University Hospital officials are taking steps to increase security measures when treating inmates following the June shooting of a Utah Department of Corrections Officer in Research Park. Officer Stephen Anderson was shot and killed by inmate Curtis Allgier, who was undergoing an MRI at the U Orthopaedic Center.
The U has more students commuting to class than other major universities, according to numbers from schools of comparable size. Of the 29,000 students attending the University of Utah, numbers provided by U Housing and Residential Education from the Fall 2006 semester show that only about 8 percent live on campus.
U administrators attest that proper efforts are being taken to recruit and retain faculty members from diverse backgrounds, but growth is slow and minority numbers have stalled in the double digits. "You've got to be fair (when looking at statistics) -- it's hard to hire these kinds of people," said Dave Pershing, senior vice president for academic affairs.
U students and faculty lack answers as to how the university can best react to emergency situations such as the killing of a Utah Department of Corrections officer in Research Park on Monday morning. Campus remained open throughout the day as police responded to the shooting of Officer Stephen Anderson at 7:45 a.
Four Utah universities were placed on a list of schools with questionable or illegal lending practices regarding student loans, but Utah Higher Education officials said they have done nothing wrong. Utah State University, Utah Valley State College, Southern Utah University and Dixie State College were among the schools listed in the congressional report by Sen.
Moving forward with a growing list of construction projects, U administrators have been particular when deciding which structures will be built to satisfy strict environmental and energy standards. Although some projects will be built based on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, a certification reserved for the most eco-friendly buildings, the U will follow a state-designed plan to make buildings greener, shying away from LEED certification because of high costs involved.
U intern Breanne Miller had one of her first tastes of the whirlwind politics of Capitol Hill when the immigration reform bill went before Congress a few weeks ago. "It makes the whole office crazy when big bills happen. There are mass amounts of calls from constituents-- every time you check, it's like there are 100 voice mails," said Miller, a recent U graduate in political science and Spanish, and future U law student.
The ASUU Senate and General Assembly secured money for Rock the U dance marathon and a new student recycling board earlier this month when they passed their $1.4 million budget for the upcoming school year. Funding for the second year of the Rock the U dance marathon is now guaranteed in the Associated Students of the University of Utah budget.
With speakers shouting above constant cheers and jeers from the audience, Friday night's debate between Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and Fox News personality Sean Hannity often seemed more like a sporting event than a serious discussion of conflict in Iraq.
When former ASUU President Jake Kirkham left office in April, he wore the same grey pinstripe suit that he wore to his inauguration ceremony last spring. "My wife said the grey pinstripe suit is out now, but the black pinstripe is in," Kirkham said as he pointed to new Vice President Basim Motiwala, who was appropriately wearing a black pinstripe suit.
