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Astrid Tuminez selected as president of UVU The Utah State Board of Regents has selected Astrid S. Tuminez as the seventh president of Utah Valley University—and the first female president in the university's history. Tuminez, who currently serves as Regional Director for Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs in Southeast Asia for Microsoft, will assume the position this fall.

Saroo Brierley to speak for Homecoming event

From the streets of India, to the Oscars, and now to Utah Valley University — Saroo Brierley’s life story was made famous in the Oscar-nominated movie “Lion”, based on his book “A Long Way Home.”

Student headcount nearly 40,000, UVU remains largest university in Utah

For the fourth year in a row, Utah Valley University is the largest public university in Utah, with a headcount of 39,931 students enrolled for the 2018 fall semester, according to data released today by the Utah System of Higher Education. The data shows the student population has grown 7.1 percent since last fall. Full-time equivalent enrollment has increased 6.1 percent, with a current population of 26,573.

Trent urges UVU students to fight for dreams

Dr. Tererai Trent inspired the Utah Valley University community Wednesday to fight for their dreams. Dr. Trent grew up in a small rural village in Zimbabwe, in a hut with no running water or electricity, and it was in this context that her dreams took shape. Despite poverty, war, and illiteracy, she speaks of a strong cultural setting that opened her mind to possibilities.

UVU aiming to impact half of first-gen students with $15 million fundraising initiative

A $15 million fundraising campaign at Utah Valley University is looking to aid one of the university’s largest populations.

The first-generation initiative, announced by UVU President Astrid Tuminez earlier this month at the 2018 President’s Scholarship Ball, aims to raise $15 million within three to five years to fund scholarships and programming for first-generation students. The fundraising campaign has already raised $3 million.

Spectrum Showcase features artwork from austistic individuals

The second annual Super Spectrum Showcase and Soiree will be held at the Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism on October 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Utah Valley University. This showcase will feature artwork from people on the autism spectrum ages 4 to over 18. The purpose of the art show is to allow students on the autism spectrum to have the opportunity to gain some recognition for their contribution to the arts. This will be the first time that many of the artists will have their artwork on display for the public and their family to see.

UVU IN THE NEWS

esports

UVU is throwing support behind its esports teams

They have jerseys. They have events. They have a dedicated practice space. And now Utah Valley University’s esports teams are planning to take the online gaming world by storm.

“Our main goal as a club is to make UVU known for its esports nationwide, and we are going to make that happen,” said Ethan Overbaugh, the president of the eSports Club at UVU.

With UVU putting its institutional support behind its esports teams, that goal is getting closer to becoming a reality.

Utah Valley University trustees OK $25 million student center remodel and expansion

Utah Valley University’s student center is getting a facelift.

The UVU Board of Trustees voted Thursday to approve a $25 million three-phase expansion and remodel of the Sorensen Student Center. The project will include expanding the food court, remodeling bathrooms and work on Center Stage and Ragan Theater.

The university will be retiring 2004 bonds a year early and will reissue bonds that will provide the $25 million without increasing students’ annual fees. The project will be repaid through an existing student fee

‘They’re Very, Very Long Days’: A first-time president who worked her way up appreciates “being gritty”

It’s clear how a Microsoft regional director based in Singapore would be seen as a great catch for a university in a booming high-tech corridor, but that may not be the most important strength Astrid S. Tuminez brought to Utah Valley University when she became its president this past fall.

Based in Orem, Utah, near the locally dubbed “Silicon Slopes,” the university serves nearly 40,000 students, of whom some 80 percent work and almost 40 percent are the first in their families to go to college. With degrees from Brigham Young University, Harvard, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tuminez thinks her story of making it out of a Philippine slum will resonate with her working students. She also sees technology as key to disrupting higher education and eroding the differences between “the haves and the have-nots.”

“Being gritty,” she says, counts for a lot more than being privileged. We spent a day on Utah Valley’s campus to get to know this new president.