Everything we do at UVU is centered around our goal of empowering students to succeed in work and life. We’re incredibly proud of what our students, faculty, and staff have accomplished this year and we can’t wait to see what they do next.
11,064
Graduates
Alumni Spotlight: Blake Reynolds
Finding cultural connections at UVU
When Blake Reynolds introduces herself, she always makes sure to include her Chinese name: Ran Li ( 冉力 ). The name also hangs around her neck, written in Chinese characters. It’s a reminder that she’s proud of her heritage, she says. Blake’s father is white, while her mother is Chinese-Hawaiian.
At UVU, Blake is a representative for the Asian Initiative, which promotes and celebrates Asian and Asian American identity and culture through education, awareness, and appreciation and improves college access for Asian and Asian American students from underserved communities.
While she didn’t grow up speaking Chinese, Blake recently graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in university studies and a double minor in Chinese language and Chinese studies. She also received the Most Outstanding Student award from the Chinese studies program.
The decision to focus on language, she says, has made her link to her heritage even stronger. “My mom wasn’t able to teach me the language,” Blake said. “But I feel like that language, especially for Chinese people, is something that’s really, really big. Learning the language myself first, and then taking classes, I just feel more connected.”
In November 2021, two UVU student teams won the 2021 Wasatch Mountain Ethics Bowl, qualifying for nationals. To win, students analyzed real-life ethical issues and developed solutions, then presented and defended those solutions before judges.
In July 2021, UVU students brought home three gold and two silver medals from the national competition SkillsUSA. Five students placed in the top 10 nationally, with an overall team ranking of fifth in the country. UVU has ranked in the top five schools in the nation for the past 20 years.
Mechanical engineering student Matt Thomas worked with Enabling the Future to 3D print prosthetic hands for underprivileged children worldwide. After 3D printing respirators for medical professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic, he researched other medical applications and turned his work into an internship.
In November 2021, three UVU Woodbury School of Business students in the Personal Financial Planning Program won the national 2021 Knowledge Bowl, sponsored by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE).
UVU Woodbury School of Business students have won top negotiator awards for all three years the university has participated in the Baylor Business Negotiation Competition.
As you embark on your careers — as you stretch for new things and find yourself in unfamiliar places — find your way back to the core of who you are. This is the place from which your greatness will grow.”
— Mary C. Daly,
president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and UVU commencement
2022 keynote speaker
In December 2021, the UVU men’s basketball team achieved its first win over a ranked opponent in UVU history, defeating #12 Brigham Young University in overtime 72-65 at the UCCU Center. This was their seventh straight win and improved their score to a perfect 4-0 in overtime games and 7-1 overall for the season.
In April 2022, the UVU Spirit Squad won several awards in the 2022 NCA/NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship. The dance team won first place overall in the Dance: Jazz category and the combined cheer and dance teams, along with mascot Willy the Wolverine and the Green Man Group drumline, won first place in the Division 1 Game Day category.
The UVU rodeo team ranked in the top two of the Rocky Mountain Region in April 2022 and competed in the College National Finals Rodeo in June 2022. At nationals, Jaicee Bastian ranked 10th overall in the nation for goat tying.
In November 2021, the UVU Contemporary Dance Ensemble worked with director Virginie Mécène and professional dancers from the nationally recognized Repertory Dance Theatre for their performance “A Celebration of Contemporary Dance.” Dancers from the Repertory Dance Theatre also taught over 40 classes in UVU Department of Dance as part of a weeklong residency.
In March 2022, the UVU wrestling team sent three grapplers to the 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Junior Taylor LaMont, freshman Haiden Drury, and sophomore Evan Bockman qualified for the national tournament at the 2022 Big 12 Championships. The Wolverines have had 42 NCAA qualifiers in 13 seasons as a full-fledged NCAA Division I member, with at least one wrestler qualifying each year since becoming eligible for NCAA DI postseason competition.
The UVU track and field team set three records this season: UVU took the top four in the women’s 5000m at the Hayward Premiere, nine students qualified for the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary Rounds, and four students earned All-American honors. Everlyn Kemboi earned the highest finish ever for a UVU student-athlete in the 10,000-meter race, becoming the third student to earn secondteam honors.
The UVU women’s lacrosse team completed the 2022 season at the highest level in program history. They became first-time regional champions, placed fourth at the 2022 Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates (WCLA) National Champions Showcase, ranked first in the WCLA Division II National Top 20, and won WCLA awards including the Jenn Eames Award for national team of the year and the Amtahcha Award for national player of the year.
Between May and June of 2022, the UVU Ballroom Dance Company took first place in both the Latin Formation and Ballroom Formation competitions at the Blackpool Dance Festival in the United Kingdom, which is considered the world cup of the ballroom world.
UVU's student-athletes excelled not only in games and competitions but also in courses.
An impressive 82.51% of student-athletes carried cumulative GPAs between 3.0 and 4.0 and 14 student-athletes had perfect 4.0 cumulative GPAs
In November 2021, UVU qualified for the NCAA Volleyball Tournament by defeating Grand Canyon 3-0 in the Pan American Center, repeating as the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Volleyball Tournament champions. The team entered the NCAA tournament with a 16-12 record on the season and a five-game winning streak. Kazna Tanuvasa was named WAC Volleyball Tournament MVP, and Tanuvasa and Kendra Nock were named to the All-Tournament team.
Alumni Spotlight: Matt Gay
UVU Graduate Scores in the Big Game
In 2022, a UVU alumnus achieved another first for the university: a Super Bowl championship. Los Angeles Rams kicker and former Wolverine soccer player Matt Gay was part of the Rams’ title-winning team in 2022, scoring a field goal and two extra points in Super Bowl LVI as Los Angeles beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20.
Matt, who received an associate degree in communications from UVU, grew up in Orem and was a member of UVU’s first-ever men’s soccer team in 2014.
UVU faculty and staff carry a vast array of backgrounds and expertise to meet the unique needs of their schools, colleges, and departments, but they all share one vital trait: an exceptional care for the students. Whether connecting students with helpful resources, developing engaging, industry-relevant syllabi, or strategizing the university’s technological future, each faculty and staff member keeps students at the heart of everything they do.
On June 24, 2021, UVU’s Board of Trustees announced new appointments of three trustees. James Clarke, a UVU trustee since 2014, was named chair. Jill Taylor and Rick Nielsen were named first vice chair and second vice chair, respectively.
Christina Baum was appointed as new vice president of digital transformation and chief information officer in May 2022. She previously served as associate vice president of academic and student digital services.
Don Capener was appointed as the dean of UVU’s Continuing Education Department in May 2022. He previously served as associate dean and graduate director in the Woodbury School of Business.
Courtney Davis was appointed as the dean of the School of the Arts in February 2022. She previously served as the school’s interim dean and has been a full-time faculty member at UVU since 2007.
In November 2021, Tara Ivie was appointed as the associate vice president of Inclusive Excellence at UVU. She previously served as the senior director of the Women’s Success Center and Wee Care Center.
Dr. J. Kelly Flanagan was appointed as the dean of the College of Engineering and Technology in June 2022. He previously served as vice president of digital transformation and chief information officer.
In April 2022, it was announced that Dr. Tammy Clark, associate provost for Engaged Learning, will lead the UVU Innovation Academy and assume the title of associate provost for Academic Innovation.
UVU’s Office of Inclusion and Diversity works to ensure that students feel safe and championed while attending the university. The office’s Inclusion Committee, comprised of faculty, staff, and students from across campus, has led the charge in promoting a safer, more inclusive campus climate for all. This last year, new staff and faculty members were added to the committee:
Chief inclusion and Diversity Officer, Office of Inclusion and Diversity
Professor of Nursing; DEI Faculty Fellow
Assistant Professor of Literacies and Composition; DEI Faculty Fellow
Chair, Behavioral Science; Academic Director, Research Institute; DEI Faculty Fellow
This year, the UVU Presidential and Board of Trustees Awards of Excellence recognized and honored 10 university employees for their contributions toward strengthening UVU’s mission and values.
Associate Professor of Behavioral Science
Associate Professor of National Security Studies and Integrated Studies
Social Media Manager in University Marketing and Communications
Director of Web Development Services
Lab Manager in Emergency Services
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Program Director of Forensic Investigation
Professor of Mathematics
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Custodian in Facilities Services
Head Coach of Cross Country/Track and Field
Ryan Law, faculty member and director of the Money Management Resource Center, was awarded the national AFCPE Distinguished Fellow Award for his significant and long-lasting contributions to the organization.
Greg Jackson, chair and a associate professor of integrated studies and deputy director of National Security Studies, appeared in the History Channel series “The Engineering That Built the World” in October 2021.
Tara Ivie, associate vice president of Inclusive Excellence, received the Special Recognition Award from the Utah Women in Higher Education Network (UWHEN) in April 2022 for leading efforts to support women at UVU.
Sara L. Moore, academic counselor and former internship coordinator for the First-Year Advising Center, received the Emerging Professional Award from the Utah Women in Higher Education Network (UWHEN) in April 2022.
Dr. Alessandro Zanazzi, associate professor of earth science, won first place in the national WxChallenge weather forecasting competition. The competition was part of the capstone course for his weather forecasting degree from Penn State University.
Kyle Stubbs, assistant professor in the accounting program, received the Outstanding Reviewer Award at the American Accounting Association’s Management Accounting Section mid-year meeting in January 2022.
Dr. Dianne McAdams-Jones, a professor in the UVU Nursing Program, received the inaugural UVU Black Academic Excellence Award in February 2022. She is UVU’s first Black faculty member to attain full professorship.
Kim Wright, an advisor from the UVU Woodbury School of Business, received the Outstanding Advising Award – Primary Advising Role from NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising. This was a global award designed to recognize outstanding advising throughout higher education.
Over the past year, UVU professors and faculty members conducted innovative research that was published in peer-reviewed journals and publications. To recognize and celebrate these achievements, we have included a selection of faculty publications.
Black, E., Burton, G., Cieslewicz, J. (2021). Improving Ethics: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior to Include Moral Disengagement. Journal of Business Ethics.
Gull, B. (2021). “We are the Women Our Parents Warned Us Against”: Identity Reconstruction and the Re-imagining of Gender After High-Cost Religious Disaffiliation.
Jeppson, N., Salerno, D., Ruddy, J. (2021). The Influence of Social Media Usage on the DuPont Method of Analysis. Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance.
Garrett, J., Holderness, D. K., Olsen, K. (2021). An experimental investigation of how self-interested organizational norms undermine prosocial motivation and influence employee effort. Journal of Information Systems.
Farnworth, X., Seeley, E., Ricaldi, L., Ortega, X., Miller, R. (2021). The Effect of Peer and Lab Reviews on Business Student Writing. Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology, 22(1), 12-30.
We are incredibly grateful for the generous grants we have received over the past year. The awards help fund innovative research, youth engagement programs, and UVU’s commitment to accessibility, affordability, and opportunity for all students.
In October 2021, UVU was the first public institution of higher education in Utah to receive the National Weather Service’s “StormReady” identification for reaching a high level of preparedness for severe weather conditions.
In February 2022, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) awarded UVU’s Center for Social Impact (CSI) the NASPA Excellence Awards in the Civic Learning/Democratic Engagement/Community Service/Service- Learning category. CSI was also named Gold Award winner in several categories and Silver Grand Award winner.
In June 2022, UVU’s athletic communications staff received the 2021-22 CoSIDA ChangeMaker Innovation Award for its creative work promoting Fardaws Aimaq, reigning Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year and an NBA prospect, with the “Big Maple Campaign.”
UVU President Astrid S. Tuminez was inducted into the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame in February 2022. She was one of three new inductees, including entrepreneur Warren Osborn and Vivint Smart Home founder Todd Pedersen, and joined 65 business and technology leaders already in the Hall of Fame. The Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame recognizes community leaders and technology innovators who have contributed to the success of Utah and Silicon Slopes.
In April 2022, the UVU Center for Constitutional Studies received a $3 million endowed gift from the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation to create a perpetual directorship at the center. This secured the center’s leadership, allowing it to pursue its mission to increase nonpartisan constitutional literacy in Utah and around the world.
2021-2022 Grants
$9,000| UServeUtah grant for the Center for Social Impact
$1.5 million| National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for the College of Engineering and Technology
$771,550| Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) Innovation Fund grant for UVU
$1.4 million| Five-year TRIO grant for UVU
$21,900| Utah Department of Veteran & Military Affairs grant for the Veteran Success Center
In May 2022, UVU’s Sales and Marketing Applied Research Test Lab (SMARTLab) won Best of State for Best Analytical Lab for the sixth year in a row.
In February 2022, the Woodbury School of Business began offering a healthcare management track as part of its Master of Business Administration program. The program focuses on building key business skills with a unique focus on healthcare, the fastest-growing job area.
The Master of Education program began offering a school counseling emphasis, which aims to build teachers’ instructional skills and professional competencies.
In May 2021, UVU’s new Master of Science degree in Engineering and Technology Management was approved by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). The degree became available in fall semester 2021 and is offered by the College of Engineering and Technology.
The new Master of Physician Assistant Studies program has received provisional accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The program’s first cohort began in January 2022.
UVU now offers five engineering programs — civil, computer, electrical, mechanical, and software engineering — that are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET.
In August 2021, UVU’s Master of Social Work program received full accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The program received provisional accreditation in 2017 and has worked tirelessly to secure this endorsement.
UVU facts and Figures
32,839
students enrolled in face-to-face courses
19,466
students enrolled in online courses
4,758
students enrolled in hybrid courses
200+
Options for every career goal
54 Certificate Programs
65 Associate Degrees
91 Bachelor's Degrees
11 Master's Degrees
44 Online Programs
Average Age
22.6
Fall 2021
41,262
Total students
Utah Residents
Full-time Students
Female
First-gen Students
Adult Learners
Students of Color
Hispanic/Latino students make up UVU's largest group of students of color at 12%
Top 3 States (outside Utah)
California
Idaho
Arizona
50 States Represented
Top 3 Countries:
South Korea
China
Mexico
70 Countries Represented
Alumni Data
89%
of graduates said their experience at UVU was good or excellent
83.9%
of graduates are employed one year after graduation
83.7%
of graduates work in Utah one year after graduation
76%
of employed UVU graduates have work responsibilities at least moderately related to their course of study
31.8%
of graduates are continuing education one year after graduation
77.9%
of UVU students live in Utah 10 years after graduation
More than half of surveyed employers said a degree from UVU would make them more likely to hire a candidate
UVU is #1 in Utah for student earnings after college
GradReports, 2021
UVU ranks in the top 20% of U.S. colleges for economic mobility
Third Way, 2022
Utah ranks #1 in best economic outlook
Rich States, Poor States, 2022
UVU is...
Orem's largest employer
3rd-largest employer in Utah County
14th-largest employer in Utah
