University Affairs

Utah State University Celebrates Stories of Aggie Impact

Institution turns 135 years and the university is celebrating with Founders Day and Old Main Society event on March 2.

By Maren Aller |

Utah State University turns 135 in 2023 and is celebrating by honoring alumni and friends at the Founders Day and Old Main Society event Thursday, March 2. The event honors three individuals and one couple with the theme “Stories of Aggie Impact.”

“During our Founders Day and Old Main Society event we are recognizing individuals who, through their generosity and tireless efforts, have made a significant impact on Utah State, in their individual communities and throughout the world,” said USU President Noelle E. Cockett.

The 2023 Old Main Society award recipients are Brent and Beverley Robinson, who will receive the Spirit of Old Main Award, and Sydney M. Peterson, who will receive the Emeriti Old Main Award.

The 2023 Founders Day alumni award recipients are Melanie Rice-Moffat, who will receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award and Ellen Rossi, who will receive the Distinguished Service Award.

For more information, or to attend, visit usu.edu/advancement/oldmainsociety/foundersday. RSVP by Friday, Feb. 24.

Old Main Society Awards

The Old Main Society was established in 1967 to recognize those seeking to continue the tradition of excellence at Utah State University by providing generous gifts that enhance funding from the state, research grants and other sources. The event celebrates Old Main Society members, both old and new, whose generosity ensures the future success of Utah State University and the students it serves.

This year’s festivities will include a reception welcoming 158 new members into the Old Main Society, joining more than 3,300 fellow Aggies. The university will also recognize 108 current members who will move up to new giving levels.

Spirit of Old Main Award

Brent and Bev Robinson

Brent and Bev Robinson epitomize the Aggie spirit. The couple, who contribute to their communities, professions and causes in a variety of ways, always keep Utah State University close to their hearts. Theirs is a true partnership in both life and work.

Brent’s time at USU provided many experiences, most notably his time as president of the 1966 senior class, before graduating with degrees in both electrical engineering and economics. He went on to receive an MBA from Harvard Business School. Brent’s keen business acumen allowed for a successful career in the financial sector, where he was president/CEO of Citizens National Bank in Boise, Idaho, then senior executive vice president of American Savings Bank, the largest savings and loan in the United States at the time. In the late 1990s, Brent formed RobinCon, Inc., a consulting firm that provided strategic planning services to financial institutions in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Bev, who earned her Aggie status upon marrying Brent, enjoyed a career as a financial analyst at Intermountain Gas Company in Boise and later as executive director of the Laguna Beach California Chamber of Commerce. Beginning her education at Boise State University (she cheers for USU at football games), Bev went on to graduate with a degree in marketing from California State University at Fullerton.

As a couple, Brent and Bev remain loyal to USU and have served in various capacities over the years. Beginning in 2006, Brent served for nine years on the USU Foundation Board, where he provided guidance on the Investment Advisory Committee. Bev engages with and supports USU’s Special Collections and Archives in the Merrill-Cazier Library.

In addition, the couple have participated in the communities in which they have lived and worked. Brent has been active in many associations and organizations, including time as president of the Idaho Independent Bankers Association, while Bev has worked with numerous nonprofit organizations, including the Blaine County, Idaho, Senior Connection and Hunger Coalition.

Together, the couple have both served the Idaho Division of the American Cancer Society, where Brent served as chairman and Bev as vice president of development. They currently provide leadership to the very successful “I Have a Dream” Foundation in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Brent and Bev live an active life and can be found traveling the world, golfing or skiing. When at home in Sun Valley, Bev spends much of her time in her sewing room and is an accomplished quilter, while Brent enjoys spending time in his woodworking shop. The couple have continued the Aggie tradition with their four daughters and two sons, four of whom attended USU. They are proud of two granddaughters who are currently attending — one majoring in engineering and one in education.

Emeriti Old Main Award

Sydney M. Peterson

Dedicating her entire professional career to Utah State University, Sydney Mitchell Peterson had a long and distinguished tenure at the institution before retiring in 2022. For more than 40 years, Sydney served in a wide variety of roles spanning many areas of the university, including within the College of Family Life; Office of Research; College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences; Provost’s Office; Office of the President; Advancement; and with the Board of Trustees.

Most notably, beginning in 2005, Sydney served as the first woman chief of staff to USU’s president and as secretary to the Board of Trustees for more than 15 years. Prior to assuming those roles, she served as assistant provost.

Sydney was commended for her admirable leadership and involvement as a co-chair of USU’s Year of the Woman initiative in 2021. As co-chair, she showcased past and present women of distinction and helped organize many university celebrations that recognized the landmark voting rights of 1870, 1920 and 1965.

She uncovered and publicized brilliant women and their accomplishments, organized events such as the Suffrage Celebration Concert, created a new pathway of historic suffrage sites in Logan and was responsible for the publication of a brochure about the buildings on the Logan campus named in honor of women. The Year of the Woman celebration extended statewide and was a historic project.

For nearly two decades, Sydney was charged with planning and executing USU’s commencement ceremonies, a responsibility at which she excelled. Because of her meticulous organization, thousands of students and faculty over the years celebrated with their friends and family without ever worrying about the work behind the scenes. Her dedication is still felt by an entire committee of employees trying to accomplish what she alone did every year.

Her time on campus also saw Sydney overseeing, executing and organizing many university and presidential-level events including Founders Day, Old Main Society, presentations and meetings. Near the end of her career, and in addition to her other duties, Sydney took the helm of USU’s Alumni Association, where she oversaw staff, events and networking for the association.

Sydney has an undergraduate degree in sociology from Brigham Young University, and she earned a master’s in family and consumer economics from Utah State. She is also a graduate of the Utah Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Utah.

In addition to her work at USU, Sydney served as past chair of the Board of the National Association of Presidential Assistants in Higher Education. She also served on the Cache Valley Hospital Board and the Interfaith Council. She was the chair of the Cache County Library Board, the Interfaith Council and USU Community Associates, and a member of the Cache Valley Regional Council.

A woman of many talents, Sydney is an accomplished quilter, seamstress and knitter. She loves to read and enjoys family history research. Known for her quick wit and sense of humor, Sydney has made an abundance of lifelong friendships on campus and has been a mentor to many women in various levels of their careers who are often balancing a career and family life.

Sydney is married to Tom C. Peterson, retired USU professor and department head of Interior Design, and is the mother to four children, all Aggies; and a loving grandmother of five, two of whom are currently continuing the Aggie legacy and three more to eventually follow.

Founders Day Awards

Distinguished Alumni and Distinguished Service Awards are given on Founders Day to individuals or couples who have made significant contributions to their community, the university or the world at large.

Distinguished Alumni Award

Melanie Rice-Moffat

It is said that one child, one teacher, one book, and one pen are all that is needed to change the world. Utah State University alum Melanie Rice-Moffat is doing just that as an educator who has worked tirelessly to teach the next generation of students who will one day become the world’s great leaders and influencers.

Melanie began her teaching career after graduating from USU with a degree in elementary education in 1989, followed by a master’s degree in special education at the University of Utah. In 1990, she launched Educational Advantage, Inc., which became a full-service tutoring center that provided students with individual instruction to meet their specific needs.

Melanie is currently a teacher at Park City High School, where she enjoys working with special needs students and those with the goal of attending college as a first-generation student.

Known as warm, enthusiastic, accessible and caring, Melanie dedicates herself to creating positive educational experiences for every student. By working closely with them, she is able to recognize their unique needs and teach in a way that helps them succeed.

The ultimate objective for every teacher, Melanie believes, should be to help students reach their academic potential in the most enjoyable way possible. She advocates for strong public schools because every child deserves a quality education which promotes an inclusive society, economic prosperity and a sustainable future.

Melanie’s long teaching career is equally matched by her generous community advocacy. Melanie serves USU as a member of the Advancement Board of the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, which is focused on developing relationships and increasing support among the college’s key constituents and USU at large. In addition, she has served on the Park City Education Foundation Board and the Park City Soccer Board.

In her free time, Melanie enjoys both playing and watching sports and loves cheering on the Aggies. Melanie, a second-generation Aggie, is married to Mark. R. Moffat. The couple have two sons and one daughter, one of whom is proudly continuing the legacy as a third-generation Aggie. The family enjoys skiing, biking and hiking with their dogs during their free time.

Distinguished Service Award

Ellen Rossi

Ellen Rossi truly embodies what it means to be an invested citizen of Utah. Her belief in the importance of acting to implement change was shaped by generations of influential family members who came before her. Part of the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney, Emma Eccles Jones and Lawson families, Ellen is a fifth-generation Utahn who is deeply invested in the welfare of Utahns and the stewardship of the state’s natural resources.

Thanks, in part, to Ellen’s ability to bring people together for the common goal of managing and conserving Utah’s natural resources, there has been a paradigm shift in how Utahns are addressing critical environmental issues.

A strong advocate for the research and science that lead to solutions and sustainability of the high-quality of life enjoyed in Utah, her foresight, knowledge and connections were instrumental in the creation of Utah State University’s Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air in 2022.

The institute’s creation could not have come at a better time. The growing collective knowledge created and shared by the institute’s group of experts is allowing state leaders to make educated decisions that impact the use and extend the longevity of Utah’s increasingly important resources.

Ellen is also passionate about supporting the kinds of learning, research and inquiry that a university experience provides. She creates change by using her position on the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney, Janet Quinney Lawson and Emma Eccles Jones Foundation boards to invest in people and their ideas.

At USU, Ellen invests in the next generation of change-makers by supporting the Quinney Scholars in the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources. Continuing the legacy created more than three decades ago by the Quinney Foundation, she enjoys meeting with the undergraduates and graduate student fellowship recipients who are working to better understand natural ecosystems and to foster their sustainable use.

Thanks to her family ties, Ellen is also invested in many other areas on campus, including the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art and the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services nursing program.

By leading in her community, Ellen is recognizing the strong women of her family before her who were heavily involved in civic work. Her ability to look at people and organizations with similar interests and link them together to create symbiotic, successful partnerships is providing further opportunities for those in local communities. Ellen and her husband, Christopher Rossi, have two children and are actively involved in the various organizations in the communities in which they live.

Ellen and her family feel lucky to call Utah home, and they can often be found outside taking advantage of all the state has to offer. As the granddaughter of Janet Quinney Lawson, who had a deep love for Utah landscapes, Ellen is proud to continue her grandmother’s legacy of ensuring those landscapes will be enjoyed for generations to come.

2023 Spirit of Old Main Award recipients Brent and Beverley Robinson

2023 Emeriti Old Main Award recipient Sydney M. Peterson.

2023 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Melanie Rice-Moffat.

2023 Distinguished Service Award recipient Ellen Rossi.

WRITER

Maren Aller
Senior Writer
Advancement
(435) 797-1355
maren.aller@usu.edu

CONTACT

Adrienne Larson
Senior Director of Stewardship
Advancement
435-797-8924
Adrienne.larson@usu.edu


TOPICS

Awards 683stories Community 442stories Alumni 181stories Aggies 129stories Giving 81stories

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