Lunch at The Main 2011

The 2011 Founders Celebration continued on Wednesday, March 23 with Lunch at The Main, a founders walk that takes current students to various locations on campus where they learn about SUU's rich heritage while enjoying food at each stop.

Emeriti professors Richard Dotson (Chemistry) and Al Tait (Botany) were at Old Main where they recounted the sacrifice of community members who financed the construction of Old Main, the difficult lumber expedition and the uses of the building through the years.

Professor emeritus Gary Giles (Accounting) was stationed at the Braithwaite Building where he introduced students to Royden C. Braithwaite (for whom the building was named) and shared other tidbits such as how the building was used as an overflow hospital during the 1918 influenza epidemic.

Georgia Thompson, former Vice President of Student Services, shared stories of the Sharwan Smith Center and how the community came together (as it has so many times) to aid in its construction. The center was built in three stages and includes the Centrum Arena.

Iron County Alumni Chapter President Bruce Barclay and SUU Librarian Janet Seegmiller shared the story of Old Sorrel and the wintertime expedition to gather lumber to build Old Main and meet the legislature's deadline.

A special thank you to SUUSA for sponsoring Lunch at the Main, and to the Service & Learning Center, Presidential Ambassadors and the Student Alumni Association for staffing each location.

Founders Banquet 2011

The 2011 Founders Celebration got underway on Wednesday, March 16 with the annual Founders Banquet in the Gilbert Great Hall.

Four alumni were honored for their service to Southern Utah University: Lois Bulloch ('59), Mary MacDonald ('38), Warren Bulloch ('14) and Ken Benson ('55).

Lois made an indelible mark on SUU through her 18 years as the administrative assistant in student services. Her work and service extended beyond campus and reached into the community through terms on the Enoch City Council, Iron County Commission and numerous other boards.

Mary learned to appreciate many of the beautiful things of life at the feet of her mother, Lillian MacFarlane, who was the first music graduate of this institution. Mary taught ceramics as well as three-dimensional design at SUU and was a favorite among her students.

Few Cedarians had as a great an impact on their town and its school as did Warren in the 20th century. He was a prominent businessman and civic leader serving on numerous boards simultaneously. Warren was the first chairman of the board of trustees, was a long-time member of the state board of regents and championed this institution's rise to four-year status. He passed away in 1980.

Ken is an integral and vital ingredient in the bright history of SUU and is one who is fondly remembered and revered by many. He was one of the first directors of the Upward Bound program and served 14 years as director of student activities. He was ever known as a student's administrator because of his compassion for students and his ability to reach out and include others.

Thank you to all of our honorees for their devotion and dedication to SUU!

cccccccc
President Michael T. Benson presents Distinguished Service Awards to
Lois Bulloch & Mary MacDonald.

cccccccc
Donna Benson admires the portrait of her husband Ken Benson while Don Bulloch assists President Benson in unveiling a portrait of his father Warren Bulloch. Both portraits will join those on display in the Great Hall.

Glory Days -- SUUSA Elections

When I look back at my time at SUU, one of the most memorable, trying, and wonderful experiences I had was running for SUUSA President. I am not certain where I found the courage to run for office, but I still look back fondly at this experience.

One evening I was talking with one of my good friends, Justin McEwen. He had been toying with the idea of running for Academic Vice President. I encouraged him as I thought he would do an incredible job. Throughout the course of the conversation I decided that running for President was something I could do. I had previously served as an officer for PBL, I had been Student Body Controller, and I had been around campus enough that I figured enough people would know me. Justin and I then spent hours trying to figure out who else to run with us. We needed an additional Vice President and all 12 Senators. We formulated a plan and went to work.

Talking people into running for office was probably the most challenging part of the entire campaign. As we added members to the party, we started using their minds to help us fill out the rest of the ticket. After several days we finally had a full ticket and started holding meetings to come up with a party name, logo, platform, and other issues that we felt were important or that needed to be addressed. The library was currently under construction and there was a lot going on at SUU so we settled on "Students at Work" as our party name and our signs would look like a yellow construction logo. Then the real work began. We painted signs, created brochures, talked to our fellow students to see what issues were important to them, we recruited supporters to help us. We had to get donations, we talked to businesses to see what kind of deals we could get on our campaign materials and we worked to get everything done. The preparation work took over our nights, weekends and sometimes even took precedence over our classes.

Students at Work Party

Finally, the first day of the campaign arrived, we hoped we were ready. The official rules said we could not start campaigning until 8:00 a.m. About 8:15 I had my first fine. Two of my room mates wore our shirt to school that first day, they had 8:00 a.m. classes and wore the shirts on campus. This was considered campaigning early and I had to start an appeal with the Elections Committee. This incident was the only negative aspect of the entire campaign for me. I enjoyed setting up a table in front of the Student Center and meeting more of my fellow students. Meeting new people has always been one of my favorite past-times. Each evening we would gather together and go door-to-door through all of the apartment complexes. It was our goal to talk with all SUU Students.

Although I was not with at the time, one of my favorite stories comes from this door-to-door activity. One of the groups of our Senate Candidates was knocking on doors, I believe it was at College Way, or maybe Stadium Way. They knocked on the door and stepped inside the apartment to talk with their fellow students and as they looked around they noticed one of our large "Students At Work" signs was being used as a table in the apartment. One of the senate candidates asked if that was our sign? The students sheepishly replied that it was. She then told them they could keep the sign as long as they promised to vote for us. (I have always assumed they did.)

After a week of hard campaigning, it was finally time for the Primary Elections. All of the parties met in the Student Center living room to wait for results. When the results came back, I missed making the general elections by two votes. I have never been upset about not making it to the general elections, because putting together the campaign and meeting so many wonderful people was a worthwhile experience. My fellow party members and supporters are some of my favorite people from my SUU days. Spending so much time together, working for that common goal was definitely a bonding experience. One of those experiences that makes you stronger as you go through it, individually and as a team. I know it is something I have never regretted.

View 2011 SUUSA Election results: http://www.suunews.com/news/2011/mar/09/suusa-elections-now-open/

"Glory Days" is a recurring post by Clinton Painter, a 1996 alumnus with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.

Alumni Spotlight: Neil Christensen

Neil Christensen (’03, Information Systems) is putting his SUU education and experiences to great use as the User Experience Designer for outdoor retailer Backcountry.com, where he uses analytics and research to determine the best design possible for the company website.

Neil has built up a strong resume in his eight years since graduation, having worked in web development at Virgin America Airline, University of Utah Healthcare, and Salt Lake City School District. He credits his top-notch education from SUU with helping him get to where he is today, commenting, “Though I had several great professors at SUU, Rob Robertson (Assistant Professor of Information Systems) was instrumental in giving me the knowledge and encouragement to realize my potential.”

It was not just the in-class education that helped Neil achieve his success. Like many students who have the ability to work at SUU while going to school, Neil landed a job in Web Services assisting the webmaster in creating and maintaining pages for the SUU Website. “Jill Whitaker and Mark Walton in Web Services gave me the opportunity and experience necessary to be offered an excellent job for a graduating senior.”

Neil also gained significant leadership training with his involvement with the fraternity, Sigma Nu. He attributes his membership in the fraternity with rounding him out personally and providing him with professional skills that many students did not have upon graduating college.

His hard work as a student and as a web designer has not gone unnoticed. Upon his graduation from SUU, Neil was named an Alpha Affiliate by Sigma Nu, which is awarded to the top 10 graduating seniors in the U.S. and Canada based on academic, leadership, and service excellence. While at Virgin America, his redesign of virginamerica.com received the 2010 Website Excellence Award in the travel category from Online Media, Marketing and Advertising.

The service spirit instilled in him by SUU and Sigma Nu has not subsided. He has done work with the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective, promoting cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and with the San Francisco Food Bank. Out of a desire to have a more personal relationship with the people he’s helping, he also recently decided to volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah as a mentor for a little brother.

“I strive to be the type of person who brings happiness, value, and delight into the lives of others,” says Neil of his personal motto. “I believe that it is our relationships with other people that make the biggest impact on our own happiness.”

Neil resides in the Salt Lake City area.

Alumni Spotlight: Darrell Jourdan

Darrell Jourdan (’80, Industrial Arts) currently serves as the Maintenance Training Supervisor at Tyson Foods’ case-ready plant in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

He credits his SUU experience with helping him achieve success. “My education opened a lot of doors for me,” says Darrell. He particularly remembers the guidance and help he received from faculty member Vic Davis, stating, “Vic was always there with words of encouragement. He was a big help.”

In addition to his career with Tyson Foods’, Darrell has prized his opportunity to teach 3rd and 1st Grade Stationary Engineering courses for the Omaha Chapter of the National Association of Power Engineers, helping to better his professional colleagues in the area.

Darrel takes time out of his busy schedule to give back to SUU as well, serving the Alumni Association as the Nebraska & Iowa Network Representative; helping alums in the area connect.

He takes great joy in his hobbies which include hunting, fishing, weightlifting, running and remodeling his house. Darrell and his wife Cathy, who will celebrate their 30th anniversary this year, have raised two children, Benjamin and Christopher, and currently reside in the Omaha area.

Alumni Spotlight: Mackay & Mariam Steffensen

Mackay Steffensen (’99, Biology & Chemistry) and Mariam Chatfield Steffensen (’97, Family and Consumer Sciences) are giving back to their alma mater and community. Mackay is educating a new crop of science majors as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Southern Utah University. Mariam raises their five children and is active in the community and with the SUU Alumni Association.
Following his graduation from SUU, Mackay earned a Ph.D. from Texan A&M. He cites the education he received at SUU with helping him succeed and excel beyond other students in graduate school. “I received an excellent foundation in chemistry that allowed me to quickly matriculate in graduate school,” he says. “I quickly realized my education at SUU was unique among my cohorts. I was better prepared than most students with ‘more’ prestigious degrees and more practical experience.”

Mariam also considers her SUU education an important part of her success in life. “When I look back on my college experience what sticks out most is the life lessons I learned while traveling with the track and cross country teams,” says Mariam. “Since graduating from SUU, I have been able to work with many different people from many diverse backgrounds. I give most credit to the social interaction within the classroom and traveling with the team to accepting cultural and ethnic differences.”

Mackay specifically cites Ty Redd’s Organic Chemistry class with pushing him out of his comfort zone and requiring him to learn to think. Mariam respected and worked especially hard for Professors Artis Grady, Cindy Wright and Kay Alger.

After returning to SUU, Mackay got involved in establishing an outreach program that allows students and members of the community to experience some of the more exciting aspects of chemistry. The project is titled ‘Chemistry Madness’ and has already had almost 5000 participants. He is also involved in the Voyager Mobile Science Lab and project, which brings technology and curriculum based science activates to rural elementary schools.

Mariam volunteers as an assistant women’s cross country coach at Canyon View High School and is an active volunteer in the LDS Church working with the women of her congregation. She cites her greatest accomplishment as giving birth to 5 amazing children and supporting her husband through 11 years of schooling.

Mackay has also received numerous awards for his work in education throughout his career. He was recently named Distinguished Educator of the year at SUU in 2009 and the Department of Physical Science Outstanding Faculty Member in 2010.

The couple and their 5 children reside in Cedar City.

Alumni Spotlight: Marty Taggart & Doug Berry

Marty Taggart and Doug Berry were recently inducted into Southern Utah University’s Coaching Factory Hall of Fame for their achievements as coaches and their impact on youth and athletics.
Marty, a 1971 Physical Education graduate, has become a coaching legend at Moapa Valley High School and throughout southern Nevada. Following success as a center for the Thunderbird football team and as a wrestler, he began teaching and coaching at Moapa and remained there for 36 years until his retirement. During that time he coached football for 33 years, including 13 years as head coach, guiding the Pirates to three state championships and nine divisional wins. He was named Coach of the Year in 1978, 1979 and 1984.

However, his 31 years as the school’s wrestling coach is even more impressive as he led his charges to eight consecutive state crowns from 1975 to 1982 and is rightfully recognized as the father of wrestling at Moapa. Over the years, he produced 4 four-time state champions, 3 three-time state champions, 12 two-time state champions and another 40 state champs. Moreover, he led the effort to make wrestling a recognized sport among the small high schools in the state and throughout junior high schools in southern Nevada. He is justifiably proud to have afforded countless students the opportunity to develop their individual abilities and to work together as teammates.

He has been inducted into the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame, the National Wrestling Fall of Fame and Museum, and the Clark County High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame.

Doug, a Physical Education graduate and one of the greatest football receivers ever at SUU, held all Thunderbird single game, season and career records in receptions and receiving yards upon his graduation in 1971. His records stood for more than 35 years and still remain in the top three in school history. He was a four-year letterman and 1970 team captain. That same year, he led the nation in receptions and yards with 74 and 1294 respectively and after a brief appearance in the NFL, began his coaching and teaching career at Brighton High School in Utah. Over the years he would coach football, track and field, tennis and basketball. In 1973 he became the head football coach at Jordan High School where he led the Beetdiggers to the state semi-finals in 1976. He later accepted the top job at Alta High School in 1978, a post he held for 16 years. As the Hawks’ football coach he took his team to the state playoffs eight times, won the championship trophy in 1983 and 1988 and the runner-up trophy in 1984.

Along the way he was named coach of the year twice and saw his career record rise to 129-96 as a head coach. He was named Alta’s athletic director in 1995 and served in that position for 10 years. After being out of the coaching ranks for 16 years, he was lured back in 2006 as a receivers coach and special teams coordinator at Alta where he continues to teach physical education.