News

TOP NEWS

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

stateofuni

UVU President Astrid Tuminez encourages change in first State of the University address

Utah Valley University President Astrid Tuminez used her first State of the University address to recognize the university’s past while challenging its employees to become game changers for the future.

“We have many opportunities ahead,” Tuminez said. “This means our work is not done and I don’t think it will ever be done.”

Tuminez returned Thursday to the same room of the Andrea and James Clarke Building where she took part in a public question, and, answer session less than a year earlier as a candidate for the position. Returning as president, Tuminez joked that she wasn’t returning to a room of trauma.

“It actually was a wonderful engagement and it occurred to me that day this was home,” Tuminez said.

UVU student named Western Region Student Chef of the Year

Emma El-Farra won the Western Region Student at the American Culinary Federation competition that was held in Las Vegas on Saturday.

El-Farra is a sophomore and originally from Santa Clarita, Calif, she now advances to the federation's "Final Five" national competition in Orlando, which is expected to take place in August.

"It was much more intense than I expected," Emma said. "When you've got several judges standing over you watching your every move, it made me even more nervous than I already was!"

‘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.