Utah State University Honors Alumni at Founder’s Day

Utah State University marks the founding of the institution in a celebration March 5 at the Little America Hotel Ballroom in Salt Lake City at 6 p.m. The celebration honors the founding of the university on March 8,1888.

 

The Utah State Alumni Association will present awards to outstanding alumni. Bonnie Parkin, Jonathan Bullen and Richard and Moonyean Anderson will receive the Distinguished Service Award. The alumni association’s top award, the Distinguished Alumnus Award, will be presented to David Kragthorpe and Col. Doyle “Dode” Rees.

 

“Utah State has a rich tradition of excellence as well as a bright future,” said Scott Olson, director of Founder’s Day events. “We are pleased to use this celebration to honor some of our outstanding alumni who have given so much to the university and community.”

 

Parkin has held many leadership positions throughout her life. She served as the Associated Students of Utah State University senior class vice president and as president of the Kappa Delta Sorority. Parkin graduated from Utah State in 1962 with a bachelor of science in elementary education. 

 

She served on the Relief Society general board and in the Young Women’s general presidency in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Currently, she presides as general president of the Relief Society. She has given generously to the Bonnie Dansie Parkin scholarship at Utah State. In 2003, Parkin was awarded the Alumni Merit Citation. She has been PTA president and Utah Senate Page.

 

Bullen was born and raised in Logan, where he graduated with a degree in business from Utah State in 1978. Today, he is one of the largest stockholders of portfolio real estate assets managed by Wasatch Property Management, with holdings and properties in Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California. In addition, he is the owner and president of Provo College, Eagle Gate College and Evolution Fitness. He is also the owner and manager of Bullen and Harris LLC, a management and investment company.

 

Bullen’s community service includes a term as the executive director of the Capitol Arts Alliance from 1990-1992. The alliance spearheaded the renovation of the Ellen Eccles Theatre and Bullen Center in downtown Logan. In addition to serving as a trustee and board member of the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation, he also serves as chairman of the Utah State University Foundation and the Oquirrh Institute, and he is a member of the Utah Opera Chorus.

 

Richard and Moonyeen Anderson have participated in long careers of service, both to Utah State and their community. Mrs. Anderson graduated from Utah State in 1958 with a degree in social work, while Mr. Anderson followed a year later with a bachelor’s of science in electrical engineering. Together, they have done much to support Utah State and the College of Engineering, including an endowed scholarship and a naming gift for the new Richard and Moonyeen Anderson Wireless Communication Research and Education Center in the new engineering building.

 

Mr. Anderson enjoyed careers with Hewlett-Packard and the Microwave and Communication Group. He currently serves as a trustee for the Utah State University Foundation and is a member of the College of Engineering Advisory Board. Mrs. Anderson has used her education to serve as a counselor with the LDS Church Social Service Program.

 

Kragthorpe, a former Utah State football player, will be honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Kragthorpe was a two-way tackle at Utah State, where he also played baseball. Following his graduation, Kragthorpe coached the Idaho State Bengals to its first national championship, and he was chosen Coach of the Year by the Pac 10 for his success at Oregon State.

 

In 1994, he was hired by the Utah State Alumni Association to resurrect the university’s alumni chapters. Despite officially retiring four years ago, Kragthorpe can still be found at his desk in the Alumni office, overseeing the Utah State alumni chapters in Idaho and northern Nevada.

 

Colonel Doyle “Dode” Rees will receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Born in Benson, Utah, Rees attended the Utah Agricultural College and earned the nickname “High-Power Rees” as a lineman on the football team.

 

After graduating from the college, Rees planned to attend law school, but he was called into military service at the outbreak of World War II, just short of graduation. Following the war, he was promoted to colonel in the U.S. Air Force and became part of the Office of Special Investigations. He also served in the Pentagon as commandant of the Air Force Investigation School.

 

Rees retired from the Air Force in 1963. He then worked for the Central Intelligence Agency as a special investigator, chaired the boards of the Cache County March of Dimes and American Red Cross and established an ROTC Scholarship at Utah State.

 

The evening will begin with a reception at 6 p.m. with the dinner following at 7 p.m. The cost is $40 per person and formal attire is encouraged. All alumni are invited. Please RSVP to the Utah State Alumni Association by Friday, Feb. 25, at (435)797-2055 or (800)291-2586.