This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah State University President Stan Albrecht is set to retire, the school announced Wednesday.
Albrecht, 73, has held the post for 11 years and will stay until higher-education leaders pick a successor.
Under his tenure, the Logan-based research university absorbed the former College of Eastern Utah in Price and developed a partnership with NASA, launching probes to study the aurora borealis and researching how in-flight temperatures could affect missions.
Lawmakers in a Thursday education panel praised the longtime USU administrator, a former provost and humanities dean, for expanding options for rural and nontraditional students.
"There's never been a better received president in the history of Utah," said Rep. Kay McIff, a Richfield Republican with a bachelor's degree from USU.
Rep. Derrin Owens of Fountain Green said his wife is now teaching special education after returning to the university as an adult.
"Your outreach programs in San Juan County are second to none," said Owens, speaking in front of members of the Higher Education Appropriations Committee.
Still, the school of 28,600 has faced difficulties. It was not immune from a statewide enrollment dip after a 2012 change in Mormon church policy sent a flood of young missionaries to join the global proselytizing force of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At USU, enrollment has since been edging back up as university staffers call missionaries' families each semester to remind them of the value of returning to campus. The student body this year is 1 percent — about 300 students — shy of the 2011 level.
National trends also have affected the institution.
During the recession, the state's higher-education fund dropped, even as more students returned to the campus in Logan and across the state. The student body swelled by about 8 percent, or 2,300 students, from 2007 to 2011.
The downturn is one reason the school has pasted the Maverik company logo on its refurbished football stadium previously named for former coach and Athletic Director Dick Romney. The company is providing $6 million to the school over 22 years, according to contract terms.
"USU's ability to garner support from the business community is growing ever more critical," Albrecht wrote in a Salt Lake Tribune op-ed, "as state funding has been reduced."
Albrecht on Wednesday was meeting with legislators at Utah's Capitol, a university spokesman said, and could not be made available for an interview. Last year, the university secured $1.5 million from the Legislature to boost athletic recruiting.
Such partnerships are unsettling to some on campus. Last fall, a student group held a march in protest of millions of dollars in donations from the billionaire Koch brothers, champions of right-wing political causes.
Albrecht has also taken on the funding challenge, in part, by maintaining a strong relationship with Ardeshir Zahedia, a top USU donor, alumnus and an Iranian diplomat. The Switzerland-based endowment to his alma mater gives millions to the school each year.
Financial challenges aren't the only difficulties USU has faced in recent years.
In fall 2014, feminist gaming critic Anita Sarkeesian called off her highly anticipated USU lecture after an anonymous online threat of violence on the campus, where carrying a concealed weapon is allowed. Sarkeesian said she canceled because the school declined to use metal detectors. University officers maintained their hands were tied by state law forbidding the additional restriction.
The Logan university also has been under the spotlight as one former student, a fraternity president, has been sentenced to six months in jail for trying to sexually assault a woman at a party. In another case, two women said they were raped by a former student who belonged to another fraternity. That student pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree-felony attempted rape.
Prosecutors in Price also are reviewing allegations of a separate sexual assault at USU Eastern after police found cellphone pictures of a woman with her head in a trash can and text messages saying a student was forced to give oral sex at a dorm party after she said no.
A nationwide search for Albrecht's successor is underway.
Higher Education Commissioner Dave Buhler said Albrecht "has made an indelible mark on USU" in a prepared statement Wednesday.
Dan Campbell, chairman of the state Board of Regents, agreed, calling Albrecht an "innovative and effective leader."
Twitter: @anniebknox