Higher Ed Utah

(Kristi Ottley, Cache Valley Daily) — Utah State University is undergoing a makeover, with many new additions to its campus and landscape—a new veterinary school, multiple new buildings, and a luxurious new Aggie Rec Center in its near future.

USU President Stan Albrecht discussed his school’s prospects and health Wednesday in a wide-ranging conversation with journalism students.

Albrecht is bullish on USU’s health, quality and future.

“We should go into [the Utah Legislature] and do a shout-out,” Albrecht said at Wednesday’s press conference with student journalists for Hard News Café and Aggie TV News. “Because we are so good—you are so good. We’ve been doing such great things!”

Since becoming USU president in 2005, Albrecht said, he has overseen construction of 23 new buildings—including the new $40 million College of Agriculture building, rising on the east end of the USU Quad. JCOM, the Agriculture dean’s office and several Ag departments will move into the new building in March.

Albrecht said USU’s new school of veterinary medicine, which is admit its first students in the Fall, is one addition he is very proud of. It is the first vet school in the state, and Albrecht said it is an obvious addition for USU, the state’s land-grant agricultural university.

Thirty students will make up the first vet school class. Albrecht said 20 students from Utah have already been selected, and will be joined by 10 students from other states. More than 800 applications have been received for those spots.

“The interest has been incredible,” said Albrecht. “This is a huge step for us.”

The new veterinary medicine students will spend two years at USU for pre-clinical training, and will complete their final two years at Washington State University, which is USU’s partner during the program’s start-up. More…