50th Anniversary Gala

The 50th Anniversary Gala was a terrific event that capped a week of celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the legislation that brought USU to life in 1972. Nearly 150 well-dressed alumni, faculty, and friends showed up to celebrate, tell stories, and focus on the next 50 years.

Our new University President, Dr. Jonathan Woodson - a vascular surgeon, Major General (USAR), and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs - provided his rich perspective on the history of USU and his vision for the future. He has been involved with USU for decades, has advised many USU leaders, and has served on our Board of Regents. He spoke of the amazing progress he has seen over these years, and of the impressive accomplishments of our alumni and faculty. He expressed his excitement to lead USU at this time in our history, and spoke of a new beginning appropriate for the 50th Anniversary. He asked us to go forward with him to bring the excellence of the University and our graduates to even greater heights and work to significantly enhance the visibility of our accomplishments across both military and medical domains.

USU Alumni Association President Leon Moores (SOM ‘90) announced the 50th Anniversary Capital Campaign, the first of its kind for USU. The Alumni Association has established a fundraising goal for this year of $5,000,000 to grow the endowment, and by the end of the evening over $250,000 had been pledged! Investment proceeds from the endowment will be distributed annually to USU to support student research, publication expenses, lab startup costs, international travel experiences, and other important “margin of excellence” activities where traditional funding may be limited. The Alumni Association will ask USU leadership for a list of funding priorities on a regular basis and the Association Board of Trustees (see “Our Team” above) will approve the distribution of funds as available. All alumni, faculty, staff, friends, and supporters are encouraged to donate and to reach out to others to inform them of this exciting opportunity to give back to USU!

DONATE NOW at: https://www.usualumnibookstore.com/

To top off the evening, the Alumni Association presented the 2022 Alumni Awards to four of our outstanding graduates. Eighteen nominees were considered for the prestigious awards that recognize USU alumni for their military and medical academic contributions, clinical accomplishments, commitment to the military medical mission, and demonstrated leadership.

COL Jasmine Han - Lifetime Achievement Award

CAPT Tim Quast - Military Medical Service Award

Col. Kerry Latham - School of Medicine Award

CAPT Michelle Kane - Graduate School of Nursing Award

Go to the Blog page above and read the post by CAPT (ret) Sam Yerkes (SOM ‘80) for more details!