News

One of the biggest projects that the wellness program has adopted is the HealthQuest program. HealthQuest promotes lifestyle changes that will work differently for each individual lifestyle. The program runs for 10 to 12 weeks, or the participant can join in for specific sessions. Each session runs approximately 30 minutes to an hour and will include meeting with a health educator once a week and learning about weight management, exercise, stress and sleep management in addition to other topics.

The Writing Center is available to all students and free of charge unlike most similar services at other universities. Whether you need help with an English paper, a history essay or a biology report, the center has several qualified tutors from a variety of backgrounds and majors to help you with your paper.

According to the National Association of Colleges, as many as 65 percent of students opt to not buy textbooks. At some college campuses in Utah there is now another option.

Last February a pair of entrepreneurs, Ron Akins and Stephen Watkins of Murfreesboro, TN, started the first-of-its-kind textbook rental service website called mybookhead.

Takashi Hiraoka, a former Hiroshima mayor, spoke on Aug. 4 to UVU students and faculty about the bombing of Hiroshima and his reasons for nuclear disarmament.

The UVU School of Continuing Education received an American Chariot from Klune Industries, Inc. The presentation of the gift took place on Aug. 7.

At a household in Provo, the organization BYU Students for Barrack Obama convened to listen to guest speaker Bennion Spencer, who is the democratic candidate for Utah’s 3rd congressional district. His challenger is Jason Chaffetz, the republican candidate who took the GOP nomination from incumbent Chris Cannon.

On Aug. 4, Utah state facilities began a four-day workweek. Utah’s governor, Jon Huntsman Jr., has been developing this plan for a while now, hoping to create a more economically efficient state system. The plan is known as “Working 4 Utah.”

UVU has been asked to provide an intern for the Czech Republic as the country assumes the rotating European Union (EU) presidency in January 2009.

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS — With the announcement of Liz Hitch, VP of academic affairs, moving into the position of interim president of UVU in a few weeks, it has caused a shift of other positions within the academic affairs office. Karl Worthington will be interim vice president of academic affairs as Hitch fills her interim presidential duties. Also, there is a new hire for VP of academic administration, Dr. Mohammed A. El-Saidi, who comes to UVU from Tarelton State University – Central Texas.

The growing sport of disc golf has made its official debut at UVU with the addition of a disc golf course to the campus, designed for recreational play and as a practice green. The course features 13 holes as well as a practice hole. All the holes are par-2 and range from 83 to 209 feet.

Heidi Gray is not only a UVU student and mother of four, but also a multimillion-dollar business owner. She is our hero for the week. Here is what she had to say:

HEALTH INSURANCE CONCERNS — According to a survey released by Reuters on Thursday, more than eighty percent of Americans think the U.S. health system needs either fundamental change or a complete overhaul. The Harris Interactive poll found that access to care, better coordination between different health providers and better flow of health information were among respondents’ chief complaints. Another poll found that health insurance costs have doubled for Americans since 1996.

Haagen Klaus, a new faculty member in the UVU Behavioral Science department, recently took part in an important archaeological find in northern Peru: an ancient tomb belonging to the Moche civilization.

Everywhere you look in Orem, you can see evidence that BYU is no longer the only popular university in the valley: Green and gold UV flags hang from local businesses to show their support for the Wolverines, the UV logo has been painted on major intersections in Orem, and a burgeoning number of alumni, students and community members sport UVU gear.

ANCIENT CAMBODIAN ARTIFACTS STOLEN
Ancient cultural artifacts in surrounding areas of the Angkor Wat temple site in north central Cambodia are being stolen. The demand for artifacts has risen dramatically over the last few years as technological advances in the study of ancient civilizations have grown. Cambodia’s culture and fine arts ministry has made the protection of the Angkor Wat artifacts a major priority. Digging has been a main source of finding valuable artifacts while less valuable, monetarily speaking, bowls and vases are being tossed aside as looters find expensive things to take away. In villages approximately 40 miles away from the temple, desolation of protectors has left the area a prime digging spot for thieves.