The U was founded 163 years ago on Feb. 28, 1850.
In celebration, the Alumni Association hosted its annual Founders Day Banquet on Thursday night at the Little America Hotel to honor the induction of four new distinguished alumni and one honorary alumnus. They also honored Founders Day Scholar Shirlee Draper, a student who fled a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints community with her four children, who came to the U to study social work in hopes of helping other women who share the challenges she had to fight.
This year, the association welcomed Robert P. Huefner, Mark C. Miller, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and Norman H. Wesley as distinguished alumni. After graduating from the U, they went on to leave their marks on the world and reflected upon how the U shaped them into what they have become.
Ulrich went on from her English literature studies at the U to obtain a master’s in English from Simmons College and later a doctorate in history from the University of New Hampshire. She is known as a renowned historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, famous for coining the phrase “well-behaved women seldom make history.” She said she is grateful to the U, and that her years as a U student helped prepare her for her life’s work.
At the U, she had many great teachers and was involved in student groups, particularly in debate and women’s organizations. But she also looks back at the U as a place where she formed life-changing friendships.
“I made women friends who were so brilliant and impressive,” Ulrich said. “I grew up in the ’50s, when you were supposed to be dumb … at the U I discovered that you could be cool and smart at the same time.”
She added when the women’s movement started after her graduation from the U, she felt well prepared to fight for what she cared about. Although she has received many prestigious awards, this one is special to her because it comes from her home university, and makes her feel that she has done something that makes the U proud of her.
“It’s very nice to be honored by your own,” Ulrich said. “You don’t usually get honored by your home institution.”
Julie Barrett, chairwoman of the awards committee on the Alumni Association’s board of directors, said it is hard to choose which of the nominees should receive the distinguished alumni awards each year, and that the honorees are always impressive and diverse. The board looks for alumni who have made a positive impact on the world and community.
Miller, another of this year’s distinguished alumni, seemed surprised to have received the award.
“It’s pretty overwhelming,” he said.
Though he said he wasn’t the best student, Miller’s automobile business has made a big impact in Utah’s economy. He has used that success to give back to the community through a number of avenues.
Philip G. McCarthey was chosen to be an honorary alumnus in recognition of his contributions to, and in support of, the U. Although he sits on the board at Gonzaga University, Barrett said he is a Utah man through and through. A donation from his family funded the lead gift for the new McCarthey track on campus.
He is honored to be part of the “unique community” at the U.
“The U is important, because … it’s unparalleled,” McCarthey said.
He described the U as a university that shines a light for others to follow, and is thrilled by the advances furthered by colleges across campus, including the school of medicine.