Weber State University

History

Weber State University was founded by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Weber Stake Academy in 1889. "Weber" comes from the name of the county where the university is located. Weber County was named after John Henry Weber, an early fur trader. The university opened for students on January 7, 1889 with 98 students enrolled for classes. The first principal of Weber Stake Academy was Louis F. Moench. He served from 1889–1892 and again from 1894–1902. In the latter year, Moench was succeeded as principal by David O. McKay who served in that position until 1908. From 1914–1917, James L. Barker was the principal of the Weber Stake Academy.

In the early 20th century, the school underwent multiple name changes: Weber Stake Academy from its founding in 1889 to 1897, Weber Academy in 1902, Weber Normal College in 1918, and Weber College in 1922. By the late 1920s, however, the college was in financial difficulty, and the LDS Church faced four choices—transfer the college to a partnership of the city of Ogden and Weber County, transfer it to the University of Utah as a branch campus, transfer it to the state of Utah as a junior college, or shut it down. In 1931, the Utah Legislature passed a law providing for the acquisition of Weber College and Snow College from the LDS Church.

In 1933, Weber College became a state-supported junior college. In 1954 the college moved from its downtown location in Ogden to a spacious and scenic area in the southeast bench area of the city. The school became Weber State College in 1962, and in 1964 became a four-year college. On January 1, 1991, Weber State was upgraded to university status.

Weber State University has developed into a major state undergraduate institution serving northern Utah and areas beyond, including American and international students.

Locations

Weber State University sits along the east bench of the Wasatch Mountains in Ogden, Utah. The Dee Events Center is located about 1 mile south from campus. There is an additional campus located in Davis County, Utah, and two centers located in Morgan, Utah and Roy, Utah. In addition to its physical locations, Weber State University has been a pioneer in the development of online education for the Utah System of Higher Education. Weber State's Ogden campus covers more than 500 acres, houses 63 buildings and features residence halls that accommodate more than 1,000 students. The Davis campus has two buildings, which host more than 300 classes per semester.

In 2013, Weber State opened WSU Downtown, an 18,000-square-foot building on 2314 Washington Blvd., which houses a WSU Wildcat Store, cafe, the WSU Small Business Development Center, Startup Ogden and an open co-working space.

Weber State also has centers in Roy, Farmington, Kaysville, Clearfield and Morgan, Utah, in addition to the Community Education Center in Ogden.

Athletics

Weber State University's colors are purple and white and their nickname is the Wildcats. (Wildcat is an alternate name for the bobcat, a cat native to the area.) Weber State University teams participate in NCAA Division I (Football Championship Subdivision for football) in the Big Sky Conference. The Weber State University football team plays at Stewart Stadium. The men's and women's basketball teams both play at the Dee Events Center. After the University of Idaho and Boise State University joined the Western Athletic Conference, Idaho State University became their main rival in the Big Sky Conference in both football and basketball. Southern Utah University joined the Big Sky Conference in the 2012 academic school year and is Weber State's main in-state rival. Other athletic programs at Weber State are men's and women's track and field, men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, and women's soccer, volleyball, and softball.

Weber State also has 17 club sports through Campus Recreation, including ice hockey, men and women's rugby, archery, baseball, billiards, bowling, cycling, fencing, martial arts, rodeo, rock climbing, skiing, snowboarding, weightlifting, wrestling, and lacrosse.

Academics

Weber State University offers more than 250 certificate and degree programs in the performing arts, visual arts, humanities, science, applied science and technology, business and economics, education, social and behavioral sciences and the health professions. Weber State University also offers an integrated studies degree, allowing students to craft their own degrees by choosing three separate disciplines and integrating them in a single capstone thesis or project. Master's degrees are offered in accounting, athletic training, business administration (MBA), professional communication, computer engineering, criminal justice, education, English, radiologic sciences, health administration, nursing and taxation.

Organization

WSU is divided into the following seven colleges:

In addition to these primary colleges, the University offers several structured interdisciplinary programs. These include:

Student media

Weber State University has an independent, student-run newspaper, The Signpost, which is published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, an online radio station, KWCR - 88.1 Weber FM, Ogden's Radio Station, an undergraduate interdisciplinary literary journal, Metaphor, and a television news program, Weber State News, that broadcasts online. The national literature and culture journal, Weber Studies, is based at Weber State. Weber State University is also home to renowned culinary series entitled "Weber Eats", where vivacious local chef Steven Reed prepares home cooked meals that are both satisfyingly scrumptious and student budget friendly. Recent concoctions include Nachos with Cheese, Rice-a-Roni, Spaghetti with Sauce, and Potatoes with Creamed Style Corn.

Notable alumni