It’s the start of a new year and Utah State University Eastern has had some already had some big changes and additions take place.
In July of last year after the retirement of Chancellor Joe Peterson the university appointed Gary Straquadine as the Interim Chancellor. “He has been in there with an Interim tag and so everyone kind of knew that was temporary and just this week those changes have occurred,” stated newly appointed Chancellor Greg Dart. “He has as of January 1st transitioned into a role over Career and Technical Education throughout the state so based here with all those Career and Technical Education programs and growing them and trying to respond to industry need.” Straquadine has an amazing background with CTE programs that will benefit the entire secondary educational institution.
The new position for Straquadine has now left a vacancy for the Chancellor seat. “This week as well I was appointed in the position and so I’ve taken the helm and will be here and have taken my Vice Chancellor role and set that aside,” stated Chancellor Dart. He’s looking forward to helping the university grow in the years to come and eager to jump into his new duties.
Not only are there position changes taking place but there are also some new courses. Starting Fall Semester 2019 there will be an Aviation program added to USU-Eastern curriculum. “With the growing need for pilots and mechanics Utah State just can’t do it all in Logan and as they looked across the state Price was the one that just made perfect sense,” said Chancellor Dart. This type of program will have a huge impact on the community in more ways than one. There are currently 24 Bachelor Degrees and 16 Master’s Degrees offered at our local university and just this Spring Semester students have the opportunity to take a surgical technician and pharmacy technician courses. College officials are also in talks about bringing in new sports programs such as golf and cross country.
This year the university will play host to the Scenic West Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament on February 28 through March 2 which is sure to have a huge impact on the local economy. Businesses and community members are urged to put their best foot forward during this event as many visitors will be in town.
To keep informed on Utah State University Eastern visit their website at http://usueastern.edu/