USU Uintah Basin Professor Dennis Garner Announces Retirement

VERNAL, Utah — Utah State Uintah Basin Principal Lecturer Dennis Garner has announced his retirement at the end of the spring 2022 semester. Garner has been a lecturer at USU Uintah Basin since 1998 and leaves behind a legacy of excellence during three decades of teaching.

“Dennis represents all that is good about the Uintah Basin Campus and has been engaged in campus and community development from the beginning,” said James Y. Taylor, associate vice president for USU Uintah Basin. “It will be hard to replace someone as special as Dennis, and we will miss his energy and excitement as well as his commitment to students.”

The community is invited to attend a farewell gathering in honor of Garner. The event will be at noon April 13 at the USU Uintah Basin Roosevelt Campus (987 E. Lagoon Street), inside the multipurpose room.

“Dennis exemplifies what it means to be a faculty member in USU Statewide Campuses,” said Rich Etchberger, vice provost for Statewide Campuses. “His connection to the communities in the Uintah Basin has always been strong. His teaching has positively impacted lives there and across Utah. He was one of my first colleagues when I joined the faculty in the Uintah Basin, and I looked up to him as someone who knew how to accomplish things. I will miss him as he starts this new adventure.”

Garner accepted a full-time position at USU-Uintah Basin Education Center in the fall of 1989 as an Educational Technology instructor. He had taught as an adjunct instructor for several years prior to his full-time appointment.

“Dennis is known to USU personnel and community citizens as an extremely kind, outgoing, and smiling individual who always has a kind word for all,” said principal lecturer John Barton. “Dennis served 33 years at USU and in that time he gained many local, regional and national recognitions for his teaching innovations and professionalism."

In 2004, he was awarded the USU Uintah Basin Teacher of the Year award and was also awarded the Taggart-Ballard Award of Excellence. He was awarded the Outstanding Teacher for USU Uintah Basin award in 2006 and the USU Regional Campuses New Program award in 2008 from USU Continuing Education.

Garner started to receive even wider recognition in the last decade, being named the 2011 University Outstanding Business Educator by the Western Business Education Association. Garner was named the Utah Higher-Ed Educator of the Year by the Utah Business Education Association in 2013 and was nominated for Higher Education Teacher of the Year in 2015.

“I have become a better educator talking to and learning from Dennis over the years,” said Marilyn Cuch, senior lecturer in the School of Teacher Education and Leadership. “Dennis is one of the kindest, most thoughtful, creative, selfless and innovative educators you will meet. He is a humble educator whom I have always respected and I’m glad my students have been able to be taught by him. He will be greatly missed across our Statewide Campuses and in our community, and I wish him all the best.”

Born in Rupert, Idaho, on a dairy farm, Garner graduated with both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Business Education from Brigham Young University. He would go on to earn his EDD from USU in Information Systems. Upon graduation, Dennis accepted a teaching position at Union High School in Roosevelt. While there he met and married Amelia Hullinger. They are the parents of six children and several grandchildren.