LINKING THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

At the end of each academic year, the graduating senior class presents a uniquely designed “link” to the University, a tradition that began in 1919. Each link becomes part of a chain that symbolizes the connection between a new class of graduates and the entire alumni community. In May, Senior Class President Beth Brown BS’04 unveiled the 2004 class link, depicting mountain peaks in the background and a football in the foreground. The mountains, explains Brown, “represent the beauty of the campus, where we shared fun times and the experience of learning.” The football, inscribed with “The MUSS,” alludes to Utah’s spectacular victory in the Liberty Bowl last November and the important role the student fan club played in the team’s success. The chain composed of class links is on display in the Alumni House.

HOMECOMING 2004: CRIMSON CONNECTION!

Homecoming festivities begin Monday, Sept. 20 and continue through Saturday, Sept. 25, offering a host of events that interest and entertain, and provide an excellent reason to return to the U. As a prelude to Homecoming week, the “Capitol Steps” appear in concert at Kingsbury Hall on Friday, Sept. 17, at 7:30 pm. Members of the Alumni Association receive $5 off each ticket, which must be purchased through the Kingsbury Hall ticket office. A current membership card is required to receive the discount. For more information call (801) 581-7100 or go online at www.kingsburyhall.org. All University discounts apply.

HOMECOMING WEEK PROGRAM:

• Monday, Sept. 20 • Greek house decorating contest
• Wednesday, Sept. 22 • Songfest, introduction of Homecoming marshals and royalty, pep rally video; Kingsbury Hall, 6 p.m., admission free
• Thursday, Sept. 23 • Bonfire and pep rally• Class of 1963’s 40-year reunion, emeritus alumni reunion, and Beehive Honor Society reunion, Rice-Eccles Stadium
• Friday, Sept. 24 • “3 Club” golf tournament, University golf course • “Crimson Nights” (for students), Union
• Saturday, Sept. 25 • Young Alumni 5K Run/Walk, Alumni House,
  8 a.m.: registration, 9 a.m.: race, followed by a party and prizes• Pre-game barbecue, Eccles Tennis Center north lawn, two hours before the game• Football game: Utah vs. Air Force, Rice-Eccles Stadium, time TBA

A detailed program of Homecoming events is available at www.alumni.utah.edu, or call (801) 581-6995 for more information. Special thanks to Homecoming 2004 sponsor Utah Foods.

BE AN ADVOCATE FOR THE U

Advocacy n. active support, as of a cause, idea, or policy.

Here’s a cause, an idea, a policy to support: the U! Be an advocate for the U and become part of a grassroots effort aimed at increasing funding for the U and for higher education in Utah.

Legislative advocates are volunteers—alumni, students, and current and former faculty and staff—who lobby their legislators on behalf of the University of Utah and higher education. Information about important issues and funding priorities affecting the University is provided to volunteers before the legislative session begins in January, including a short training course held in the fall. The advocates call, write, visit, or e-mail their legislators urging support of the University and its funding priorities.

In a time of increasing enrollments and shrinking budgets, the involvement of the University of Utah community has never been more important.

The program is organized jointly by the Alumni Association and the Office of Government Affairs. Alumni interested in serving should contact Linda Marion in the Alumni Association, (801) 587-7837. Faculty, staff, students, and others should contact Nancy Lyon or Kaye Clark in government affairs, (801) 587-7682.

More information about the legislative advocacy program, including a sign-up form, is available at www.alumni.utah.edu/advocacy.

University of Utah Alumni Association

Dear Valued Alumni,

As we approach another University of Utah Homecoming celebration, our thoughts turn to memories of and musings on our history with this great institution. Each of us has our own fond recollections of loyal classmates, outstanding teachers, or a particularly spectacular athletic event. But I hope that our relationship with the University is not something we always think of in the past tense. For as valuable as those memories are, there are many ways to continue to stay connected to the U—to forge new ties and relationships that we will later look back on with pride and satisfaction.

The Alumni Association is pleased to play a leading role in maintaining and fostering alumni relationships with the University. There are over 200,000 U of U alumni around the world, representing every state and most foreign countries. We value your loyalty and continued interest in staying in touch with the U. We have enjoyed meeting many of you at our annual Homecoming and Founders Day celebrations.

This campus has so much to offer, from athletic events to cultural experiences to educational forums and discussions. Every week there are a variety of life-enriching events and activities from which to choose. Through paid membership in the Alumni Association—a modest $36 per year—you will find opportunities to return to campus and enjoy many of these events at special discounted rates. Perhaps our Career Services counselors can assist you with vocational choices, job searches, or career changes. Membership also provides discounts at the University Bookstore, campus museums, and theatre productions, plus access to campus recreational facilities. And don’t forget that part of your membership dues go toward supporting student scholarships.

All in all, I think you will find that Association membership is well worth the investment.

To investigate membership and the many benefits it offers, to sign up for the Association’s monthly online newsletter, U-News & Views, or to get involved as a volunteer, visit our web site at www.alumni.utah.edu.

As President Michael Young assumes leadership of the University, a new era of growth and achievement begins. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve the Alumni Association and the University, and I look forward to another eventful and successful year.

Welcome home. And go Utes!

Jeff Hilton BS’78
President, University of Utah Alumni Association

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Wayne G. Petty BA’69 JD’72, board member, has served as shareholder, director, treasurer, and management committee member of the law firm Moyle & Draper, P.C., since 1981. He was also an adjunct associate professor of finance at the U from 1984 to 1992. Petty is a member of the American Bar Association and the Utah State Bar, and has published research and served as a seminar speaker on boundary law and land development. He and his wife, Robyn Evans Petty, have four children. The oldest, Gray, graduated from the U in May 2004.

Stephanie Pyke Veasy BA’79, board member, is a tennis enthusiast. She is employed at “The Net Set,” a tennis specialty shop, and is a member of the executive committee of the board of directors of the Utah Tennis Association. She has also been involved in community service projects with Neighborhood House, the Junior League of Salt Lake City (as president in 1994-95), and the Salt Lake Art Center Guild. Veasy and her husband, Paul Dunn Veasy BS’76 JD’80, have two children, Carter and Patrick.

EMERITUS ALUMNI BOARD

Regnal “Reg” W. Garff BA’49 JD’55, president, is retired as a judge of the Utah Court of Appeals, where he served from 1987 to 1993. Following law school, he went into private practice, and then was appointed to the bench of the Utah Juvenile Court, where he officiated for nearly 30 years. Garff has taught in the U’s College of Law, at Brigham Young and Weber State universities, and in the Peace Officers Standards and Training program. He was honored as Outstanding Judge of the Year by the Utah State Bar Association and named to the Order of the Coif by the U of U College of Law. Garff received the Merit of Honor award from the Emeritus Alumni Board in 1999.

BEEHIVE HONOR SOCIETY

Group photo, Beehive Honor Society board members (L to R) Richard Birrell, Lynn Davidson, JoAnn Eardley Miller and John-David Black.

Jessica Pohlman

• JoAnn Eardley Miller BA’68, president, has been a member of the Beehive board since 2001. She is an interior designer with her own company, CJ Design. She and her husband, Gary Miller BS’65, have four children and three grandchildren.
• Richard Birrell BS’60 JD’63, president-elect, retired from the Utah Juvenile Court system five years ago. He currently serves as a guide at the LDS Church Museum of History and Art, and as a volunteer for a Salt Lake Valley charter school and Juvenile Justice Advocates, a nonprofit organization. He and his wife, Dorothy Birrell BS’60, have three children and two grandchildren.
• Lynn Davidson BS’64, board member, is an independent real estate developer and an elected member of the Granite School District Board of Education since 1984. Davidson and his wife, Rebecca Summers Davidson BA’63 MS’98, have seven children, four of whom are U of U graduates.
• Jessica Pohlman BSN’03, board member, is a surgical nurse at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. As a student, she served as senior class president in 2003. She is married to Paul Pohlman BS’04, a fellow Beehive member and graduate student at the U.
• John-David Black BS’04, new inductee/board member, recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science, with emphasis in exercise physiology. He is married to Kathryn Black, a teacher at Brockbank Junior High School in Magna, Utah.

YOUNG ALUMNI BOARD

Group photo, L-R, top row: Jill Briggs, vice president; Neil Ashdown, president; Erin Armstrong; Marianne Caine Van Wagoner. L-R, bottom row: Michelle Roybal, Heidi Prokop, Sara Graham, Michele Christiansen.

• Neil Ashdown BA’93 MPA’97, president, is deputy director
  of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget for the state of Utah. He served as chief economist to Gov. Michael O. Leavitt, and is an appointed member of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors. Ashdown is the author of The Impact of Banking Policy on Trade and Global Stability. He and his wife, Andrea Zullo Ashdown BS’95 MBA’97, have two children.
• Erin Armstrong BS’01, board member, is assistant to the executive director of the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.
• Michele Ballantyne JD’91, board member, is associate general counsel at the University of Utah Office of General Counsel.
• Marianne Caine Van Wagoner BA’00, board member, is owner of Marianne Caine Design.
• Jill Danjanovich Briggs BS’95 MPrA’96, vice president, is a tax manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers where she provides assistance to partnerships, corporations, and individuals in a wide variety of industries through tax consulting and compliance services. She and her husband, Matthew Briggs BS’96, have a one-year-old son, Owen.
• Sara P. Graham BS’95 MA’99, board member, is a flute teacher and stay-at-home mother of three young children.
• Heidi Hofmann Prokop MA’99, board member, is a public relations officer at Zions Bank.
• Michele Mladejovsky Christiansen JD’95, board member, is assistant U.S. attorney in the United States Attorneys Office.
• Michelle M. Roybal JD’00, board member, is an administrator and staff attorney at the U.S. District Court for the State of Utah.
• Steve Winchester BS’92, board member, is director of account services at Crowell Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations.

STUDENT ALUMNI BOARD

(L-R, back row) Alicia Taase, Scott Ence, Kira Ayish, Riley Smith, Sara Hogan, Jake Kirkham; (center) Rico Snow, Jeff Mitchell; (front row) Staci Sponbeck, Tracy Wrigley, Jeff Gatzemeier, Elisa Jacobson.

• Charlotte Tyler – President
• Scott Ence – vice president (internal)
• Jake Olson – vice president (external)

New members: Kira Ayish, Laura Bitner, Dan Creer, Jeff Gatzemeier, Ashlin Gunn, Nick Hatch, Sara Hogan (president, senior class), Elisa Jacobson, Paul Kammeyer, Jacob Kirkham, Jeff Mitchell, Richard Moffat, Andrea Muhlestein, Stephen Smith, Staci Sponbeck, Alicia Taase, Erin Tibbs, Cole VandenAkker, Jesse Whitchurch, Ian White (president, 2004 Football MUSS).