Three Individuals to Receive Honorary Degrees at USU's 128th Commencement

Utah State University welcomes three distinguished individuals to receive honorary degrees during its 128th graduation ceremony.

Those receiving honorary degrees are Crystal Call Maggelet, co-founder of Crystal Inn and chief executive officer and president of FJ Management, Inc.; Stew Morrill, retired head coach of the USU men’s basketball team; and Richard L. Shipley, retired founder of Shipley Associates and member of the USU Foundation Board.  
 

The prominent individuals will receive honorary doctorates during the undergraduate ceremony May 2 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan. Morrill is the commencement speaker.

USU President Stan L.Albrecht said honorary degrees are one of the most important ways the university has to recognize people for the commitment and sacrifices they have made to make positive changes in the world.

“All of these individuals have made their marks in a number of ways and in a number of fields, but all of them deserve honor for their passion and determination to serve others,” he said.

STEW MORRILL (Honorary Doctorate Recipient and Commencement Speaker)

Stew Morrill’s name is synonymous with Aggie Basketball after going down in Utah State University history as the most successful head coach to ever walk the court of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

Morrill, who patrolled the Aggie sidelines for the past 17 years, closed one of the greatest chapters in USU’s men’s basketball history when he retired March 2015 after guiding the team to 17 straight winning seasons, including 12 of the top 13 seasons in school history.

The veteran head coach has an impressive tenure of success, including leading the Aggies to 13 consecutive postseason appearances, including eight National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament bids. Aggie fans grew accustomed to conference titles, including four straight Western Athletic Conference titles from 2008 to 2011.

And while Morrill’s accolades are many, it is the accolades for his team, and for his students, that are most rewarding. His focus has always been about his team, and his players, and getting the most out of them, both on the court and in the classroom. His emphasis of academic importance earned the team a graduation rate of close to 95 percent and individually generated 21 players over the years who earned academic all-conference honors a total of 37 times.
 

CRYSTAL CALL MAGGELET (Honorary Doctorate Recipient)

Crystal Call Maggelet has overcome incredible obstacles and risen to become a successful leader in the business world. Since taking on the responsibility of overseeing her company, FJ Management, Maggelet has seen the company through ups and downs and, today, it is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States.

Maggelet’s early success led to increasing business opportunities and she was appointed chairman of the board of Flying J, the company her father had founded. Then, in December 2008 she was told that Flying J was in “free fall bankruptcy.” Maggelet’s vision of leadership includes having the confidence to rise to the occasion, and she did just that by becoming CEO of the company and working to oversee a restructuring plan that would include a merger with Pilot. The merger allowed Flying J to keep a minority stake in what would become Pilot Flying J and allowed Maggelet to keep several other businesses intact and headquartered in Utah.

Today, Maggelet serves as chief executive officer and president of FJ Management, Inc., formerly Flying J, a diversified family business that includes Maverik, a 270 c-store chain, Big West Oil, a petroleum refinery and an industrial loan bank. Her success allows her to give back, and she founded the FJ Management Center for Student Success at USU’s Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. The center brings together various student services, including recruiting, student advising and career development under one organizational structure to create a “one-stop shop” for students seeking academic and career advising. Maggelet currently serves on the Huntsman School of Business National Advisory Board and her family also supports scholarships through the FJM Impact Fund, a Vanguard Donor Advised Fund that funds scholarships.

RICHARD L. SHIPLEY (Honorary Doctorate Recipient)

Utah State University is a vital part of Richard Shipley’s life. His dedication and commitment to the university is unwavering and is evident in the many ways he generously gives of his time, expertise and financial resources to the USU community. 

Shipley was a member of USU’s Board of Trustees, where he served as chair for two terms and currently serves as a Trustee of the Utah State University Research Foundation. Previously, he served on the Advancement Board for the former College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. He has supported the USU Department of History’s Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture, funded archaeological research and provided for an endowment in the Museum of Anthropology, all located in what is now the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. To assist students with attending USU, Shipley and his wife, Joyce, established a recently expanded scholarship endowment for students from Preston High School in Idaho.

Shipley Associates, an International Communication Training Firm, was founded by Shipley in 1972. The success of the company, with offices in Utah, Texas, Washington, D.C. and Switzerland, has allowed the Shipley to give back in many capacities.  

Information on USU’s 128th Commencement is online.

Contact and Writer: Maren Aller, 435-797-1355, maren.aller@usu.edu