This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Students at Utah State University will see a familiar face in the president's office next year.
The Utah Board of Regents on Wednesday chose USU Provost Noelle Cockett as the school's 16th president, succeeding Stan Albrecht, who held the position since 2005.
Cockett, who joined USU as an assistant professor in 1990, is the school's first female president, and at the start of her term in January will be the only female president at the university level within Utah's higher education system.
After her unanimous selection, Board of Regents Chairman Dan Campbell praised Cockett for her warmth, intellect, leadership and love for USU.
"She has given much, and some would say all, to this institution," Campbell said. "We have been fortunate to have her talents for so long, and we now look forward to her leadership for years to come as president of Utah State University."
Cockett pledged to "tirelessly" devote her skills, experience and energy toward preserving USU's land-grant mission, and to increase its success and impact within the community.
"Together," she said, "we will make USU an institution whose future is boundless and bright."
Utah State University enrolls 28,118 students, making it the fourth-largest institution of the Utah System of Higher Education.
Under Albrecht's tenure, the school expanded its regional offerings, including the absorption of the College of Eastern Utah as USU-Eastern, and launched a series of research partnership with NASA through the Space Dynamics Lab.
Before Cockett's selection was announced, Albrecht joked that he hoped the regents had made the right decision, before pledging his support to his successor.
"The new president will have my absolutely full support," he said. "And, gosh, what a great experience that person has ahead."
In addition to her work at USU, Cockett spent five years as a research geneticist with the United States Department of Agriculture. She received a master's and doctoral degree in animal genetics from Oregon State University, and she was part of an international team of researchers who sequenced the sheep genome.
In a news release, Utah Commissioner of Higher Education Dave Buhler praised Cockett's experience and qualifications for the presidency.
"I am confident in President Cockett's ability to effectively lead Utah State University," he said, "and that she is the right president to build on the extraordinary accomplishments of President Albrecht over the past decade."
Cockett is expected to begin her term as USU president in January.
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