Utah Valley University (UVU) is a
public university
A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universi ...
in
Orem, Utah
Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City.
Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Uta ...
. UVU offers master's, bachelor's, associate degrees, and certificates. Previously called Utah Valley State College, the school attained university status in July 2008.
History
Central Utah Vocational School
The school was founded in the fall of 1941, when the Utah State Vocational Office consolidated federal work program classes into one campus in
Provo, just west of the campus of Brigham Young University. At this time, the school was known as Central Utah Vocational School (CUVS).
Utah Trade Technical Institute
Growth brought numerous changes to the school over the following decades, and it was renamed several times to reflect its changing role. In 1963, the name was changed from CUVS to Utah Trade Technical Institute.
Utah Technical College at Provo
In 1967, the school became Utah Technical College in Provo and was given the authority to confer associate degrees for the first time. In 1977, the institution began moving to its present location, at the junction of I-15 and University Parkway in Orem.
Utah Valley Community College
In 1987, it became Utah Valley Community College.
Utah Valley State College
In 1993, the school was named UVSC and began awarding four-year degrees. The Utah legislature approved renaming UVSC as a university in February 2007 (effective July 1, 2008), allowing it to begin offering master's degrees, although the school continues to emphasize its two- and four-year degree programs.
Utah Valley University
On July 1, 2008, UVSC changed to UVU, officially changing to university. As of Fall Semester 2018, the
Utah System of Higher Education
The Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) is the public university system of the state of Utah. It includes each of the state's sixteen public institutions of higher education, including its eight technical colleges.
History
On March 21, 1969, ...
(USHE) reported UVU as the largest university in the state for the fourth year in a row with 39,931 students, surpassing the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
.
UVU is the largest employer in Orem, with over 1,900 full-time faculty and staff and over 3,300 part-time faculty and staff.
When it was a community college, the school had 8,000 students enrolled, growing by approximately 3,000 students a year.
The university had 32,670 students enrolled for the 2010 fall semester. 31,556 students were enrolled for the fall of 2012.
Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez has been the institution's 7th president since 2018 and is the university's first female president. Tuminez was selected by the Utah State Board of Regents in 2018 and was preceded by
Matthew S. Holland.
Academics
UVU is accredited by the
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Individual programs, schools and colleges, and departments are accredited, certified, or recognized by 19 specialized accreditation agencies. Vocational accreditation was granted in 1976, and renewed in 1990 and 1995 by the Utah State Office of Vocational Education. In December 2006, the UVU School of Business received initial accreditation from the
AACSB, which was maintained in 2011.
About 88% of UVU students come from Utah, but an increasing number of students come from other states and countries. In 2016, UVU students represented all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, and 74 countries.
UVU's in-state tuition and fees cost roughly $5,530 (2016–17); out-of-state tuition and fees are $15,690 (2016–17).
UVU has a 100% acceptance rate. As of 2021, it holds a US ranking of #369 according to ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
''. For 2022, ''
U.S. News & World Report'' ranked UVU #94-#122 in Regional Universities West and #114 in Social Mobility for that region's universities.
Campuses
UVU's main campus is in Orem with satellite campuses in
Heber City
Heber City is a city and county seat of Wasatch County, Utah, United States. The population was 11,362 at the time of the 2010 census. It is located 43 miles southeast of Salt Lake City.
History
Heber City was first settled in 1859 by Rober ...
,
Spanish Fork, North Orem,
Provo Municipal Airport, and
Lehi
Lehi (; he, לח"י – לוחמי חרות ישראל ''Lohamei Herut Israel – Lehi'', "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel – Lehi"), often known pejoratively as the Stern Gang,"This group was known to its friends as LEHI and to its enemie ...
. UVU's main campus encompasses and includes 48 buildings.
Each building has been built using the same style of unfinished concrete (before 2005), with all of the major buildings on campus connected by concourses. UVU grounds include two reflecting ponds on the west side of campus, a stream running through the east part of campus, and a multi-dimensional fountain in the middle of campus.
UVU is home to the Utah Community Credit Union Center, formerly the
David O. McKay Events Center
The UCCU Center (originally known as the McKay Events Center), is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of Utah Valley University in southwest Orem, Utah, Orem, Utah, United States. It was built in 1996 and is home to the Utah Valley Wolverines bask ...
which was built in 1996 with a capacity to seat 8,500 people. The events center is governed by a board of representatives from UVU, Utah County, and Orem City. It not only holds campus activities and sporting events but also community events such as major concerts, trade shows and expos, high school sports tournaments, family shows, graduations, and banquets. It is also home to UVU's culinary arts program, including Greg's Restaurant. On average, the Events Center hosts 150–170 events per year. As many as 360,000 people patronize the Events Center on an annual basis.
Digital Learning Center
In September 2006, the school began construction of a new Digital Learning Center to replace the Losee Resource Center (library). The "DLC" is and is located northeast of the Liberal Arts building. It opened on July 1, 2008. UVU President
William A. Sederburg
William A. Sederburg is an American university president and politician. He is a senior scholar at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Sederburg was commissioner of the Utah System of Higher Education from 2008 to 2012. ...
hired Cooper, Roberts, Simonsen and Associates, and Layton Construction as the design/build team for the new Digital Learning Center, with acclaimed New York architect Jacob Alspector as lead architect. "We chose the design we’re going with because it was an exceptional design that still kept a lot of the same features of our current campus. So it looks like it’s supposed to be there yet it stands out," said Jim Michaelis, associate vice president of Facilities Planning. The $48 million project includes networked computers, computer labs, a computer reference area (Information Commons), a media center, 31 study rooms, and wireless internet throughout the building. In 2016 money was donated to the Library by Ira A. Fulton and Mary Lou Fulton, and it was renamed Fulton Library.
The library is the "greenest" state-owned building in Utah and won two 2008 awards from Intermountain Construction magazine for its energy efficiency.
List of buildings on main campus
* Browning Administration
* Clarke Building
* Computer Science & Engineering
* UCCU Center
* Environmental Technology
* Fulton Library
* Gunther Technology
* Liberal Arts
* Losee Center
* McKay Education
* Noorda Center for the Performing Arts
* Pope Science Building
* Rebecca D. Lockhart Arena
* Sparks Automotive
* Science Building
* Sorensen Center
* Student Life & Wellness
* Woodbury Business Building
* Wolverine Services.
Science building
The UVU Science Building opened in the summer of 2012. The building features study rooms to the west side that have glass whiteboards as well as windows spanning the entire height of the towers. In addition, ZOOL 2320 students can enjoy the new Anatomy Lab, which has vents to decrease the concentration of Phenol in the air.
Organization
UVU is part of the USHE, with the following primary colleges and schools:
* College of Humanities and Social Sciences
* College of Science
* College of Engineering and Technology
* College of Health and Public Service
* School of the Arts
* School of Education
* University College
* Woodbury School of Business
Other academic support programs include the Office of Engaged Learning, the Office of Teaching and Learning, Extended Studies, Summer, Concurrent Enrollment, Professional and Continuing Education, Academic Service-Learning, and Honors.
Performing arts
Ballroom dance
UVU is home to one of the largest public collegiate ballroom dance programs in the United States. Over the last several years, the Ballroom Dance Company has grown into a premiere performance troupe. The company has over 130 members divided into four teams; one touring team, one reserve, and two backup teams. The backup teams provide the students with the training and performance skills necessary to meet the demands of the touring team. The UVU Ballroom Dance Company has received numerous awards, honors, and accolades as they have performed and competed throughout the United States and abroad, including recently winning the first ever College Dance Championship on ABC's TV series
Dancing With The Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...
.
Music
UVU has ten main musical groups. The four choir groups are Chamber Choir, Deep Green, Emerald Singers, and Concert Choir. The two orchestra groups are Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra. Band-related groups include Wind Symphony, Jazz Band, Pep Band, University Band, and Percussion Ensemble.
Theatre
The UVU Theatre program produces five shows each year on its mainstage season. In addition, the president of the university selects a title each year as part of the freshman reading program that the department stages in the university's courtyard. The department partners with the
Sundance Resort to produce Sundance Summer Theatre each year. The university creates a play that travels and performs in the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
as part of its annual Theatre Semester Abroad to London and Scotland. They also host the Rocky Mountain Summer Stock Theatre Auditions each year, where college students from across the region audition for professional summer stock theatres. UVU is the first university in the nation to win back to back national awards from the
Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. In 2013 they won Outstanding Production of a Play for ‘
Vincent in Brixton
''Vincent in Brixton'' is a 2002 play by Nicholas Wright. The play premiered at London's National Theatre with Jochum ten Haaf in the title role. It transferred to the Playhouse Theatre and later to Broadway.
It focuses on artist Vincent van ...
’ written by Nicholas Wright and directed by Christopher Clark. In 2014 UVU won Outstanding Production of a Musical for the Pulitzer Prize winning ‘
Next to Normal’ with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, music by Tom Kitt, directed by David Tinney, and music direction by Rob Moffat. Other national KCACTF awards UVU repeated include Outstanding Director and Outstanding Performance by an Actress.
Athletics
The school mascot is the
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a musc ...
, and the colors are green and white. The Wolverines compete in the
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas.
Due to most of t ...
.
Men's Intercollegiate Sports
*
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
*
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
*
Cross Country
*
Golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
*
Soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
*
Track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
*
Wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...
Women's Intercollegiate Sports
*
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
*
Cross Country
*
Golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
*
Soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
*
Softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
*
Track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
*
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
The UVU student section was changed to “The Den” in the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year. It was previously called Mighty Athletic Wolverine League, or “MAWL”
The Wolverines play their home basketball games in the 8,500-seat
UCCU Center. The baseball team plays at
UCCU Ballpark
DoTerra Field at UCCU Ballpark (formerly known as Brent Brown Ballpark), is a baseball stadium on the campus of Utah Valley University (UVU) in southwestern Orem, Utah, United States. It is primarily used for baseball as the home field of the U ...
, a 5,000-seat facility that was also formerly home of the
Orem Owlz
The Orem Owlz were a Minor League Baseball team located in Orem, Utah, United States, from 2001 to 2020. The team competed in the Pioneer League as a Rookie League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The Owlz played their home games at Home ...
, a minor-league affiliate of
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...
, that competed in the
Pioneer Baseball League. Track and Field compete at the Hal Wing Track & Field. Softball at the Wolverine Field. And, Volleyball and Wrestling competed in Lockhart Arena.
Media
The school has an independent, student-run weekly newspaper called the ''
UVU Review''. The newspaper began publishing under the name on June 30, 2008, the day before the university transition became official. The school is also the subject of the documentary ''
This Divided State.''
Utah Fire and Rescue Academy
The school is one of few Utah universities which provides free training to Utah fire agencies. In August 2009, the university unveiled a Mobile Command Center, acquired by
federal grants
A grant is a fund given by an end entity grant – often a public body, charitable foundation, or a specialised grant-making institution – to an individual or another entity (usually, a non-profit organisation, sometimes a business or a loca ...
. The Utah Valley University Fire Academy Mobile Command Training Center cost an estimated $200,000 to $300,000 and provides both students and firefighters with realistic fire training.
Notable alumni
*
Reyna I. Aburto – former second counselor to
Jean B. Bingham in the General
Relief Society Presidency of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
*
Christopher Fogt
Christopher Fogt (born May 29, 1983) is a United States Army Major, three time USA Olympian, and Olympic Silver medalist. He won a Silver Medal at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) i ...
– Olympic silver medalist in four-man
Bobsleigh
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Fede ...
*
Akwasi Frimpong
Akwasi Frimpong (born 11 February 1986) is a Dutch-Ghanaian sprinter, bobsledder, and skeleton athlete. Frimpong was raised in Ghana and later moved to the Netherlands. He is a former Dutch Junior Champion in the 200 meter sprints. To qualify for ...
- Ghana
skeleton
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...
athlete, 2018 Olympian
*
Matt Gay - Professional football player (two seasons at UVU before transfer to
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
)
*
Andreas Gustafsson (born 1981) - Swedish race walker
*
Gregg Hale – former guitarist for the band
Spiritualized
*
Andrew Hales
Andrew Gerald Hales is an American YouTube personality and vlogger known for his channel LAHWF, which has videos consisting of pranks/ social experiments and interviews.
Early life
Hales was born on May 20, 1990, in Ithaca, New York in a Mor ...
–
YouTuber (did not graduate)
*
Travis Hansen
Travis Mitchell Hansen (born April 15, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Both his junior high school, Orem Junior High, and his high school ...
– professional basketball player (transferred to
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...
)
*
Chelsie Hightower – a professional dancer on TV series ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...
'' and ''
So You Think You Can Dance''
*
Jef Holm
The eighth season of ''The Bachelorette (American TV series), The Bachelorette'', an American Broadcasting Company, ABC Reality television, reality television series, premiered on May 14, 2012. This season features 26-year-old Emily Maynard, a si ...
– Winner of ''The Bachelorette'' Season 8
*
Mitch Jones – Professional baseball player
*
Ricky Lundell – 3rd-degree black belt in Gracie
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...
, high school wrestling coach
*
Michael McDonald – professional basketball player
*
Kam Mickolio – Professional baseball player
*
Trevor Milton
Trevor Robert Milton (born April 6, 1982) is an American convicted felon, former businessman and the founder and former chairman and CEO of Nikola Corporation. In September 2020, Milton resigned from his position as chairman after the U.S. Secur ...
– Founder, former chairman and CEO,
Nikola Corporation
*
Ramsey Nijem – Wrestler; professional
mixed martial artist,
The Ultimate Fighter 13
''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos'' is the thirteenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''.
The UFC and Spike TV held open tryouts on November 4, 2010, ...
finalist, Lightweight fighter for the
UFC
*
Noelle Pikus Pace – World Cup gold medalist and Olympic silver medalist in
Skeleton
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...
*
Matthew S. Petersen
Matthew Spencer Petersen (born 1970) is an American attorney who served as a member of the United States Federal Election Commission. In 2017, he was nominated by President Donald Trump to be a United States district judge of the United State ...
– Chairman of the
Federal Election Commission, and former
Republican chief counsel to the
United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
*
Ronnie Price – Professional basketball player
*
Wesley Silcox – World champion
bull rider
*
Matangi Tonga – Professional football player
See also
*''
Roots of Knowledge
''Roots of Knowledge'' is a permanent stained glass display completed in 2016 at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah, United States. The creation of the exhibit was designed and overseen by stained glass artists Tom Holdman and Cameron Osc ...
'', a stained glass display in the Fulton Library on campus
References
External links
*
Utah Valley Athletics website
{{Authority control
Mormon studies
Public universities and colleges in Utah
Educational institutions established in 1941
Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Universities and colleges in Utah County, Utah
1941 establishments in Utah
Buildings and structures in Orem, Utah