The annual state of the college address was held this past Wednesday for faculty, students and community members to hear remarks from President Bill Sederburg on the accomplishments of the last year and the future facing the school.
The theme of this year’s speech was "Creating UVU" to coincide with the switch to becoming a university this coming summer.
in review of 2007, a video to celebrate the successes was shown including footage from sports, campus events, academic departments, as well as including the saga of the school’s process of getting university status.
President Sederburg mentioned that individual donations to the school from faculty members has increased over the past year. He admitted there is "work to be done" to get faculty hours down to 24 per year. The percentage of adjunct faculty is down to 46% percent which is in line with the national average. To segue into the future of the school, the president said, "This was yesterday; the future is more interesting."
UVSC currently offers 57 4-year degrees, which is equal to its peers nationally. President Sederburg also announced that Fall of 2008 will mark the beginning of classes for the first master’s program students.
It sounds like there are many plans in the works to expand usage of space on campus. Sederburg said plans were, "moderately successful with the legislature," in purchasing more land near campus. Orchards near 400 W. are in the process of being purchased by the school.
The website switch from uvsc.edu to uvu.edu was also mentioned by Sederburg. The task of transitioning 60,000 web pages to the new url is currently in the process.
With UVU coming around the corner, signage around the school will need to be changed. Sederburg said after a count of all the signage, 1,217 signs need to be changed over to accurately represent the school’s new name. The undertaking will start with outdoor signs, with indoor signs to follow.
In academic news, President Sederburg announced the splitting of the school of HASS in July 2008. The split will create the school of the arts and the college of humanities and social sciences. The school of general academics will also change its name to the university college.
In sports news, UVSC expects to hear back from the NCAA on certification and with certification, the school will prepare to join a conference for affiliation.
With the continuing growth of the college, space concerns are sure to "cause headaches’" said Sederburg. It is projected that by 2018 student enrollment will have reached 30,000. "We need to get ready for this incredible wave of students," said the president.
Expanding the Wasatch campus is also something that will happen within the next year. Developments for on campus housing are in the works. Ideas to even build additional campuses are in the plans for the next ten years.
Sederburg ended the address by saying this was his last state of the college address, because UVSC will no longer be a college, but a university.
