Author: Continuum staff

DISCOVERY: A TEAM EFFORT

November 26, 2018

For most people, a doctorate in human genetics isn’t a fallback career. But when Kristi Russell injured her hip as a tennis player at Weber State University, she says the injury changed the course of her education and profession.

She asked her doctor, “Why would this happen to someone so young?” The doctor’s response: sports and genetics. “That really piqued my interest in human genetics,” she says. Although she was always a self-described science nerd and was studying microbiology, the discovery that hip dysplasia may run in her family was a catalyst for her to better understand genetics.

Now a grad student at the U, Russell says she’s grateful to study with some of the field’s leading researchers. After all, she works directly with the U’s chair of human genetics, Lynn Jorde, who has authored more than 250 scientific papers and holds one of the most prestigious grants available to genetics researchers.

Among other things, Russell and Jorde are trying to understand the genetic mutations that cause Lou Gehrig’s disease (also known as ALS). They’ve already uncovered two genes that contribute to the disease. And with each new gene discovered, potential new treatments can be found, says Jorde.

Their work leverages the Utah Population Database (UPDB), the world’s largest genetic database, with information on more than 10 million individuals. Through the UPDB, U researchers have identified genes and risk factors for more than 30 conditions.

“Science is not easy. It’s mostly disappointing. But once in a while, we’re rewarded with a real pathbreaking discovery. And those are the times that keep us going.”

—LYNN JORDE

MORE THAN A NUMBER

November 26, 2018

Derek Young BS’18 grew up in a town with just nine stoplights. And when he came to study biology at the U, the number of students was more than three times the population of his hometown, Price, Utah. While he was excited to be around other people who were passionate about learning, and he liked that there was a lot more to do, he found it difficult to navigate a much larger campus and city, he says.

“When I first moved here, I didn’t know anyone,” says Young. When he heard about a social gathering for transfer students, he decided to check it out, and that’s where he met Student Success Advocate Tramaine Jones.

Student Success Advocates help students connect to resources on campus and beyond. Whether it’s scholarships, job opportunities, or finding a sense of belonging, the advocates are a front-line resource for students, Jones says. They also can help in crisis situations, such as housing or food emergencies. “It’s important for us to meet students where they’re at, wherever that may be,” Jones says.

“For me, the biggest thing was to have someone to talk to, someone to help me navigate campus,” says Young. “Tramaine told me about events that were coming up and ways to get involved.”

Young graduated in May, and he’s applied to pharmacy schools and hopes to eventually work in his hometown hospital.

“Without Tramaine, my college experience would have been: go to school and go home. I wouldn’t have gotten as involved in school life as I did.”

—DEREK YOUNG

FROM DIAGNOSIS TO REMISSION

November 26, 2018

Whitney Bitner BS’18 started chemotherapy just three days before her senior year at the U. The math and statistics major had been diagnosed with nodular sclerosis classical Hodgkin lymphoma after she noticed a lump on her neck while vacationing with her family at Lake Powell.

“It was just like, ‘How can this have happened?’ ” says Bitner. Rather than postpone her schooling, she started treatment 10 days after diagnosis and finished her senior year while undergoing chemotherapy.

She says her professors and the outstanding doctors and staff at Huntsman Cancer Institute, where she received treatment, made it possible. Her professors were accommodating, and she was able to schedule treatment on days without class. Her colleagues at the Park Building, where she was a receptionist, sent her encouraging videos throughout her treatment and even threw her a surprise party on her last day of chemo.

While it was a difficult year, Bitner’s advice to anyone going through something similar is to just keep going—no matter how hard it gets. “Throughout my treatment, I was going to yoga, football games, and school,” she says. “I kept doing the things I love to do.”

A few months before graduation, Bitner received the good news that her cancer was in remission. This fall, she started graduate school at Columbia University in New York.

“My mom and I always joke that they only hire happy people [at the Huntsman Cancer Institute] because it does not feel like a hospital.”

—WHITNEY BITNER

A LIFE OF SERVICE

November 26, 2018

Service is in Daniela des Islets’ blood. Her father was an infantry officer in the Honduran military, and she’s been deployed with the U.S. Air Force twice, once in Afghanistan and once in Qatar. And now she’s studying biology, chemistry, and Spanish at the U, with plans to go on to medical school.

“I wanted to combine my passion for science and for people,” she says. The U’s research environment drew her to Utah. And at the U, the Veterans Support Center (VSC) has been a vital resource for her. The VSC helps veteran students or prospective students find services, support, and, perhaps most importantly, camaraderie.

“Having the opportunity to interact with other students who have had experiences similar to mine has been really reassuring,” says des Islets. “I have somebody to relate to, somebody who knows the experiences we have been through.”

Another U veteran, Craig Bryan, also understands the importance of veterans supporting each other—only his team’s focus is on the research end of that support. Bryan is an associate professor of psychology and executive director of the U’s National Center for Veterans Studies (NCVS), which focuses on research, outreach, and advocacy.

He says veterans’ unique life experiences provide irreplaceable insight when creating research to help improve the lives of veterans and active military. Some examples of the research from NCVS include understanding brain injuries, suicide, and novel treatments for PTSD.

“A lot of the research ideas we come up with are informed by our personal experiences,” says Bryan. “We’re reflecting upon the things we saw and experienced as veterans. And we’re now putting that into a scientific format so we can help our brothers and sisters in arms.”

“Sometimes things get stressful and I just want to quit. But then I look back at my deployments and say to myself, ‘You did that, you totally have this.’ ”

—DANIELA DES ISLETS

IMAGINE NEW HEIGHTS

November 26, 2018

Private philanthropy has always been central to the University of Utah’s story line and our ability to deliver on our mission at the highest levels. Today we’re stronger than ever, by all measures, from student achievement and graduation rates to health outcomes and patient satisfaction, and from scientific breakthroughs and new business start-ups to the performing stage and the playing field.

“There is a palpable excitement about the university’s future,” says Fred Esplin MA’74, longtime vice president for Institutional Advancement at the U. “It’s the perfect time to ensure that we have a solid foundation to better serve our students, the state, and the nation.”

It is in this spirit that the U celebrated the public launch of “Imagine New Heights” in September. Funds raised during this comprehensive campaign, which began in 2014 and is slated to run through 2022, will enable the U to accelerate its upward trajectory in the following five key areas:

1

Enhance our exceptional student experience by offering additional scholarships, investing in real-world experiences that enrich learning, and supporting student success initiatives

2

Lead biomedical discovery and transform health care by revitalizing our health sciences campus, pioneering a new era of precision medicine, and training the health care leaders of the future

3

Elevate research and engineer innovative solutions by creating new endowed chairs and professorships, establishing undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships in STEM disciplines, and expanding research and sustainability programs

4

Enrich the arts, culture, and the human experience by creating learning and performance spaces for students in the arts, establishing endowed professorships and chairs in the arts and humanities, and supporting the cultural venues and organizations on our campus

5

Foster healthy, resilient, and inclusive communities by supporting university-community partnerships, expanding programs that advance diversity and inclusion, and investing in our student-athletes and sports facilities

Every day, thousands of students, faculty, staff, researchers, and health care providers work to imagine new heights and to make the University of Utah the University for Utah. The following pages are a sampling of these remarkable stories.

Our mindset is simple. And powerful. Imagine. Then Do.

$1.07 billion

committed to date

$111 million

donated by U alumni

1937–2018

alumni classes that have given

355,000

gifts recorded

250,000

gifts of less than $100

(July 2014 – October 2018)

Discovery

November 26, 2018

Photo by Dan Hixson

Picture This: A Window that Works as a Camera 

Imagine your car windshield as a giant camera, sensing objects on the road, or the windows in your home serving as security cameras. Soon, these scenarios could become realities thanks to a team of U electrical and computer engineers led by Professor Rajesh Menon. The researchers have invented a camera in which a regular pane of glass or any see-through window can become the lens.

Cameras were developed first with the idea that humans look at and decipher the pictures. But Menon wondered if, instead, a camera could be developed that would be interpreted by a computer running an algorithm.

If a normal digital camera sensor, such as one for a mobile phone, is pointed at an object, without a lens, the result is a pixelated, blob-like image. But within that blob is still enough digital information to detect the object if a computer program is properly designed to identify it.

Through a series of experiments, researchers developed a method to do just that. The result is a low-resolution, black and white picture good enough for applications such as obstacle-avoidance sensors for autonomous cars. The method can also produce full-motion video as well as color images, and more powerful camera sensors can produce higher-resolution images. Applications for lens-less cameras are endless.

Menon and his team will continue to develop the system to include 3-D images, higher color resolution, and photographing objects in regular household light.

Having ADHD Could Increase Risk of Parkinson’s Disease

A new study by a team of U researchers indicates that an early-onset form of Parkinson’s disease may be more likely to develop in people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative illness, mostly affecting people 60 or older, with symptoms including rigidity, tremors, difficulty walking, and then cognitive issues at later stages of the disease. Its cause has not yet been determined, but scientists believe it could be a combination of genetic and environmental factors. In the United States, about 50,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year.

The U study analyzed roughly 200,000 Utah residents with Parkinson’s who were born between 1950 and 1992. Of those, around 32,000 had also been diagnosed with ADHD. Those with ADHD who had not been treated with any stimulants were more than twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s or Parkinson’s-like disorders than similar individuals without ADHD. If ADHD patients had been treated with Ritalin or other amphetamines, the likelihood of developing a Parkinson’s-like disease was six to eight times higher.

The researchers noted that patients with more severe ADHD may inherently be at an increased risk for motor neuron diseases like Parkinson’s, and the findings may or may not be a result of the stimulants. Future studies are needed to confirm a conclusion.

Why Diverse Forests are Stronger Against Drought

Diversity indicates strength, even among forests. And according to a team of researchers led by U biologist William Anderegg, forests with trees that have a high diversity of traits specifically related to water use (hydraulic diversity) suffer less impact from drought. That fact is very helpful to those who work to rebuild forests after damage caused by logging or wildfires, because droughts don’t go after individual trees but affect entire ecosystems.

The term “hydraulic diversity” refers to variations in how water moves inside trees and is the leading predictor of how well a forest can handle drought. Researchers found that the most resilient forests had many different kinds of trees, such as both conifers and deciduous types, and different rooting depths.

For the study, researchers compiled data from 40 forest sites around the world, measuring their flows of carbon, water, and energy. That data was merged with what is known about the tree species at each site, and the known hydraulic traits associated with those species. Forests with a greater diversity of hydraulic traits in their tree species maintained higher forest function than less diverse forests, such as a Christmas tree farm. So, in considering ecosystem recovery from trauma such as fire and logging (and for resilience to future climate), the researchers are now thinking about the best mixes of multiple species to increase landscape resilience.

In October, Anderegg received the prestigious Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for his research on the effects of climate change and drought on forests. He was awarded a five-year, $875,000 grant to further his research.

How HVAC Systems Can Control Indoor Air Quality

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC) are not only great for keeping a home warm or cool, but they also help clean the air of harmful pollutants. While standard home thermostats control HVAC systems based on temperature alone, U engineers studied the effects of also controlling them based on a home’s indoor air quality. They discovered that programming an air conditioner and furnace to turn on and off based on both the indoor air quality and the temperature uses only slightly more energy but keeps the air much cleaner.

The researchers figured this out by purchasing a series of off-the-shelf portable air pollution sensors and connecting them wirelessly to small and inexpensive computers. Sensor settings included “Normal” (turned on and off based on temperature only), “Always On,” (operating continuously all day), and “SmartAir” (fan turned on and off based on the pollution measurement in the house as well as the thermostat’s temperature setting). The five-month study revealed that using the SmartAir setting cleaned the air almost as well as if the HVAC fan were operating all day but used 58 percent less energy. Using the Normal setting resulted in 31 percent dirtier air and used only 18 percent less energy.

Ordinary home activities such as cooking, vacuuming, and running a clothes dryer can cause inside air to be much worse than outside air, and continual exposure to indoor air pollutants can lead to negative health effects. To date, there are no known home or commercial HVAC systems that are controlled by air quality sensors.

Induce at 39 Weeks or Risk C-section at Term?

To induce or not to induce? That is a question many expecting parents ask themselves and their doctors. Shedding more light on the topic, a new U study found that inducing labor in healthy women at 39 weeks into their pregnancy can reduce the need for cesarean sections and is at least as safe for mother and baby as waiting for spontaneous labor. Choosing to induce also could reduce the risk that mothers will develop preeclampsia and that newborns will need respiratory support after delivery.

The study, which enrolled 6,100 first-time mothers, was prompted by concern around the increasing number of babies being delivered by C-section in the U.S., holding at 32 percent since 2016. Medically unnecessary caesarian deliveries in healthy first-time mothers account for 80 percent of those deliveries, increasing risk for complications to both mother and baby, and to future pregnancies. Women who deliver by C-section once are more likely to continue delivering that way, increasing the likelihood of high-risk complications, since the procedure is considered major surgery.

On average, women who chose to induce at 39 weeks delivered about one week earlier than women who waited for spontaneous labor, and C-section delivery was less likely after elective induction. Researchers estimate that inducing labor at 39 weeks could eliminate the need for one C-section for every 28 deliveries.

Updates

November 21, 2018

BUT I DIDN’T MEAN IT LIKE THAT

What exactly are microaggressions, and why are they a big deal? A new series of posters on campus highlights common microaggressions. The posters show faces behind short sentences that say things such as, “Where are you really from?” “You’re pretty for a dark-skin girl,” and “What are you?”

Microaggressions are subtle—often unintentional—statements or actions that reveal unconscious biases toward members of marginalized communities. While anyone may experience prejudice or stereotyping, the term “microaggressions” is used specifically in connection with historically marginalized groups, which include those based on gender, race, ethnicity, veteran status, sexual orientation, religion, age, ability, national origin, citizenship status, or any of these intersecting identities.

Even though these comments and behaviors are not always intended to be rude or insulting, the impact of microaggressions is harmful because they perpetuate stereotypes in both casual and systemic ways. At a personal level, they communicate that a person doesn’t belong. For example, when someone tells a person of color that they speak English well, it might imply that the person doesn’t look like English is their first language. The impact of this statement labels the person of color as an outsider, which can be alienating.

“It feels much more welcoming when people start by assuming that we belong here,” says Belinda Otukolo Saltiban BS’00 MSW’04 PhD’12, director of the U’s Office for Inclusive Excellence. “The goal in raising awareness around this issue is simply to recognize what microaggressions are, better understand how they impact others, and promote respectful and productive dialogue around the topic.”

"You're pretty for a dark-skin girl."

"I don't think of you as person with a disability."

"You don't look like a lesbian."

U Receives Record-breaking $500M for Research

Half a billion dollars. That’s about how much the U took home in research funding last year—the most in the school’s history. With a final total of $515 million, the assets include large and small grants—from thousands of dollars to study the structural health of Utah’s rock arches, to millions of dollars to discover non-opioid painkillers.

Scholarly production metrics across the university, including the number of citations, published books, and journal articles, are also on the rise. “I think the data speak to the quality of the U’s remarkable faculty, trainees, and staff whose increased scholarly activity has enabled us to achieve such a significant funding milestone,” says Andy Weyrich, vice president for research.

Unearthing History: Military Artifacts Found at Fort Douglas

When contractors started digging for a new utility trench on campus four years ago, they discovered something unexpected—a sandstone foundation of a military barracks dating back to the Civil War. The trench project was put on hold, and this fall an official archeological dig was conducted at Fort Douglas on upper campus.

Excavation crews carefully removed the top layers of paving and meticulously began digging just inches, or even centimeters, deep at a time. Archeologists recovered various artifacts, including stoneware, military insignia, and Civil War-era buttons. The artifacts they found will be displayed at the adjacent Fort Douglas Military Museum.

The fort was established in 1862 when Union soldiers were ordered to the post to guard the mail route and keep an eye on early settlers in the area. It continued to serve as a training garrison, as well as a prisoner of war camp during both world wars.

Gardner Commons Now Stands Where OSH Once Was

What goes down must come up… or at least in this case it did. In 2016, Orson Spencer Hall (OSH) was demolished. And after much anticipation, the new Carolyn and Kem Gardner Commons opened in 2018 in the same spot on the hillside east of the library in the center of campus.

Gardner Commons provides a home to the U’s largest college—the College of Social and Behavioral Science—the seven departments of which account for 27 percent of undergraduate degrees awarded. The building has 37 classrooms, two auditoriums, study spaces, food and dining options, and a U welcome center. Fourteen additional departments also have space in the new building.

Gardner Commons was designed with sustainability at its core. It’s 100 percent electric-based, using primarily renewable energy, and will eventually become carbon neutral. It’s also heated and cooled by the first geothermal ground-source heat pump on campus, saving more than $70,000 annually in energy costs.

Carolyn [BS’69] and Kem [BA’67 JD’70] Gardner provided the lead gift toward the $68 million project. “We hope that this new structure will be a place where students can learn and grow together,” Carolyn said at the groundbreaking. “Both Kem and I are alumni from the U, and some of our favorite experiences here were in the classroom learning from amazing professors and in the halls befriending fellow students.”

WEB EXCLUSIVE VIDEO & GALLERY

10 Ideas that Could Change the Future for Utah’s Middle Class

The 10 finalists in the first round of a competition for ideas to strengthen Utah’s middle class came up with proposals ranging from helping single parents save money through shared living arrangements to boosting opportunities for freelance workers in the state’s rural areas.

The American Dream Ideas Challenge is a statewide call for policy or investable concepts that have the potential to increase net income by 10 percent for 10,000 middle-class households in Utah by the end of 2020. The U is one of four public universities in the U.S. participating in the competition.

In late November 2018 (while Continuum was at press), three entries were selected from the 10 finalists to receive $30,000 to refine their ideas and compete at the national level for up to $1 million from the Alliance for the American Dream. The national-level finalists will be announced in January 2019. Updates can be found at americandream.utah.edu.

The top finalists include:
  • Community Design Innovation Hub: Create a community hub on Salt Lake’s west side to connect residents to innovative educational and career pathways.
  • Autism Futures: Expand employment and services for adults on the autism spectrum through a platform that connects them with employers.
  • Coal Country Strike Team: Create a “strike team” in Emery and Carbon counties to address problems and promote opportunities in health care, housing, and other areas.
  • DASH Digital Pathways: DASH (Design, Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities) would help professionals develop digital skills for careers in Utah’s classrooms and high-tech sector.
  • Debt-free Middle Class: Develop an app that creates a new culture of saving money by helping people get out of debt faster and make smarter financial decisions.
  • Developing Skills and Rural Businesses in the Gig Economy: Increase gig-economy employment in rural Utah through education and outreach.
  • Convert Health Care Premiums to Income: Partner with health insurers to focus on reducing health care premiums through value-based insurance design and other efforts.
  • Mobility as a Service: Save transportation-related expenses by encouraging more public options such as transit, ride hailing, and bike sharing.
  • Neighbor: Allow Utahns to rent their RV pads, basements, sheds, closets, attics, etc. to others for storage, both reducing costs and providing income.
  • Single Parent Shared Living: An app that matches single-parent families with shared living arrangements to save money and reduce child care costs.

Upping Parental Perks for U Staff

Eligible staff will soon have access to paid parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child. Starting in January 2019, eligible parents will receive 50 percent salary for six weeks to extend the use of their sick and vacation accruals. This time runs concurrently with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. It doesn’t extend or defer the leave.

“This new parental leave rule is an important step in helping show our staff they are valued and appreciated for their service to the university,” says Jeff Herring, chief human resources officer. To use the benefit, the employee must hold a full-time benefited non-medical staff position and be employed for the prior 12 months, and the child must be born or adopted on or after Jan. 1, 2019.

Lactation Spaces Make the Map

New mothers on campus can now more easily find lactation spaces. The campus map (map.utah.edu) has added a feature pinpointing the 21 known lactation rooms. As part of the campus master plan, the university now requires new buildings built or renovated for $10 million or more to include a lactation space.

“We’re always looking to find more ways to serve women, and we hope this resource will make things a little easier for our nursing mothers,” says Barb Snyder, vice president for student affairs. “When mothers are supported and able to succeed, their children and families also benefit.”

Conceptual rendering

51K Strong: Rice-Eccles Stadium Expanding

After 56 straight sellout crowds, dating back to 2010, the Rice-Eccles Stadium is getting an expansion and upgrade. The renovation is slated to be complete for the 2021 football season.

The estimated $80 million project will connect the east and west concourses on the south end zone, increasing audience capacity from 45,807 to 51,444. The expansion also includes adding new luxury suites and boxes, as well as club, ledge, and rooftop seating. In addition, the area beneath the stands will get new locker rooms, training and recruiting spaces, and rooms for coaches, officials, the press, and the marching band.

The stadium upgrade will help ease the mounting demand for seats, which includes a season ticket waitlist of nearly 3,000 fans. Costs for the expansion will not come from state or taxpayer dollars but will be covered through fundraising, sponsorships, and revenues generated by the new premium seating areas.

New Garff Building to House MBA Programs

U business students will have a lot more room to learn—150,000 square feet more, to be exact—with the opening of the Robert H. and Katharine B. Garff Building. Dedicated in October, the building houses the David Eccles School of Business MBA, professional MBA, executive MBA, and MBA online programs.

The children of Robert [BS’66 MBA’67] and Katharine [BS’64] Garff surprised their parents at the groundbreaking last year with the lead gift for the new building. “This building is symbolic of the appreciation the Garff family has for education,” Katharine said at the dedication. “Education has always been the focus in our family.

U of U Health Scores Three Major Rankings

University of Utah Health is on a roll. It was again ranked among the best in the country for high quality care, recognized for the best hospital in the state by U.S. News & World Report for the fifth year in a row, and named as one of the best places in the country to work by Forbes—coming in at No. 35. And that’s just this year.

For the ninth year in a row, U of U Health was ranked in the top 10 in the nation for safety, timeliness, effectiveness, and equity of its care, as well as its focus on patients. Hundreds of other academic medical centers and community hospitals were included in the study, administered by the health care performance improvement company Vizient.

In addition to its fifth year running with recognition for the state’s best hospital, U of U Health was ranked nationally for cancer care (No. 48), gynecology (No. 32), and ear, nose, and throat (No. 31) by U.S. News.

Campus Scene: Walk the Line

November 21, 2018

Walk the Line

Despite what the name might suggest, slacklining is not for slackers. The sport requires walking on thin webbing suspended between two objects and is all about testing balance—and gravity. And it’s not just an exercise for the body: it also helps focus the mind. Here, Nina Borzoni, the director of sustainability for Associated Students of the University of Utah, participates in Wasatch Magazine ’s slackline competition on campus this fall. Competitors were judged on the variety and difficulty of their tricks.

Photo by Dave Titensor

Class Notes

August 28, 2018

’70s

Jeff Clawson

Jeff Clawson MD’74, founder of the Salt Lake City-based International Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (IAED™)—a nonprofit organization that sets emergency dispatching standards for training, dispatch protocols, and quality assurance, and which certifies emergency dispatchers throughout the world—was recognized this year by the Association for Talent Development with its Champion of Talent Award. Established in 1988, IAED includes more than 64,000 members in 46 countries handling some 80 million calls each year.

Lori Frasier

Lori Frasier BS’77 MD’83, director of the Center for the Protection of Children at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, was honored with the 2018 Helfer Society Award for her contributions to the field of child abuse prevention in pediatrics. Society past president Kent Hymel said, “I would argue that Dr. Frasier has done more than anyone among us to advance an understanding of child abuse pediatrics around the globe.”

Reed Iwami

Reed Iwami BS’72, after a successful career in business, shifted his interest to humanitarian service to the people of Myanmar, a country with ongoing political unrest. In 2008, he cofounded the nonprofit Love for Myanmar, with the goal to provide a safe environment in which the people can succeed, and to enhance their success by implementing programs to meet their physical, mental, and spiritual needs. Iwami is especially interested in building and financially sustaining shelters for orphaned children.

’80s

Klea Blackhurst

Klea Blackhurst BFA’85 headlined Jubilate in June at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts for the 25th anniversary gala of 42nd Street Moon, a professional theater company dedicated to preserving American musical theater. Blackhurst has delighted audiences in musicals including Everything the Traffic Will Allow, her tribute to Ethel Merman, which earned her a Special Achievement Award from Time Out New York magazine. Blackhurst received a Distinguished Alumna Award from the U’s Alumni Association in 2012.

’90s

Steven K. Andersen

Steven Andersen BA’95, vice president of the American Arbitration Association's International Centre for Dispute Resolution® (ICDR®), was honored this year by the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center with its first Outstanding Contribution to Technology Dispute Resolution Award. Andersen directs the ICDR in Canada, Mexico, and the United States and is responsible for its cross-border arbitration and mediation in the region, and for providing executive oversight of large cases.

Marilyn Brown

Marilyn Brown MFA’92 and her husband and creative partner Bill were recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award this year at the SCERA Center for the Arts in Orem, Utah. The award acknowledges their achievement in enriching the communities and citizens of Utah. With master’s degrees from Brigham Young University and the U (both in creative writing), Marilyn Brown has published more than 20 books, co-developed more than 96 plays, and received numerous awards for her novels, short stories, and poetry.

Jan-Ruth Mills

Jan-Ruth Mills BA’92, a doctoral candidate at Florida State University, received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Mills will conduct research in Germany at University of Regensburg to investigate the use of slave labor by the Third Reich to construct the Messerschmitt Me 262, the first operational jet fighter. Fulbright recipients are chosen based on academic and professional achievement as well as service record and leadership potential.

Edward Morrison

Edward Morrison HBS’94 BS’94, the Charles Evans Gerber Professor of Law at Columbia Law School and an expert in law and economics and bankruptcy law, was awarded the 2018 Willis L.M. Reese Prize for Excellence in Teaching and chosen as Professor of the Year by members of the Class of 2018 at their commencement ceremony in May. Morrison was recognized by the U Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Board as an outstanding young alum in 2009.

’10s

Johanna Varner

Johanna Varner PhD’15 received the 2018 Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. An assistant professor of biology at Colorado Mesa University, she is cofounder of Cascades Pika Watch in Oregon, a citizen science program she developed in part with middle school students, wherein volunteers study the response of pikas (small rabbit relatives) to environmental change by conducting field research, analyzing data, and presenting results to local agencies.

Alum News

August 28, 2018

The "Ruth 66" southern Utah road tour crew pictured in Silver Reef. L to R: Todd Andrews, Brooke Adams, Laura Snow, Fred Esplin, Bob Young, Ruth Watkins, Chris Nelson, Jeff Herring, and Jason Perry.

Road Tripping with the President: A Report from Our New Alumni Director

This June, I joined the university from my previous position as vice president of alumni relations at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Soon after, I had the opportunity to join President Ruth Watkins and other university officials on the southern leg of the U’s “Ruth 66 University for Utah Road Tour” to connect with business leaders, public officials, and members of the Utah higher education community. At every stop, President Watkins asked “How can we help?” as she sought to discover what the U can do to support the success of Utah’s businesses and local communities, as well as its other colleges and universities.

We stopped at Utah’s Silicon Slopes area and visited with Adobe and IM Flash, where we learned how global companies are seeking to create the most diverse workforce possible to serve an international customer base. We learned that the Utah economy needs engineers to fuel the growth of the high-tech sector—engineers who have problem-solving skills that come only from a world-class education. We met with government leaders in Provo to discuss issues of higher education affordability. Stopping at Beaver Valley Hospital, we learned how telemedicine is making best-in-class health care more accessible by extending the U’s medical expertise to rural areas. We visited the Cedar Livestock Market and discussed how drought conditions are forcing cattle to market earlier, a hardship in a state where agriculture represents 15 percent of the economy. We met with educators from Southern Utah University, Dixie State University, and Snow College, who talked with President Watkins about reducing student debt and increasing access to higher education for all Utahns.

One of our goals for the U’s Alumni Association is to strengthen support of our local chapters. For me, then, the highlight of the trip was an alumni dinner organized by the incredibly welcoming St. George Chapter. Special guest Mark Harlan, our new athletic director, gave an inspiring talk about continuing the U’s culture of winning in the competitive Pac-12 conference.

At every turn on our trip, I was struck by President Watkins’s ability to listen and her desire to connect the U with the forces driving progress and increasing quality of life in Utah. I noticed her unwavering focus on students and creating affordable educational opportunity for all. On returning to Salt Lake City, I felt very fortunate to be working at such an amazing university, one focused on benefiting its home state, its alumni, and each new generation of students.

Todd Andrews, Alumni Association Executive Director

2018 Homecoming Events

Homecoming U5K—Pull Out Your Running Shoes

On your mark, get set, run! The U's annual Homecoming Scholarship 5K & Kids 1K are right around the corner. Join the fun at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 20 at the recently renovated Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House just east of the Olpin Union.

Last fall, more than 800 people registered for the Homecoming U5K. It was an incredible day of running, camaraderie, and U pride. The U5K, which is organized by the Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Board, raised more than $60,000 last year for student scholarships and hopes to break that record this fall with your help.

If you live outside of Utah or can't attend that day, you can still sign up for the virtual U5K, which you can run, stroll, or walk anywhere, from the trail to the treadmill. Click the "virtual racer" button at registration. For more info and to register, visit U5K.fun.

Alumni Association Welcomes New Board Members

Six new members recently joined the Alumni Association Board of Directors. These volunteers help support the association and serve on committees ranging from scholarships to community service. We’re pleased to introduce each of the new members to you.

Andrew Cooley

Cooley BA’92 is chief executive officer at Kenetics, a division of Garff Enterprises. Most of his career has been spent serving in the public, education, and technology sectors. At the U, Cooley served with the Bennion Center and was elected ASUU president. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English from the U and a master’s degree from Harvard University.

Jonette Mangum

Mangum BA’78 is the owner of Sugar House Realty. She has served in many volunteer roles and on a number of community boards. Mangum is a member of the executive committee on the Educational Resource Development Council. She received her bachelor’s degree in English literature cum laude and also attended American College in Paris.

Mark Hardy

Hardy BS’89 BA’89, a partner at Aurora Capital, has spent his career in the private equity market, where he focuses on developing and implementing growth strategies. He graduated magna cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in economics and political science from the U and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1993.

Angie Matinkhah

Matinkhah MA’87 graduated at the top of her class at the University of the Philippines College of Architecture. At the U, she received a Rotary Foundation scholarship, a research fellowship, and the American Institute of Architects award. Matinkhah co-founded ARCOM, an architectural computer services company.

Tiffany Romney

Romney BS’88 JD’91 is a judicial law clerk for U.S. District Judge Dee Benson and has been a pro bono attorney for the U. She received her bachelor’s degree in political science summa cum laude and was president of Delta Gamma sorority, and she was also involved in ASUU. She served as a Hinckley Institute intern in the U.S. Senate as well as the Utah Legislature.

Todd Smith

Smith BA’88 is senior vice president at Moreton & Company, a Salt Lake City-based insurance broker. He has been with the firm for more than 20 years and previously spent eight years with a large national manufacturing company. Smith's community service has included being a Winter Olympics volunteer at Snow Basin. He graduated from the U with a bachelor’s degree in business finance.

A Place to Call Home

August 28, 2018

“Named for someone so dear to our hearts, I know this ‘house’ will be far more a ‘home’ for the thousands of us who count the University of Utah as a treasured part of our lives.”

 

Ruth Watkins, President, University of Utah
Building Dedication, April 18, 2018

Welcome home, U alumni and friends, to the Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House. The newly renovated space has been abuzz with special events ranging from graduation celebrations to retirement parties to alumni gatherings and board meetings. The 17,000-square-foot expansion more than doubles the size of the building, which serves as headquarters for the Alumni Association and provides event space serving the campus community, the public, and the U’s more than 270,000 alumni throughout the world.

The building’s design, furnishings, and natural light-infused interior reflect the gracious hospitality, warmth, and elegance of its namesake, the late Cleone Eccles BS’57, who dedicated countless hours as vice president of the Alumni Association Board and as a member of the U’s Board of Trustees.

“Cleone’s love for the U and interest in the success of the students were boundless,” says Spencer F. Eccles BS’56. “Beginning with our student days when we first met, our family’s affection for our alma mater has never wavered.”

The building exterior is clad in native Utah stone, with balconies offering inspiring views of the mountains and Salt Lake Valley. Inside offers expanded conference and reception areas and a spacious ballroom accommodating dining for up to 400 guests (or theater seating for more than 500).

The renovation was made possible by a $4 million lead gift from the Spencer F. and Cleone P. Eccles Family and the added generosity of many alumni and friends. Additional major donors include the O.C. Tanner Charitable Trust, George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, Kem and Carolyn Gardner, University Federal Credit Union, Jeff and Helen Cardon, Dr. Ezekiel R. and Edna Wattis Dumke Foundation, Kay and Zeke Dumke, Jr., Ronald E. Henriksen, Sorenson Legacy Foundation, U Alumni Association, and The MUSS.

Discovery

August 28, 2018

Illustration by Andrey Atuchin /DMNS 2017

NEW ‘SPIKY’ DINO DISCOVERED IN UTAH

Fossils of a new genus and species of an ankylosaurid dinosaur—Akainacephalus johnsoni—have been unearthed in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. The discovery, led by the Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU), reveals new details about the diversity and evolution of this group of armored dinosaurs.

The Akainacephalus specimen (the most complete Late Cretaceous ankylosaurid skeleton ever discovered in the southwestern U.S.) includes a complete skull, bones from the vertebral column, a tail club, several limb elements, and a distinguishing and unique bony body armor that covered it from head to tail, including neck rings and spiked armor plates. A medium-sized dinosaur, it roamed the area about 76 million years ago.

Expected to look like other North American Late Cretaceous ankylosaurid dinosaurs—with smooth bony armor on the skull— the new research shows that its defining features of bony armor in the shape of small, spiky cones and pyramids actually make it more closely related to Asian ankylosaurids, possibly due to several brief intervals of lowered sea level that exposed the Bering land bridge, allowing dinosaurs and other animals to move between Asia and North America.

Akaina is Greek, indicating a spike or thorn; cephalus means head; and the epithet johnsoni  honors Randy Johnson, a dedicated paleontology volunteer who skillfully prepared the specimen’s skull. Jelle Wiersma MS’16 studied and described the species for his master’s thesis with co-author Randall Irmis, NHMU chief curator and curator of paleontology, and associate professor in the U’s Department of Geology and Geophysics.

The Akainacephalus fossil is now on permanent display at the museum.

 

WEB EXCLUSIVE VIDEO & PHOTO GALLERY

Black + White = A Racial Minority Gray Area

As the U.S. becomes increasingly multiracial (one in five Americans is expected to identify as multiracial by 2050), social psychologists are just beginning to understand how these individuals are perceived and categorized.

Jacqueline M. Chen, a U psychology professor and lead author of a recent study, found that observers were most likely to categorize someone who is black-white multiracial as non-white—and further, to see racially ambiguous, multiracial people as specific racial minorities, such as Latinx, Middle Eastern, or South Asian. The study is the first to document the minority bias as a guiding principle in multiracial categorization.

These findings may have implications for how people stereotype and behave toward multiracial individuals: minority bias may lead perceivers to be less motivated to pay attention to, get to know, or remember multiracial individuals because they categorize them as members of stigmatized racial groups. The implications of the research are important for understanding the multiracial experience, and for the future of race relations in America.

Altitude May Impact How Well an Antidepressant Works

The elevation where you live might matter more than you think when it comes to treating mental health. Research led by U scientists suggests that three common antidepressants—Paxil, Lexapro, and Prozac—could be less effective at moderate to high altitudes.

Lab rats were treated with these drugs in controlled test settings to simulate life at different elevations from sea level up to 10,000 feet. Researchers found that rats housed at altitudes as moderate as 4,500 feet (the elevation of Salt Lake City) did not respond to these common antidepressants. By contrast, the antidepressant Zoloft was shown to still be effective at elevation. Although all four antidepressants are serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), individual SSRIs have different pharmacological profiles, potentially explaining their varied effects.

If the findings hold true, they could have implications for individuals with diseases that affect breathing, such as asthma, sleep apnea, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which lower the amounts of oxygen in the bloodstream, mimicking impacts of low oxygen environments at altitude. Interestingly, patients with these conditions are also susceptible to increased rates of depression and suicidal behavior. The next step is to design studies to determine if the effects from SSRIs in rats are also seen in people.

When Bottlenecks Are a Good Thing

Evan Buechley releases an adult Egyptian vulture near
Goris, Armenia.

It’s not easy to catch an Egyptian vulture. U researchers know this firsthand. Yet they have managed to catch and tag nearly 50 over the past four years in deserts from Ethiopia to Armenia.

By tracking the birds, they have learned not only where these beautiful creatures eat and breed, but also where they migrate. The vultures travel along the Red Sea Flyway—a large area connecting the summer and winter ranges of birds in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Their routes reveal migratory bird corridors and bottlenecks (places where they concentrate in migration), critically important places for bird conservationists to work.

Unfortunately, many of the most important areas don’t receive federal protection from the nations in which they are located and are poorly studied due to political instability and harsh desert environs. Recognizing the importance of migratory bottlenecks is vital to influence developments that may harm birds, such as wind turbines, illegal shooting, poisoning, and risks of collision and electrocution from power structures.

Despite the dire concerns, researchers say there’s hope. “The Africa side of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait sits in the nation of Djibouti, a safe and stable country, and that’s where the most critical bottleneck is,” notes Evan Buechley PhD’17, now a postdoctoral scholar at the U. “This is actually a place where researchers and conservationists can work.” He and his team hope to monitor raptor migration in the area because targeting research and conservation at this bottleneck could help conserve bird populations that span three continents. “It’s a transition from identifying these places to researching in depth, and ultimately working to protect, the most critical ones,” adds Buechley.

That Sound Makes Me Dizzy

For some people, certain sounds such as a trumpet blowing a particular tone can make them dizzy, and it’s not because they’re giddy from a Wynton Marsalis melody.

It has been estimated that 1 in 100 people around the world have a congenital inner ear condition known as semicircular canal dehiscence, a thinning of the bone enclosing the inner ear that can lead to vertigo in response to certain sounds, changes in atmospheric pressure, or coughing. A person can feel the same imbalance effects of being drunk just by hearing certain tones.

Researchers from the U, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and the University of Mississippi have discovered how that happens. Normally, the balance and hearing organs of the inner ear are encased in solid bone, but a hole in that bony enclosure can cause the inner ear semicircular canals to become sensitive to sounds such as a sustained tone from a musical instrument or a higher-pitched conversation.

This condition causes the eyes to rotate through an automatic reflex that normally would stabilize an image in the eye during head movements. But if the signal from the ear is wrong, the eyes’ movements are also wrong, causing the patient to feel dizzy. The effect can occur in just seconds and can render the person dizzy for tens of seconds after the tone has stopped. Fortunately, surgery to repair the dehiscence can help.