USU Uintah Basin's Marilyn Cuch named Alumni Fellow at K-State

ROOSEVELT, Utah — Utah State University Uintah Basin senior lecturer Marilyn Cuch has been named one of 12 distinguished Alumni Fellows at Kansas State University. Cuch, who received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from KSU, will go to the KSU campus to present guest lectures on April 12-14.

Cuch is a senior lecturer and director of the Undergraduate Secondary Education Program for the School of Teacher Education and Leadership in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services.

“I am humbled and very surprised to have received this award from the K-State Alumni Association and the College of Education,” Cuch said. “There are thousands of exceptional K-State grads who are educators across the nation and internationally working in classrooms, universities and educational entities. I am just doing what I enjoy — preparing future teacher leaders and trying to improve education for as many children and people as I can.”

Cuch is a Hú?kpap?a Lakota from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota. Cuch’s teaching and academic interests focus on secondary science education, curriculum development and instruction, culturally relevant teacher preparation, and Indigenous Leadership in Higher Education.

Her family has a long history as educators. Her mother was an elementary teacher, and her father taught English before becoming a principal and superintendent. Her grandmother on her mother's side taught elementary education, her grandmother on her father's side taught secondary education and was an English teacher and librarian, and her grandfather on her father's side was a coach, teacher, and principal. Both sets of grandparents put themselves through school and were the first generation to do so.

Over her 26-year career in education, Cuch has focused on teaching undergraduates at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, and USU. Cuch is active in the USU Statewide Campus system, where she helps meet rural education needs through teacher preparation.

Cuch is excited to return to her alma mater and share some of her experience with future educators. She also hopes to learn from students and share perspectives.

“When I return to my second home — Manhattan — I hope to listen to the K-State College of Education students and learn more about their perspectives on being preservice teachers,” Cuch said. “You learn more when you listen to your students than any well-prepared lesson. I hope to share the reason I call K-State my second home: Friends, colleagues, and professors in positions of power brought me to the table, gave me a voice, listened, and truly mentored me as an undergraduate. This is what I strive to do here at Utah State.”

Cuch chaired the President’s Land Acknowledgement Committee in 2020, which collaborated with Native nations to create 23 statements for each USU campus and center. In February 2022, she was awarded the USU Faculty University Service Award for the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services. Cuch is a part of the newly established Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council at USU.

She and her husband, Cameron, have two children, Ryder and Arden Grace.

Alumni Fellows return to campus to discuss current trends and to meet with students and faculty. The Fellows are chosen based on their high levels of professional accomplishment and distinguished service in their respective careers. For more information, visit k-state.com/Fellows.

Operating campuses in Vernal and Roosevelt for more than 50 years, Utah State University Uintah Basin gives students the personalized attention and small class sizes of a small-town college with the resources of a large university, all in the backdrop of the outdoor oasis that is the Uinta Mountains and Ashley National Forest. With degree options ranging from associate to doctorate degrees and more than 125 programs available, as well as access to the renowned Bingham Research Center, USU Uintah Basin offers programs that help fuel local economies and empower individuals and their communities. Learn more at uintahbasin.usu.edu.