2026
Curiosity. Creativity. Connection.
May 11 – 13, 2026
Summer University is a three-day professional and personal development conference for full- and part-time staff. It is a mixture of self-improvement, service, and fun events for employees at UVU to show our appreciation for the exceptional care you do every day to support our students.
Registration is now open! Follow the link to sign-up and take part in our yearly Summer
University experience:
(registration closes April 23rd)
The Summer University Service Project Committee is collecting plastic grocery bags to make sleeping mats as one of the service projects being held this year.
Individuals and departments are invited to deposit their grocery bags at one of nine receptacles in the following locations:
Opening Keynote
Hayley Francis
Hayley Francis is a hand-lettering artist and illustrator who has known she wanted to be an artist since she could hold a pencil. Despite struggling with reading and spelling growing up, she was always drawn to drawing letters—a passion that became a career after discovering hand lettering as a profession at age 16. She launched her freelance business, Type Affiliated, in 2017 while attending Utah Valley University and working multiple jobs, and has been designing full-time ever since.
Today, Hayley creates custom, hand-drawn lettering and illustration for clients across the United States, specializing in retro- and vintage-inspired branding, editorial work, and large-scale murals. In addition to freelance work, she teaches lettering workshops and serves as an adjunct typography instructor at Utah Valley University. Based in Provo, Utah, she’s deeply involved in the local art and design community. When she’s not lettering, she’s playing bluegrass music, antiquing, tackling DIY projects, or spending time outdoors. Her art can be found in multiple installations throughout campus, most recently in the new Scott M. Smith Engineering Building.
If you are unable to attend, Keynote will be recorded and posted for viewing on this site at a later date.
Closing Keynote
Tom and Gayle Holdman
Due to a lifelong speech impediment, Tom Holdman expresses his light best through art. He started “speaking” through glass professionally after his mission by knocking on doors and creating stained glass out of his parents’ garage. Thirty four years later, he leads a team of 130 artists in two international studios with his wife, Gayle. He has collaborated with and inspired artists in all fifty states and more than one hundred countries. Notable works include Roots of Knowledge at UVU and the Rome and Paris LDS temples.
Gayle Holdman is an award-winning designer and author, an international public speaker, and a devoted mother. She is co-owner of Holdman Studios with her husband, Tom, where they illuminate messages of God’s love and light through stained glass. Her writing focuses on describing their art as well as encouraging each human soul to understand their worth. Gayle has a bachelor’s degree in Human Development, is certified in Applied Positive Psychology and speaks fluent Spanish.
Together, Tom and Gayle have been able to work on over 150 temples for the Church of Jesus Christ and are building the visionary and monumental Sphere of Light to show the light within humanity.
Their favorite creations are their children who each share their talents to uplift the world.
If you are unable to attend, Keynote will be recorded and posted for viewing on this site at a later date.
Monday
Activities (Note: Limit 1 activity per employee)
| 7:00 am | UCCU/UVU Employee Golf Tournament at Sleepy Ridge ($37.50), see notes below. |
| 9:00 am | Topgolf ($22.00): Check-in starting at 8:30am, see notes below. |
| 9:00am – 2:00pm |
*Exact activity time will vary depending on activity selected. Check your registration email for your custom schedule of times and location. • Bingo
• Bowling • Massage Chairs • Pickleball • Disc Golf • Sound Bath
• Climbing Wall • Yoga class • Puzzles • Crochet
• Chess Tournament • Mindful Journaling • Zumba • Writing Your Snapshot Moment
• Textured Art - $ • UVU Print Shop Tour • Roots of Knowledge Scavenger Hunt • Frames & Bookmarks - (BYO frame) • Kintsugi - $ • Floral Arranging - $ $ = Paid activity. See your registration email. |
Sleepy Ridge Tournament: If you registered and paid for tournament, arrive by 7:00 a.m. for check-in. Golf will start at 8:00, and lunch is provided (breakfast will not be provided this year). Questions can be directed to Christian Brinton, Chair of Golf.
Topgolf: If you registered and paid for Topgolf, arrive at the Vineyard TopGolf by 8:30 a.m. for check-in. Golf will start at 9:00 and run until 12:00, with brunch available from 10:00-11:30. Booths hold six people, are on the second floor, and are first-come, first-served. The only way to ensure you get a booth with your friends is to show up together early.
Tuesday
Morning
| 9:00am | Breakfast and kick-off (Name Badge Required) Opening Keynote: Hayley Francis Location: SC Ballroom |
| 9:50am – 10:00am | Break |
| 10:00am – 10:50am | Breakout Sessions |
| 10:50am – 11:00am | Break |
| 11:00am – 11:50pm | Breakout Sessions |
| 11:50am – 1:30pm | Lunch — Pick up meal vouchers at People & Culture |
Afternoon
| 1:30pm – 2:20pm | Breakout Sessions |
| 2:20pm – 2:30pm | Break |
| 2:30pm – 3:20pm | Breakout Sessions |
Check your registration email for your custom breakout session schedule .
Wednesday
Morning
| 8:00am – 11:00am | Service projects: (see your registration for specific times) See options below |
Lunch
| Noon – 1:30pm | General Session Closing and lunch (Name Badge Required) Closing Keynote: Tom and Gayle Holdman Location: SC Ballroom |
FAQ
T-shirts are available to those who register and can be picked up from a table outside the People and Culture office (HF 105) during business hours on Friday, May 8th, and Monday, May 11th. There are a limited number of shirts, and they are first-come, first-served. You must be registered to receive a shirt. You will need your UVID to pick up your voucher and shirt.
Food Vouchers for Tuesday's lunch can be picked up at the registration table outside the People and Culture office (HF 105) during business hours on Friday, May 8th, and Monday, May 11th.
Catered breakfast will be provided to those who register when they attend the Tuesday morning keynote. You MUST wear your Summer University name tag to attend.
Catered lunch will be provided to those who register when they attend the Wednesday afternoon keynote speaker. You MUST wear your Summer University name tag to attend.
A meal voucher (for Tuesday lunch) will also be available to those who register for Summer University and can be picked up from a table outside the People and Culture office (HF 105) during business hours on Friday, May 8th, and Monday, May 11th.
Check your email for your "2026 UVU Summer University Registration Confirmation". If you cannot find this email, go to the registration link, or reach out to Sam Gedeborg, chair of Registration.
Follow the link in your registration email. Make sure you are logged into ticketing services with your UVID to see your ticket option.
You will receive an email if you are moved out of the waitlist and are now able to attend.
Yes. Dietary restrictions were taken into account when ordering both breakfast and lunch. Questions can be directed to Alex Metzger, Chair of Food.
All questions can be directed to those on the Summer University Committee.
Note: we are no longer accepting proposals for Summer University presentations, activities, service projects, or sponsors.
If you are having trouble registering for the Sleepy Ridge golf tournament or Top Golf through the UVU Ticketing System, it is probably one of two problems:
1) The capacity limit for the event has been filled (136 for Sleepy Ridge and 60 for Top Golf), or
2) You were not signed in to the UVU ticketing system when you clicked the link in the registration to purchase your ticket. To resolve this, sign into the ticketing system, then go back to the registration form to click on the link.
If issues persist, contact Christian Brinton, Golf Chair, at [email protected].
Non-exempt employees should clock out when leaving campus, and exempt employees should ensure they work at least 40 hours that week or use personal or vacation time.
If you are unsure which service project you registered for, where it is located, or when it starts, check your email for your registration confirmation or go to the registration link. Questions can be directed to Jennyfer Gaede, chair of Service Projects.
If you are unsure which activity you registered for, where it is located, or when it starts, check your email for your registration confirmation or go to the registration link. Questions can be directed to Kerri Scott, Chair of Activities.
If you are unable to attend, Keynote will be recorded and can be viewed at a later date.
NOTE: Limit 1 option per employee. Sign up during your registration. Additional instructions will be provided via email closer to the event.
The Children’s Justice Center serves as a community resource for children and families navigating the complexities of abuse and trauma. To help further their mission, UVU staff are invited to help clean the facility and assemble welcome kits for the children who are coming to the center.
Location: 315 S 100 E, Provo, UT
Time: 8:30 am – 10:30 am
Project: The Children’s Justice Center serves as a community resource for children and families navigating the complexities of abuse and trauma. The CJC provides therapy, forensic interviews, medical examinations, legal advocacy and other important resources in one central location. To help further their mission, UVU staff are invited to help clean the facility and assemble welcome kits for the children who are coming to the center. We will need 20 volunteers for this service project.
United Way distributes Help Me Grow kits to all children throughout Utah. The kits have been designed to help develop crucial neurological connections while simultaneously encouraging ways to bond with adults through easy and fun activities. Volunteers will cut and assemble the kits to be given to United Way.
Location: Center Stage (or your desk if you would rather work remotely)
Time: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Project: United Way distributes Help Me Grow kits to all children throughout Utah. The kits have been designed to help develop crucial neurological connections while simultaneously encouraging ways to bond with adults through easy and fun activities. Volunteers will cut and assemble the kits to be given to United Way.
What to wear/bring: This craft does not require any particular skill-set, just a desire to serve.
G.R.I.T. stands for "Growing Resilience and Inclusiveness Together". The GRIT Garden works towards this mission through "three P's of Sustainability": people, planet, and prosperity. University faculty and staff have an opportunity to get involved by working in the garden. All of the crops produced in the garden go to the UVU food bank to support at-risk students. Come and support UVU's sustainability efforts by helping in the GRIT Garden!
Location: UVU’s G.R.I.T. Garden (940 W 800 S, Orem – North of the CB Bldg. and East of UCAS)
Time: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Recommended Equipment:
Plastic grocery bags are woven into sleeping mats to provide insulation from cold, damp ground. Donate plastic grocery bags to the collection bins located around campus.
Location: SC 206 A,B,C
Time: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Description: Plastic grocery bags are woven into sleeping mats to provide insulation from cold, damp ground. Donate plastic grocery bags to the collection bins located around campus.
If you've got them, bring them: Each mat takes between 600-900 bags. If you have spare grocery bags to donate, please bring them to the event or donate them in the campus bins prior.
Tabitha’s Way provides a robust solution to individuals and families who are facing food insecurity in our community.
Location: 675 W Garden Dr, Pleasant Grove, UT 84062
Time: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Description: Volunteers will sort donated food to ensure safety and help clean and organize the pantry to prepare for clients. Upon arrival, park in the West parking lot and enter through the West sliding doors. Ask for the warehouse. (https://tabithasway.org/)
