In the News

• The Herald Journal Monday, Jun. 02, 2025

  USU weather expert expects hot and dry summer in Cache Valley

  Following what Utah State University Climate Data Analyst Casey Olson called a “hotter than usual” weekend, Olson said models suggest a short period of spring-like weather before a hot and dry summer in Cache Valley.

  With the chance of scattered thunderstorms throughout the valley this week and potential, near-freezing temperatures in low-elevation areas on Tuesday, “summer mode” is near, according to Olson.

  “We’re going to be increasing temperatures again, but we are going to remain quite mild this week,” Olson said, citing low-pressures moving in and out of the valley. “As far as widespread precipitation though — we are really missing out on the best dynamics for widespread precipitation up north.”

• Cache Valley Daily Thursday, May. 29, 2025

  USU Mars Rover Team competing in international challenge

  LOGAN - The University Rover Challenge (URC) by the Mars Society is a robotic competition for university level students that challenges teams to design and build a rover that would be of use to early Mars explorers.

  Utah State University’s Mars Rover Team, which earlier earned an invitation to compete in the challenge, is on-site this week for the competition which concludes Saturday at the Mars Desert Research Station in Hanksville, Utah.

  The site was chosen for its similarity to Mars: it’s a largely barren desert area and the soil there has a chemical composition much like Martian soil.

• The Herald Journal Wednesday, May. 28, 2025

  Aggies shine in classroom, set department highs in GPA

  Utah State athletes made history in the classroom this past semester and term.

  The athletics department released how the 360 Aggies did on Tuesday. They had a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.51 and a term GPA of 3.57. This marked the highest GPAs in department history. It was also the 46th straight term that all USU student-athletes combined to achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, dating back to 2002.

  "Our student-athletes continue to demonstrate their commitment to academics, setting multiple department highs in the spring semester," USU Vice President and Director of Athletics Diana Sabau said in a press release.

• St. George News Tuesday, May. 27, 2025

  Does forest thinning lead to increased wildfire danger, community risk?

  May is National Wildfire Awareness Month, a time to help raise awareness about the dangers of wildfires and encourage people to take measures to protect themselves, their homes and their communities.

  Wildfires have recently made headlines, and some researchers question whether active wildfire management practices – such as forest thinning – may cause more harm than good. At the same time, data indicate some Utah communities may be at higher risk than previously believed. A new study ranks Utah as the fourth highest in the nation.

• Deseret News Friday, May. 23, 2025

  Committee formed to search for new Utah State University president

  The Utah Board of Higher Education announced Thursday a new committee of board members, trustees, faculty and students has been formed to select the next president of Utah State University.

  The new committee will be responsible for identifying potential candidates who will “advance the university’s unique mission as Utah’s land- and space-grant institution, with a strong emphasis on student-centered education, research and community engagement,” according to a statement from the Utah System of Higher Education. They will also review applications and conduct interviews for the position before recommending their top three candidates to the Utah Board of Higher Education, which will select the new university president.

  The nine-person committee is co-chaired by Steve Neeleman, Board of Higher Education vice chairman, and David Huntsman, USU trustee. Board of Higher Education member Cydni Tetro and USU trustee Clark Whitworth also represent their boards as members of the search committee. Several members of the university’s faculty were also named committee members, including Interim Dean and Faculty Senate President Grant Cardon, Senior Vice President for Marketing and Communications Bill Plate and Staff Association Vice President Elisa Taylor.

• The Herald Journal Wednesday, May. 14, 2025

  USU SNAC opens mobile food pantry for students and public

  A new monthly mobile food pantry managed by Utah State University’s Student Nutrition Access Center held its first pick-up day Tuesday at Maverik Stadium in Logan, providing perishable goods not often found in food banks to students and the public.

  SNAC launched the mobile food pantry in collaboration with the Utah Food Bank and Cache Community Food Pantry. It will operate once a month from 9-10 a.m., or while supplies last, in the stadium parking lot off Lars Hansen Drive.

  Planned dates include June 10, July 15, Aug. 12 and Sept. 9, with subsequent distributions scheduled for the second Tuesday after the first Monday of each month.

• Deseret News Thursday, May. 08, 2025

  USU research team creates digital therapy tool to expand health care access

  As Utahns are experiencing a statewide shortage of mental health professionals, students and professors at Utah State University are developing self-guided therapy programs available from anywhere, at the press of a button.

  Acceptance and commitment therapy is a widely adopted, evidence-based therapy typically used in individual or group settings. However, psychology professionals and students at USU are creating digital tools that implement methods from this behavioral therapy technique in a self-help setting.

  “Part of living life (means) we experience challenging emotions, challenging thoughts. But where people get really stuck is in this type of inflexible patterns, particularly when we focus on trying to avoid and get away from what we think and feel,” said Michael Levin, licensed psychologist and co-director of the USU Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Research Group. “(Acceptance and commitment therapy) seeks to address this with whatever form of suffering people are struggling with by teaching people how to open up to these experiences rather than avoid them, how to be more mindfully aware of what’s available in the present moment and how to engage in meaningful activities so that we’re able to build out a rich, full, meaningful life.”

• Fox 13 News Tuesday, May. 06, 2025

  USU research could yield solutions for getting water to the Great Salt Lake

  WHEELON, Utah — Standing next to a canal near Cutler Dam, groups of people huddled and talked about water.

  Cutler Dam is the last dam on the Bear River before the Great Salt Lake. It was a perfect spot for a group of farmers, political officials, researchers and others at an event hosted by Utah State University's Water Research Laboratory on Tuesday.

  "We really set this up to provoke conversation, right? It’s not a one-way, experts deliver their information to the participants," said Dr. David Rosenberg, a professor at USU's Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. "Everyone brings their own information, knowledge, values."

• Deseret News Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2025

  Nearly 7,200 students graduate from Utah State University

  LOGAN — Before anyone took the stage, cheers of “Utah ... State” rang throughout the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Wednesday as 7,185 students eagerly awaited the last step in their academic journeys before graduating from Utah State University.

  “Graduates, your education is an enduring asset that no one can ever take away from you,” Alan Smith, USU’s interim president, told the crowd. “Setting aside alternative narratives that have been spun surrounding the value of higher education, the data are unequivocal that you will personally benefit from having invested your time and effort in your education.”

  Wednesday’s commencement ceremony — the 138th in the school’s history — featured an address from William “Willy” Lensch, a USU alumnus and Harvard University associate provost for research. Over the course of his career, Lensch has made significant contributions to stem cell research and bioethics.

  Lensch reminisced on his time as an Aggie and asked the graduates to think about two questions: what their best, “most glorious moment” at USU was and, on the other end of the spectrum, what their hardest, most challenging moment was.

• Cache Valley Daily Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2025

  USU scientists explore why Wasatch Fault is vulnerable to quakes

  LOGAN - Research underway at Utah State University has revealed significant clues about the Wasatch Fault’s earthquake risk.

  The Wasatch Fault is a fracture in the Earth’s crust. It is a seismically active normal fault, which means it has moved many times in the past. It runs along the western edge of the Wasatch Mountains, spanning about 240 miles from southern Idaho to central Utah, including through the state’s population centers, including Salt Lake City.

  Geophysicist Srisharan Shreedharan is an assistant professor is USU’s Department Geosciences. Working with Associate Professor Alexis Ault and doctoral student Jordan Jensen, he has published new findings about why earthquakes occur along the Wasatch Fault.

• KSL Thursday, Apr. 24, 2025

  $12B benefit to move downtown train lines below ground, USU study says

  SALT LAKE CITY — Possible money made in an ambitious plan to move key train lines below ground in downtown Salt Lake City is emerging in a new study. The economic study by Utah State University reveals the move could generate as much as $12.3 billion.

  The money comes from moving more than four miles of railroad lines over a full city block and having them run below ground, making it easier to connect with public transit downtown, and redeveloping 50 to 70 acres in the heart of Salt Lake City, currently taken up by the tracks.

  Those benefits of moving the tracks, coming out in the new economic impact study done by Utah State University’s Huntsman School of Business, were released this week. The plan moves the existing lines near I-15 eastward to realign trains with the original route through Salt Lake’s Rio Grande station, making it again the hub for rail connection downtown.

• The New York Times Tuesday, Apr. 22, 2025

  Study Finds Rapid Swings in Temperature Have Increased

  A September heat wave switching into a snowstorm over one day in the Rocky Mountains. Winter snowfall suddenly melting and saturating fields of dormant crops, before refreezing and encasing them in damaging ice. Early spring warmth prompting plants to blossom followed by a cold snap that freezes and drops their petals.

  Rapid temperature change events like these have increased in frequency and intensity over recent decades, a new study found.

  The transition periods for these abrupt temperature shifts have also shortened, according to the study, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.

  Because the quick changes in temperature give communities and ecosystems little chance to respond, they may pose greater challenges than heat waves or cold snaps alone, said Wei Zhang, an assistant professor of climate science at Utah State University and one of the lead authors of the study.

  “The impact could really be cascading on a different level,” he said.

• Cache Valley Daily Tuesday, Apr. 22, 2025

  Utah's first 4-year vet program now accepting applicants for fall 2025

  Utah State University's College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is now accepting applicants for its inaugural class of vet school students this fall.  

  USU announced the news in late March, after receiving a letter of reasonable assurance from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA COE), indicating the college is on track to receive accreditation. There are less than 35 accredited veterinary programs in the United States. This would be the first doctor of veterinary medicine program in Utah.

  USU Interim President Al Smith said it is "an incredibly important milestone" for the future of the college program.

• Fox 13 News Friday, Apr. 18, 2025

  How a free tool from Utah State University can help you pay off your debt

  SALT LAKE CITY — If you feel like you're drowning in debt, like you will never get your head above water, a new website can offer you some help. Power Pay is a free tool from Utah State University, no tricks, no paywalls, just a proven plan to chip away.

  The first thing that Power Pay helps you do is identify all of your debt. Then the program will help you decide between paying off the debt with the lowest balance or the one with the highest interest rate.

  The idea is that while you make the minimum payments on all your debts, you "power pay" the first debt you want to eliminate. Once that debt is eliminated, you simply redirect that same money to another payment, combining the minimum you are already paying.

• The Herald Journal Friday, Apr. 18, 2025

  Students propose food insecurity solutions during NourishTank competition

  Three student groups took a step toward addressing food insecurity for students and Cache Valley residents Thursday during the Utah State University Food Security and Hunger Solutions Symposium.

  In 2023, one in 10 households in Cache County were food insecure — meaning they didn’t have reliable access to enough affordable, healthy food — according to the USU Hunger Solutions Institute, which hosted the symposium.

  The symposium was an opportunity for students and faculty to showcase their research and projects addressing food security challenges.

• The Salt Lake Tribune Tuesday, Apr. 15, 2025

  Utah State University merges 5 colleges into 2

  Utah State University will restructure its academic programs — including several large-scale mergers and a still unknown number of employee layoffs — in order to make up lost funds from the state’s budgets cuts for higher education.

  The northern Utah land-grant school announced its initial plans for consolidating departments and colleges in a letter to faculty and staff Thursday. Fears and concerns swiftly followed.

  Interim USU President Alan L. Smith said in the message, though, it is unclear at this point how many “associated personnel reductions” will be necessary.

• The Herald Journal Monday, Apr. 14, 2025

  USU students use music and poetry to increase homelessness awareness

  A crowd gathered at Ginny’s PIT Stop in Nibley Saturday for an open microphone night focused on raising awareness of homelessness.

  Utah State University social work students Charlotte Prather, Terry Boharsik, Aleah Cuellar and Camilla Brooks organized the event as part of an intervention project. It featured live music acts, interspersed with poetry readings and stories from people who have experienced homelessness.

  Boharsik shared his own experience becoming homeless in 2010 while living in New Hampshire.

• Newsweek Sunday, Apr. 13, 2025

  Why Lake Mead and Lake Powell Are Struggling Despite Record Melting

  Despite consecutive winters of decent snowfall, the two largest reservoirs in the United States—Lake Mead and Lake Powell—remain far from full.

  Lake Powell, situated along the Arizona-Utah border, and Lake Mead, located near Las Vegas, are both integral components of the Colorado River system. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to more than 40 million people across seven states and Mexico.

  These water bodies are essential not only for drinking water and agriculture but also for hydropower generation and recreation. While gains have been made in previous years, storage remains a concern due to ongoing drought impacts and high water demands.

• Deseret News Wednesday, Apr. 02, 2025

  Meet Sage, the USU police dog who is connecting the campus

  On the top floor of Utah State University’s Aggie Recreation Center, a dozen young women gathered for a self-defense class led by two members of the university’s public safety department. One of the instructors, USU Police Department officer Shane Nebeker, had his friendly K-9 partner Sage along with him.

  Nebeker let Sage off her leash and allowed the dog to roam freely throughout the room. The 18-month-old English Labrador retriever wandered around the room, greeting members of the class while carrying her leash in her mouth, and occasionally trying to sneak out and escape down the hall.

  Due to the nature of the class, where young women are taught how to address potentially traumatic situations they may find themselves in — or have already found themselves in — emotions can run high. On this day, one student was visibly upset and spent the first few minutes of the demonstration sitting against the wall, softly crying.

• Deseret News Sunday, Mar. 30, 2025

  Judge Thomas Griffith tells students 'we must not be enemies' in America

  “Never once” in his 15 years of serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit did Judge Thomas B. Griffith “see any of these people who had been appointed by presidents from Carter through Trump” cast a vote driven by “partisan priors.”

  “No one was in there saying, I want to win one for Trump. … Judges don’t think that way … I’m standing as a witness,” said Griffith before an audience of students and faculty at Utah State University Tuesday.

  “Now, pundits think they do. Senators think they do. Presidents think they do, but I’m telling you, they don’t. I never saw it once, OK?”

  Griffith’s comments came as part of the USU President’s Forum on Conflict and Conflict Transformation, which aims to “foster a culture of respect, open-minded inquiry and thoughtful dialogue.” Griffith titled his remarks, “Navigating Political Polarization: A Call to Constitutional Action.”

• The Herald Journal Saturday, Mar. 29, 2025

  USU forging path to becoming first four-year veterinary school in Utah

  Utah State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine is one step close to becoming the first four-year veterinary program in the state of Utah, following an announcement Thursday, detailing the college’s assurance of provisional accreditation from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education.

  A process started in 2012, when USU entered into a partnership with Washington State University, creating a “two-plus-two” program wherein students could complete their first two years of school at USU, before heading for Pullman, Washington for the final two years, has nearly reached completion.

  Dirk Vanderwall, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, spoke with The Herald Journal Thursday, about what this means for the university, the state, and prospective students.

  
   

• Phys.org Tuesday, Mar. 25, 2025

  Utah ecologists confirm that the 'Beehive State' lives up to its name

  Wildlife conservation is critical to sustaining the planet's biodiversity and health. But putting together a conservation plan is a tall order. First of all, you need to determine what species you're conserving, along with their numbers, habitat needs, threats and how they fit into a complex ecosystem.

  As pollinators for native plants and food crops, bees play a pivotal role in our ecosystem, according to Utah State University ecologist Joseph Wilson. He and undergraduate researcher Anthony Hunsaker took on the herculean task of documenting Utah's bee species using online occurrence records from the Symbiota Collection of Arthropods Network, along with specimen records housed at the USDA-ARS Pollinating Insect Research Unit located at USU's Logan campus.

• KSL Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025

  Utah State claims first-ever Mountain West gymnastics title

  SAN JOSE, Calif. — A year after Boise State claimed the inaugural Mountain West championship on their home floor — edging the host school for the title by 0.050 points — Utah State got its revenge a year later.

  The Aggies used a strong showing on uneven bars in the third rotation to lift the team past Boise State and the rest of the field to claim its first Mountain West title with a 196.100 score at the Provident Credit Union Events Center in San Jose, California.

  Boise State finished in second with a 195.950 score, followed by host San Jose State (195.350) and Air Force (195.150).

  "Incredibly proud of this team," Aggies head coach Kristin White said. "We bought into the PZF (Prepare. Zealous. Finish) mentality, and it paid off. The women deserve this. They have battled all year long and tonight it became a reality. Thank you to our staff and fans for your loyal dedication to this team. The future is bright for Utah State."

• St. George News Friday, Mar. 14, 2025

  Can Pando survive?

  Fishlake National Forest's Pando, touted as the world's largest tree, is at the center of a new online documentary, as scientists consider the organism's future and unique nature.

  PBS Digital Studio collaborated with Atlas Obscura and Nature to create Untold Earth, which is geared toward "unpacking the stories behind North America's strangest, most unique natural wonders," according to the PBS website. Season 2 kicked off in February with "This Is Not a Forest," a 10-minute episode featuring the Pando clone. 

  The episode opens with an aerial view of the tree in autumn -- an expanse of golden leaves shimmering from their stems, all growing from the same root system. The tree was given its nickname, "Pando," which is Latin for "I spread," by scientist Michael Grant in a 1992 Discover Magazine article due to how it spreads across the landscape, St. George News previously reported.