Smiles Abound During Road Scholars Tour

As the final minutes of Utah State University's recent Road Scholars Tour came to a close in Malad, Idaho, Oct. 6, President Stan Albrecht was ecstatic about the overwhelming success of the three-day tour. He was smiling broadly along with other USU administrators, professors, recruiters, college advisors, ambassadors and the rest of the tour team.

But the smiles were not reserved only for the Utah State University contingent. Just as happy about the visit were southeastern Idaho's prospective students, their parents, principals, counselors, university alumni and a lot of new friends made along the way.

"It was clear in the faces and in the voices of all the people we met - they love Utah State University in southeast Idaho and were extremely pleased to see us in their neighborhoods," Albrecht said. "We made many new friends, and we reconnected with a lot of important old friends. And it was fun every step of the way."

Albrecht led a USU delegation Oct. 4-6 to the Idaho Falls, Pocatello and Malad areas in an effort to re-establish traditional ties the university has long had with the region. Called the Road Scholars Tour, the president brought some of the university's best professors and scholars "on the road" with him to teach in high schools. He and other USU administrators met with school principals, administrators and counselors to solicit input about higher education issues and to discuss USU's strengths in particular.

Albrecht also met during luncheons at each stop with community leaders to gather feedback about how USU is fulfilling the community's educational needs and, again, to share Utah State University's message.

Open houses were set each evening of the tour to give prospective students and their parents the opportunity to meet the president and representatives from all the colleges and support organizations at USU.

"The tour was an overwhelming success at almost every level," Albrecht said. "The feedback about Utah State was immediate as I met with hundreds of people throughout each day. We are well respected and well loved – by students, by school principals, community leaders, parents, counselors. At the end of each day, it was hard not to be ecstatic."

Every member of the USU delegation became an important university ambassador during the visit, and Albrecht said it was their zeal for the mission that made the tour such a success. He said it was rewarding for him to watch as university representatives shared USU's message in one-on-one conversations with hundreds of prospective students, their parents and alumni.

"The ambassadors, our advisors, the recruitment team, our professors – all of our team seemed on fire as they met students and gave them a taste of life at Utah State University," Albrecht said. "Many people deserve thanks. It was exciting and it was hard work. But it was fun work that I think will return dividends in the long run."

Gary Chambers, USU's associate vice president for student services and chair of the Road Scholars Tour organizing committee, said the tour had two purposes: to help with recruitment and, perhaps more important, to reconnect with southeastern Idaho constituents.

"We have rich, traditional ties with southeast Idaho," Chambers said. "Many of our best students and professors have come from the area, and the president wanted to make sure that people know we still care deeply about them."

That message came through loud and clear in every conversation, and the return message was equally clear, he said. Comments were resoundingly positive from every angle – from the meetings with community leaders and school principals to the face-to-face talks with individual students and their parents.

"People were supportive and thankful, and they were especially impressed that a university president would take three days to personally express the university's interest in the people of southeast Idaho," Chambers said.

Chambers said the day-time events were a resounding success, given the comments the president and all tour members received. But it was the evening events that truly captured the picture.

"The turnouts each evening were impressive," he said. "We had a 'captured' constituency during the school visits. But at night it was all volunteer; they didn't have to come."

But come they did. Chambers said each night the rooms were packed and were buzzing with conversation between future students and representatives from all the colleges and support organizations.

"These were hopeful, happy, excited conversations with people who obviously were pleased and grateful we were there," Chambers said.

President Albrecht said school principals were particularly impressed with the university's professors who taught in their classrooms. The university brought some of its best professors to teach subjects such as chemistry, physics, government, English, theater and art, among many others.

"Several principals made specific note about the impact our professors could have on their students," Albrecht said. "We were there to push the benefits of higher education, and what better way to get them excited about it than to show them our very best professors."

Albrecht said bringing professors into high school classes also naturally played up one of the university's most important strengths: that Utah State University has professors who care about their students.

USU Political Science professor Jeannie Johnson, who taught in both Idaho Falls and Pocatello high schools, said the tour was a chance to highlight the university's reputation for being a place at which a student won't get lost in the crowd.

"We brag about that in the Political Science department, and it's true across campus," she said. "We get to know our students. Our students have access to professors and advisors who care about them. We have that reputation, and we deserve it. But I'm not sure those students were aware of it before the tour."

She said the USU delegation as a whole made that message apparent as its members met with different people. The university can make promises in brochures, advertisements and on web pages, she said, but the best way to prove the point?

"We did it with face-to-face connections, which is our promise, and it seemed to work," she said.

President Albrecht said he plans to play off the success of the Idaho tour with one-day visits to other areas. A Sept. 29 visit to Preston had to be postponed when USU students and their instructor died in an accident. But he wants to reschedule the Preston visit as soon as possible, and then meet with the tour organizing committee to see if visits to Utah schools are feasible.

Writer and contact: Tim Vitale (435) 797-1356, tim.vitale@usu.edu