Tooele offers programs that help fuel local economies and empower individuals and their communities. Learn more at tooele.usu.edu.