Southern Utah University

Southern Utah University, or SUU, is a public university located in Cedar City, Utah. It was founded by the citizens of Cedar City in 1897 as an extension of the Agricultural College of Utah.

Southern Utah University hosts the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespearean Festival as well as the Utah Summer Games which is held in the Eccles Coliseum.

Academics
The university's enrollment is 8,297 students as of Fall semester 2012, with approximately 223 faculty members, The university awards Associate Degrees, Bachelor's Degrees, and Master's Degrees, and is divided into four colleges and three schools:


 * College of Education & Human Development
 * College of Humanities & Social Sciences
 * College of Performing & Visual Arts
 * Walter Maxwell Gibson College of Science & Engineering
 * School of Computing & Technology (part of the College of Science & Engineering)
 * School of Business
 * School of Continuing & Professional Studies

Rankings
Fall Statistics


 * Consumer's Digest: Top Ten Best Value in America (2004, 2007 and 2009)
 * National Research Center for College & University Admissions: Ninth best admissions website in nation (2006)
 * Princeton Review: America’s Best Value Colleges (2007, 2008, 2009)
 * U.S. News & World Report: America’s Best Colleges (2007)
 * Princeton Review: Best in the West (2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011)

ESL program
In 2011, the university started a fast-track ESL program previously operated by an unaccredited private business,  Internexus. The program permitted students to take ESL classes a the same time they were enrolled as regular Freshman, rather than the usual arrangement by which they must first pass ESL. In response to complaints about the quality of program, the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission  barred students from that country from the program; previously, they comprised 158 of the program’s 182 students.

Campus
The university's first building, built in 1898, remains part of campus, and is affectionately known as Old Main. The university also boasts the legend of Old' Sorrel, a horse who is said to have assisted the citizens in building the school in record-high snow. A statue of the horse is located in front of the Centrum special events center, on the west side of campus. Consistent with its heritage of educating educators, one in three graduates have an education degree.

Students
Southern Utah University currently draws students from 45 states, 25 foreign countries, and all of Utah's 29 counties. Of the total enrollment, 58 percent are women and 42 percent are men, a 1.4 to 1 ratio. 11% are of other than caucasian background. About 70 percent of all students live on campus or near the campus. The student-faculty ratio is 22 to 1.

Student activities
Student activities range from the typical collegiate involvement of student government and clubs & organizations to the uniquiness of the Entertainment Bureau, Leavitt Center, and Outdoor Rec Center.

Southern Utah University Student Association
The Southern Utah University Student Association (SUUSA) is governed by four Executive Council members, elected  each March, along with one representative per college to the Student Senate, by the general student body. Event Directors, members of the President's Cabinet, and Club Directors are appointed by the Executive Council through an application and interview process. They are then investigated and ratified by the Academic Senate.

Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service
The Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service (typically referred to as the "Leavitt Center")  is after alumnus Michael O. Leavitt (Former Utah Governor and George W. Bush Cabinet member). Student leaders in the Leavitt Center engage the student body through voter registration drives, public policy awareness, and public service. The mission of the center is to help student  prepare for a life of public service. Students can receive funding from the Leavitt Center to spend a semester in a Washington, DC internship. Internships include positions in the offices of either of Utah senators, Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, in Nevada Senator Harry Reid's office (Reid graduated from SUU in 1959), with the Smithsonian Institution, and with local sports teams.

SUU Presidential Ambassadors
The Presidential Ambassadors at SUU are  students who assist in  recruiting High School seniors, transfer students, and others. They give tours of the campus to prospective students, and host overnight weekends for prospective students.

Community Engagement Center (Formerly Service & Learning Center)
Many students that get involved in the Service & Learning Center do so within the many student-run organizations operated under the philosophy of the service learning concept. Between 50-100 students per academic year spend their Spring and/or Winter Breaks in Mexico or other locations in the U.S. (recently Colorado, Washington state, and New Orleans) providing service to orphanages, schools, and even Habitat for Humanity. Other programs include Sub for Santa, Make A Difference Day, After School Program, and Adopt a Grandparent program. On location in the center is the HOPE Pantry where students can unanimously donate or receive food as needed, the pantry is typically filled through the center's popular Bread and Soup Nite held in the Sharwan Smith Center's Ballroom on the first Monday of each month. Students can also participate in the Service-Learning Scholar and AmeriCorps programs through the center. In the fall semester of 2011 the Service and Learning Center officially changed its name to the Community Engagement Center.

Power 91
KSUU 91.1 FM (Power 91) is a student operated radio station at the university. Many of the student disc jockeys change from semester to semester, with some being employed by the station. It airs games by SUU Athletics teams in Football and men's and women's basketball  and women's gymnastics.

SUTV
SUTV is a cable TV channel operated by the university's Department of Communication. It is operated on an Educational-access television channel of the Bresnan Communications Cable TV system in Cedar City, Utah. It is affiliated with the Classic Arts Showcase. Most of the local programs are produced by students enrolled in communication classes at the university. The include SUTV News, a weekly broadcast of newsworthy local and campus events, and The T-Bird Zone, a showcase of Thunderbird athletics featuring interviews with coaches and players, as well as highlights of games and sports news.

Greek Life
There are four recognized Greek organizations on campus, the fraternities, Chi Phi, and Sigma Chi  and the sororities, Alpha Phi and local Delta Psi Omega.

The Scream
The Scream, previously known as the Howl, is the largest one night event held by the Student Activities Board and attracts students from all over the state of Utah. Entertainment varies from year to year, but has generally included bands, hypnotists, mentalists, costume contests, comics, acrobats, caricature artists, photo booths, and a dance in the Centrum Basketball Arena. The event usually occurs on a Friday within a week of Halloween.

Miss SUU Pageant
The Miss SUU Pageant is a pageant that has been held every February since the early 1950s. The winner is crowned as the Homecoming Queen and representative of SUU at the Miss Utah pageant. Past winner Jill Stevens went on to represent the state at the Miss America pageant. The ties to the Miss America association were broken in 2010 due to budget cuts but the Student Activities Board still continues hosting a pageant as a Homecoming Week activity.

Athletics
The university's sports teams are known as the Thunderbirds. The colors are red, white and black. Teams compete in The NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, formerly known as division I-AA) in football (Great West Football Conference) and in Division I in other sports (The Summit League and Western Athletic Conference) SUU also competes in The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, in the Rocky Mountain Region. The school became a full member of the Big Sky Conference in 2012. With the move, SUU discontinued its baseball program and will establish a men's tennis team in its place. The baseball program ends with an overall record of 571–970.

The Thunderbirds compete in:
 * Football
 * Gymnastics
 * Baseball
 * Basketball
 * Cross Country
 * Golf
 * Soccer
 * Softball
 * Tennis
 * Track and Field
 * Volleyball
 * Rodeo

Southern Utah University Alumni Association
The Southern Utah University Alumni Association supports  the University by fostering a lifelong spirit of loyalty, service, and fellowship among alumni, faculty, students, parents and friends of SUU.

SUU Alumni website

SUU In View Alumni Magazine

News from the Nest enews

Chapters
Iron County, UT, Northeast, Northwest, Salt Lake City, UT, Southern Arizona, Southern California, Southern Nevada, Utah County, UT, Washington County, Washington, D.C.

Networks
Boston, MA, Central Utah, Chicago, IL, Davis County, UT, Florida, Fresno, CA, Juab County, UT, Lincoln County, NV, Logan, UT, Michigan, North Carolina, Nebraska/Iowa, San Francisco, CA, Texas, Weber County, UT.

Notable Alumni

 * Christopher Jordan Dorner, suspect in the 2013 Southern California shootings
 * Michael O. Leavitt, 14th Governor of Utah and Secretary of Health and Human Services in the George W. Bush administration.
 * Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, 110th Congress
 * Walter Gibson, chemist and former member of the technical staff at Bell Laboratories where he studied nuclear fission and is credited with having discovered ion channeling.
 * Jill Stevens, Miss SUU 2006, Miss Davis County 2007, Miss Utah 2007, Miss America 2008 "People's Choice" semifinalist.
 * Nick Miller, NFL wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders, SUU wide receiver from 2007-2008. 2008 Great West Special Teams Player of the Year.
 * DeWayne Lewis, NFL Cornerback, Lewis was a 2 Time Conference Athlete of the Year.
 * Lonnie Mayne, Professional wrestler in the 60's and 70's. NWA United States Heavyweight Champion.
 * Cameron Levins, 2012 NCAA Track and Field Champion in the 5 and 10k, 2012 Olympian, and 2012 Bowerman Award Winner.
 * Tysson Poots, 2012 Arena League Rookie of the year with Receptions	 109 Yards 1,183 Touchdowns 30 for the Utah Blaze. Currently a member of the Arizona Rattlers.