Alumni Association News

The Alumni Association Welcomes New Board Members

Board of directors

The University of Utah Alumni Association Board of Directors is composed of 24 members who support and advance the goals of the University of Utah through community service and outreach, allocation of scholarships and awards, and legislative advocacy. Says board President Michele Mattsson HBA’85 JD’88 in introducing six new members: “We’re thrilled to welcome such talented and energetic individuals to our board. Their experience, leadership skills, and devotion to the U will enhance our organization and benefit all alumni and the University.”

Jack A. Buttars BA’95 (along with an MBA from Westminster College) is president and CEO of the University of Utah Federal Credit Union. He is actively involved with the local Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Boy Scouts of America, the Warm the Soles of Kids program, and other community activities. He is married to Rebecca (Tayler) Buttars, and they are the parents of three young children.	Scott Mayeda BS’88 JD’91 is currently corporate counsel for Sinclair Oil Corporation after spending several years in private practice. While a student at the U, Mayeda was actively involved in campus activities, including serving as vice chair of the Student Assembly and as the Student Ombudsman. He is married to Kathy Mayeda, with whom he has two young children.
Marilyn C. Clark BS’72 MS’79 is program director of the National Energy Foundation. A former vice president with Tracy Collins Bank & Trust, she has served as a member of the state council of the American Institute of Banking and as state chair of the National Association of Bank Women. She also volunteers for nonprofits in the community including KUED and the United Way. She and husband David J. Clark BS’70 have two grown children.	M. Tom Peterson ex’82 is a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch. He has served as his company’s United Way representative and as a board member of the Greek Orthodox Church, and both supports and volunteers for local homeless shelters. An avid football and basketball fan, Peterson regularly attends University of Utah sporting events. He is married to , and together they have a combined family of six children.
Robert “Bob” Harrington BS’72 JD’76 runs a real estate equity fund, Equity Source LLC. He is a former president of the Beehive Honor Society board and has served a number of years on the Holladay City Planning Commission and as a City Zoning Hearing Officer. He is married to Jane Harrington, “a beautiful BYU girl,” who serves on the board of the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center. They are the parents of four grown children.	Sandra Steinvoort BS’85 JD’88 (along with an LL.M. from the College of William and Mary) is an assistant attorney general with the Utah Attorney General’s Office. She has served on the Board of Trustees for the University’s S.J. Quinney College of Law, and has chaired and continues to serve on Utah State Bar volunteer committees. She is active in a number of local community projects—from No More Homeless Pets to the first Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure event in Utah, as a founding member.

Emeritus Alumni Board (EAB)

Mona Daniels Clark BS’62 MS’83 PhD’91 (right) is this year’s president of the Emeritus Alumni Board, which is composed of alumni ages 65 or older or who first graduated from or last attended the U of U 40 or more years ago. Clark, an educator, writer, poet, and educational consultant, welcomes five new board members in 2009-2010 including (L-R) Judy Juhlin Brown ex’63, homemaker and community volunteer; Richard J. Carling BS’62 JD’65, an attorney in private practice who served in both the Utah House of Representatives (1967-73) and the Senate (1973-1990); Susan Breinholt Anderson BS’61, currently active in commercial real estate investments; and A. Pat Capson Brown BA’47 MA’82, former staff writer for the Lifestyle section of The Salt Lake Tribune. Dale B. Carpenter BA’67 MA’68, director of the Salt Lake County Office of Business and Economic Development, is not pictured.

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Dollars and Sense

Emeritus Alumni Board (EAB) member Chic Stratford BS’56 offers advice to a student at the Reality Town event, held at Bryant Intermediate School in Salt Lake City last May.

Eighth-graders at Bryant Intermediate School, located just a few blocks west of the University of Utah campus, received a lesson in life skills last spring, thanks to Emeritus Alumni Board (EAB) member John Bennion BS’61 MA’62 and a host of EAB volunteers. “Reality Town” was set up in Bryant’s gym, where various booths, manned by adult volunteers, were “selling” goods and services used to navigate modern life. They included a bank, auto dealership, insurance company, real estate agency, clothing store, food store, and a charitable organization. Students were assigned a job, given a salary and a checkbook, and then sent out into “the world.” They visited booth after booth, recording their expenditures while purchasing necessities, mindful that they had to live within their means. If they had any money left over after filling their basic needs, they could then consider purchasing a pet, giving to charity, or traveling. They could also change their minds if bad choices had been made. If, for example, shoppers overspent on a car, they were allowed to swap the expensive vehicle for a cheaper used one. The point of Reality Town was to present them with a sampling of life’s challenges and provide them a valuable lesson about making good choices in managing funds. At the end of the day, students shared their experiences in class.

Meanwhile, seventh-graders at Bryant had the opportunity to participate in Career Fair Day. Students had previously indicated their interests and suggested a lineup of guests representing different professional sectors. The guest “teachers” included an architect, interior designer, chef, physician, nurse practitioner, attorney, engineer, artist, and police officer from whom students could gain a sense of the challenges and rewards presented in their careers. EAB members again volunteered, proffering advice based on their professional knowledge.

“It is a very rewarding experience, especially since the students are so eager to learn and appreciate the help they are receiving,” says Bennion.

–Contributed by Emeritus Alumni Board member Pat Capson Brown BA’47 MA’82.

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A Full Cycle of Giving; A Young Scholar
Returns Home to the U

Here I am with my students after a class on the importance of physical health. We took a little break from lifting weights and playing ping-pong. It is heartbreaking that the schools and system are in such horrible condition, but it never grew old to be welcomed by the children. On any given street in my village, I would hear, “¡Meeeedeeeummm, la canchita, esta!” (Miriam, the super light one, is here!).

After graduating from the University of Utah in 2006 with a degree in international relations, I left for Guatemala as a Peace Corps Volunteer working in the Municipal Development Program. I lived in rural indigenous communities in Guatemala’s beautiful highlands.

Guatemala is a country suffering from governmental corruption at all levels, a long history of violent upheaval, and some of the highest poverty rates in the Western Hemisphere. My experiences there were intense, humbling, and many times heartbreaking.

The focus of my work was to increase the capacity of local government to achieve a more effective system of addressing the needs of the citizenry. Outside of the office, I worked passionately to help the children, to offer classes on various topics, to organize events, and to write training manuals, solicitations, and project profiles. But I found the most joy in working with the women there, helping them build confidence in their struggle for equality, political participation, and economic independence.

I am forever grateful for my experiences in the gorgeous country of Guatemala. The relationships and memories I built there have changed my life forever.

Now, after returning home, I know there is no better place to make the world better than my own home of Salt Lake City, among my friends and family. I am also thrilled to have the opportunity to return to the University of Utah for a master’s degree in human development and social policy. For my thesis project, I hope to work with the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center—and to give back to those who have given me so much.

It’s true: There’s no place like home. But even more, there is no place like the University of Utah. I feel like we are a team here, working to strengthen our community and create a better future for generations to come.

And no matter where I end up, I’ll always answer this question this way: “Who am I, sir? A Utah (wo)man am I... and will be ’til I die! Go Utes!”

– Miriam Pope, Alumni Association Founders Day Scholar 2005

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