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OREM — Utah Valley University officials plan to build a Health and Wellness Village that they hope will benefit the Utah County community and students alike, providing a training ground for future health care professionals.
That announcement came during the university's 33rd annual President's Scholarship Ball on Saturday. The Health and Wellness Village will be housed at UVU's Vineyard campus and is a partnership with Huntsman Cancer Institute.
"There is great momentum on our campus as we deliver high-quality education to more and more Utahns and as the community embraces our mission and supports our students through generous donations and partnerships," UVU President Astrid S. Tuminez said in a statement. "Our community recognizes that UVU is educating Utah's dynamic workforce. The majority of our students remain in Utah after graduation and become engaged members of society, voting, paying taxes, raising families and strengthening our communities."
The village
The Health and Wellness Village is another cog in the university's master plan for its 225-acre Vineyard campus. Aside from just serving as a place for future health care professionals to be educated and receive hands-on training, it will also provide health and wellness services to Utah County.
Utah County leads the state in absolute growth, adding over 16,000 new residents in 2022 to push the countywide estimate over 700,000 people for the first time, according to population estimate data released in March by the U.S. Census Bureau.
"With the explosive growth coming to Utah County over the next three decades, the need for nurses, physician assistants, respiratory therapists, mental health professionals, and other health and wellness workers is significant," Tuminez said. "This Health and Wellness Village will play an important role in meeting the state's workforce needs of tomorrow and will align with the university's model of engaged learning, which continues to set UVU apart."
In addition to the village, UVU announced the HCI-UVU Health Collaborative, a new student training program with the Huntsman Cancer Institute. In June, the Huntsman Cancer Institute announced plans to open a cancer center in Vineyard.
Through the collaboration, UVU students will be able to participate in internships at the institute, which has pledged $1 million to fund the partnership.
"Our goal is to equip promising students with the knowledge and skills needed to confront the complex challenges of the cancer health and science landscape to bring hope and healing to all people impacted by cancer," Mary Beckerle, CEO of Huntsman Cancer Institute, said in a statement. "It is wonderful to see a partnership between the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute and Utah Valley University that is driven by a commitment to deliver a cancer-free frontier and advance health for our region."
The partnership also represents higher education entities in the Beehive State coming together to fight against cancer, something University of Utah President Taylor Randall spoke to.
"We firmly believe in fostering a collaborative spirit to craft solutions to educate students and better serve the health care needs of all Utahns," Randall said in a statement. "Our commitment to the HCI-UVU Health Collaborative lies in the creative alliance of our efforts to create a path for the next wave of aspiring innovators, dedicated health care professionals and scientists."
Endowment and scholarships
Another highlight of the President's Scholarship Ball was an update on UVU's endowment, which has officially reached $100 million.
During last year's ball, the university unveiled its "comprehensive" fundraising campaign — EverGREEN — with an overall goal of raising $350 million.
"Universities rely on endowments to provide funding stability as enrollments fluctuate and to support new or expanding educational programs," Kyle Reyes, vice president of Institutional Advancement and CEO of the UVU Foundation, said in a statement. "This is a significant accomplishment for UVU, which has only been a university for 15 years. It's also a testament to the generosity of so many in Utah and beyond who are investing in future generations."
Taking place for over 30 years, the President's Scholarship Ball, at its core, is an event to bring together university supporters to provide full-tuition scholarships for students who were awarded the Presidential Scholarship.
Saturday night's ball saw over $667,000 raised to fund the scholarship, with more donations trickling in afterward. Contributions to the scholarship can be made here.
John Forsgren, a junior at UVU, was recently awarded a Presidential Scholarship and said it is instrumental in helping him follow his educational dreams in studying computer science.
"Thanks to the generous benefactors of this scholarship program, I am able to attend college and study something that not only brings me joy and fulfillment but also will help me to have a great career," Forsgren said. "It means the world to me that I get to learn more about computer science and have the chance to improve my place in life."
