University of Utah

The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, a top-10 ranked program at the University of Utah, and the David Eccles School of Business awarded over $1.5 million in scholarships and tuition waivers to over 140 student entrepreneurs for the 2023-24 academic year. Most of the scholarships come with the opportunity to gain leadership skills and experience while managing many activities for aspiring entrepreneurs.

A group of 50 students completed the Lassonde+X program during the past academic year. Lassonde+X is a three-course program that allows any undergraduate student at the University of Utah to "entrepreneur your major" - the "X" is their major. The program is offered by the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy, in partnership with the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, at the David Eccles School of Business.

Natalie Stephens, a senior from Naperville, Illinois majoring in Criminology, is the Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps (AFROTC) Cadet of the Year for 2022. Chosen by the Navy Federal Credit Union's ROTC All-American Scholarship Program, Stephens is one of three cadets selected from 15 national finalists representing Air Force, Army and Navy/Marines ROTC programs. In addition to a $6,500 scholarship for Stephens, the award also provides a $5,000 donation to the University of Utah's AFROTC general scholarship fund. Cadet Stephens was recognized, along with the other two Cadets of the Year, at the halftime show of the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland on December 28th.

The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, a top-5 ranked program at the University of Utah, awarded $394,500 in scholarships to 125 students for the 2022-23 academic year as of today. The scholarships come with the opportunity to gain leadership skills and experience while managing many activities for aspiring entrepreneurs.

The University of Utah congratulates more than 8,900 students who were named to the Spring 2022 Dean's List.

A group of twenty-nine students competed the Lassonde+X program during the past year. Lassonde+X is a three-course program that allows any undergraduate student at the University of Utah to "entrepreneur your major" - the "X" is their major. The program is offered by the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy, in partnership with the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, at the David Eccles School of Business.

The University of Utah congratulates more than 9,600 students who were named to the Fall 2021 Dean's List.

The University of Utah chapter of the Distributive Education Clubs of America, better known as DECA, won big in 2021. Nine members of the competitive business organization were awarded more than 25 titles between the state and international competitions held virtually. The University of Utah chapter was recognized for its exceptional leadership, service and community involvement at the international level with the Presidential Leadership Passport Award, the highest honor for chapters within the organization.

Twenty University of Utah graduate students have been offered awards in the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) for 2022, the largest U cohort to date. The prestigious fellowship supports outstanding doctoral and research-based master's students doing research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines. A total of 17 fellowship winners received their baccalaureate degrees here at the U, the largest group of winners ever who trained at the U as undergraduates. "We had really moved the mark over the past few years, but this year we hit it out of the park," said David Kieda, dean of the U's Graduate School. Established in 1952, the NSF GRFP is the oldest fellowship program of its kind. The 2022 fellows receive a three-year annual stipend of $34,000, a $12,000 cost of allowance for tuition and fees, and numerous research and professional development opportunities. Kieda notes that this year's cohort of 20 fellows is the sixth-highest among Pac-12 peers and includes graduate students in 16 different departments, ranging from Child Development to Ecology to Biomedical Engineering.

Sahar Kanishka wins the 2021 Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award in the College of Science at the University of Utah. She is in her junior year in the Honors College as a double major in biology and business administration. Kanishka has been an active member of the Gagnon laboratory in the U's School of Biological Sciences since the fall of 2018. "Sahar is a natural and experienced leader, with a burning enthusiasm and curiosity for science and how it relates to the outside world. I would place Sarah in the upper 5% of undergraduates I have mentored in the past, many of who have gone on to elite graduate and medical schools," said Jamie Gagnon, assistant professor of biological sciences. Kanishka is a young star scientist who has supported the STEM community through her advocacy for women and under-represented minorities on campus. She has also represented Utah while presenting her research at state and national conferences, and will co-author several peer-reviewed manuscripts from the Gagnon lab over the next few years. She has received funding for her work through ACCESS, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, and the Biology Research Scholars program here at the U. She has done all of this in addition to being an Honors double major, with an elite GPA.

A group of 45 students were the first to compete the new Lassonde+X program during the 2020-21 academic year. Lassonde+X is a three-course program that allows any undergraduate student at the University of Utah to "entrepreneur your major" - the "X" is their major. The program is offered by the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy, in partnership with the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, at the David Eccles School of Business.

It is our great pleasure to present the 2021 Outstanding Seniors from the University of Utah College of Fine Arts. Each year, our five academic units nominate an outstanding senior for their academic achievements, artistic and scholarly accomplishments, and ongoing commitment to their craft. These graduating students continue the CFA's tradition of sending strong creative leaders out into the art world. Congratulations, we can't wait to see how and what you achieve next!

For Karrin Tennant, recipient of the 2021 College of Science Research Scholar Award, the never-ending story of environmental science has plenty of plot twists. A member of the Anderegg lab, which studies the intersection of ecosystems and climate change, Tennant has been busy working in the area of nighttime water loss in plants. The work tests a major hypothesis in the field and has the potential to greatly advance our understanding of plant physiology. The award is given annually to the College's most outstanding senior undergraduate researcher. Tennant will be honored at the College Convocation May 6th and receive a $1,000 award, a plaque commemorating this achievement, and a one-year membership in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which includes a one-year subscription to Science.

The University of Utah College of Social Work recognized the outstanding work of 16 graduating social work students with awards presented virtually at the end of the spring 2021 semester.

Seven students from the College of Fine Arts were recently selected as Spring 2020 scholars in the University of Utah's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). UROP gives undergraduate students and faculty mentors the opportunity to work together on research or creative projects. The program provides a stipend and educational programming for students who assist with a faculty member's research or creative project or who carry out a project of their own under the supervision of a faculty member. Students may apply for UROP any semester and may be eligible for a one-semester renewal. UROP awardees are hired as temporary, part-time UROP Participants by the Office of Undergraduate Research and are paid $1,200 for 120 hours of research or creative work during the semester. These incredible students, along with their dedicated faculty mentors, are making us proud. Read about each of their projects: Alan Chavez, Music Recording the History of the University of Utah Department of Music Faculty mentor: Elizabeth Craft "My project this semester is to begin an oral history for the SoM Piano Pedagogy program. It was one of the first of its kind and has a unique influence on SLC and Utah. I will be interviewing past and present faculty and seeking information on the program's founding." Nate Francis, Art Queer Isolation Faculty mentor: Jaclyn Wright "As a photography student here on campus, I've been so honored to have the opportunity to conduct research related to imagery, identity, and loneliness and create imagery that contains my findings. I grew up in Provo, Utah, not far from the U of U campus. As a queer person, growing up in an LDS family and culture has not been an easy journey, and I know I'm not the only one who has experienced the loneliness that comes with growing up queer in Utah. My research is an exploration of Utah's landscapes, the photographic studio, and my own identity. The work features many iconic Utah landscapes and elements that are used as visual analogies for desolation, weight, and solitude, but which appear from the surface to be beautiful and other worldly. The work also includes the use of the photographic studio, which is a sort of sanctuary and place of self-creation, and my own body in relation to all of the above." Ashley Goodwin, Theatre Teaching The Not Broken Monologues Faculty mentor: Alexandra Harbold "My UROP project is called "The Not Broken Monologues", which is a performative theatre piece that I have written and am now working on producing this semester. As a member of the arts community with disabilities I have developed a passion for inclusion and advocacy, and I am a firm believer that there can be space for everyone within the arts. "The Not Broken Monologues" is a piece that embodies that idea, while telling a wide range of stories of the disabled experience and fostering a sense of community and support. With my own experiences and dozens of hours of one-on-one interviews as source material I hope to convey the message that we (people with disabilities) are not just our disabilities, and most importantly - we are not broken." Connor Johnson, Theatre Of Ronald and Edith Faculty mentor: Tim Slover "My project is full production of a play called Ronald and Edith which I wrote and workshopped at the U of U in 2020. The play is about J.R.R Tolkien and his wife Edith, and it centers around a story that Tolkien wrote in his earlier years called Beren and Luthien. The performance is going to be outdoors, hopefully with a small, socially distanced audience in the beginning of May." Matt Peterson, Art Mokume allow compatibility Faculty mentor: Paul Stout "I am working on a Japanese metalworking technique called mokume gane. The process involves taking dissimilar non-ferrous metals, stacking and firing them, and then manipulating the resulting billet through forging and gouging, into a sheet of patterned metal. If you have ever seen damascus steel, or pattern welded steel, the patterns in the metal look similar. The process itself has been around for about 400 years, so what I am working on specifically is trying out some newer alloys of silver to see how well they work in the process itself. Making mokume is rather time consuming and challenging, but I think the results are worth it." Duke Ross, Film & Media Arts "Osaru-Chan" Short Film Faculty mentor: Miriam Albert-Sobrino "Osaru-Chan follows the story of two brothers who steal a valuable family heirloom from an elderly Japanese woman, and in the process, awaken her demigod son, who exacts prompt retribution. The film explores concepts of familial relations, Americana, and colonialism, and utilizes the visual style of high contrast black and white widescreen used in many of Akira Kurosawa's early films. I thoroughly enjoy the East/West blending of cultures and film genres seen in some of Shinichiro Watanabe's work ("Cowboy Bebop," "Samurai Champloo,") and I would love to see more of that in the American cinema. Additionally, due to the rising anti-Asian sentiment in the United States following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Trump Administration, I feel as though it's essential to see more Asian people in the media. The project is currently in post-production and should have the picture locked within the next month or so." Paige Stephenson, Music Power and Patronage: A Study of Female Leaders in Early European Courts Faculty mentor: Jane Hatter "While musicology as a discipline is beginning to recognize the key role of female musicians in all eras, there is still a tendency to evaluate their significance using the same criteria used to understand the musical work of men. In Early Modern Europe, women of various social levels had significantly different modes of accessing and participating in musical activities from their male counterparts. My research project explores females as patronesses of music in Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. I am discovering how women used their role as a music patroness to further advance their personal goals and ideals."

The University of Utah College of Social Work recognized the outstanding work of 16 graduating social work students with awards presented virtually at the end of the spring 2020 semester.

Two University of Utah students have received highly competitive Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for the 2019-20 academic year. The flagship international educational exchange program is designed to build relationships between people in the U.S. and in other countries with the aim of solving global challenges. It is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. At the U, the Fulbright program is directed by Howard Lehman and is sponsored by the Office for Global Engagement and the Graduate School.

Three students from the University of Utah have been selected as Goldwater Scholars for the 2020-21 academic year. Congress established the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation in 1986 in honor of the former Arizona senator, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman-including 30 years as a U.S. senator. The foundation awards scholarships to college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming the next generation of leaders in the critical fields of natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.

True Adherence, a fitness-tech startup and one of the companies in the new Master of Business Creation program at the David Eccles School of Business, won first place and a $15,000 cash prize at the University of Louisville Brown-Forman Cardinal Challenge during the final event in Louisville, Ky., on Feb. 28-29.

Elise Scott, a political science and communication double major at the University of Utah, is a recipient of the 2020 Harry S. Truman Scholarship. She is one of 62 students from across the nation to receive the award that is the "premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States."