As a first-generation college graduate from America’s working class in small-town, rural Alabama, I understand firsthand the value of a college education. Part of my job as vice provost for student success at the University of Utah is to make sure that every student who comes here has the opportunity to attain the economic benefits, employment prospects, skill development and immense personal growth that higher education offers to all who enter. This undertaking is central to the university’s mission to improve the lives of everyone in the state, whether or not they are students at the U.
With this guiding star in mind, I appreciate the attention The Salt Lake Tribune recently brought to the U’s partnership with the Ute Indian Tribe, which allows us to share resources and outreach to increase educational support for potential students. This enduring relationship goes far beyond a transactional document or an over-simplification of branding. It is a representation of the essence of our charge as the state’s flagship university to build knowledge, foster education and lay down a pathway that anyone can traverse. Here are a few insights the story missed.
We are wholeheartedly engaged with the Ute Indian Tribe in attaining our shared goal to build genuine respect and understanding of the tribe’s history and contributions to the state. We devote considerable resources to encouraging and supporting tribal youth to lead healthy lives and further their education. Through this partnership, we have seen Ute students at the U. graduate with bachelor’s degrees and go on to graduate school. One received a doctorate in audiology. Most of these alums are now employed in Utah. While we always want more graduates from more places, each of these students, to us, is a success. Whether in the school district where they work, or in a non-profit organization, or within their own families, these students have the ability to lead where they are. That is a benefit for all of us.
Through a comprehensive financial aid and scholarship package, including Pell Grants, private donations and a partnership with the Ute Indian Tribe, tuition is fully covered for students enrolled in the Ute Tribe. In the last 10 years, the U. has invested $225,000 — raised from private donations — in scholarship funding for the Ute Tribe Scholarship. On top of that, U. students enrolled in any of Utah’s eight federally-recognized tribes are eligible for the U’s Native Student Scholarship, launched in 2022. President Taylor Randall introduced this scholarship not as a result of a memorandum of understanding, quid-pro-quo or imposed requirement, but because it was the right thing to do. The U. is committed to delivering transformational educational experiences to communities across Utah.
The U. has multiple outreach avenues to the Ute Indian Tribe and to indigenous communities throughout the state. Each spring, a delegation of U. leaders travels to the ceremonial Bear Dance hosted annually by the tribe. IndigeSTEAM is a summer pathway program that prepares Native high school students for careers in science, technology, engineering, arts and math. The Indigenous Storytelling Camp invites every Ute Tribe student from the Uintah Basin to campus every summer for a weeklong engagement in campus life — which has directly inspired students to apply for college. Over the summer, 90 students attended the camp, which was expanded to include students from the Navajo Nation. This year, the U. hosted its 52nd pow wow on campus, inviting American Indian and Indigenous people throughout the state to participate. The cost of the pow wow alone is estimated at $45,000. In the last three years, the U. spent about $155,000 in sponsorships, programming and external funding in this area, in addition to an agreed-upon $500,000 over five years that the U. gives to support and enhance Tribal educational programs and opportunities. The U. is invested in building bridges across our communities to make higher education more attainable.
The faculty, staff and administrators of the U. care deeply about the success of every student, regardless of their background. We see them where they are, and we reach out with help with academic, financial and career advising; support them in their transition to a university with first-year learning communities; apply interventions and predictive analytics to steer them toward success; and invest in their well-being. We designed Navigate U to aid students in their path to, through and beyond the U. With this initiative comes the power of knowing where every student — including those who are members of the Ute Tribe — is on their educational path. We support, empower and propel our students to degree completion. That is our passion.
I’m proud to be part of a university that is committed to seeing every student succeed. Receiving a degree can be life-changing. I know, because it changed mine.
(Chase Hagood) Chase Hagood is Vice Provost for Student Success at the University of Utah.
Chase Hagood is Vice Provost for Student Success at the University of Utah.
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