Utah Board of Higher Education
Utah Valley University
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2022

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
MINUTES

Board Members Present     
Harris H. Simmons, Chair
Aaron Osmond, Vice-Chair
Nina R. Barnes, Vice-Chair
Jesselie B. Anderson
Lisa Michele Church
Wilford Clyde
Alan Hall
Patricia Jones
Crystal Maggelet
Tanner Marcum
Arthur E. Newell
Shawn Newell
Scott Theurer

Board Members Absent

Mike Angus
Jera L. Bailey
Stacey K. Bettridge
Sanchaita Datta
Valirie Serawop

Office of the Commissioner

Dave Woolstenhulme, Commissioner of Higher Education
Geoffrey Landward, Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel
Brynn Fronk, Executive Assistant to the Board of Higher Education
Loreen Olney, Administrative Assistant
UVU President and Board of Trustees
Astrid Tuminez, President
James Clarke, Trustee
Paul Thompson, Trustee
Cydni Tetro, Trustee
Dru Huffaker, Trustee
Jenette Bennett, Trustee
Rick Nielsen, Trustee
Blake Modersitzki, Trustee
Karen Magana, Trustee

Chair Simmons called the meeting to order at 6:20 p.m.

President’s Report

Board of Trustees Chair James Clarke recognize President Tuminez for her remarkable work and her
great leadership at Utah Valley University

President Tuminez presented the State of the University address to the Board members. Vice-Chair
Osmond asked about the relationship between UVU and MTech and how they have handled duplicated programs. President Tuminez remarked on the great relationship between the two institutions. The articulations are growing well. They now need to market better. President Christensen is her partner in taking the pulse of the K-12 superintendents. President Tuminez noted there was an audit done between
the two teams. Board member Jones asked President Tuminez what she has been surprised by in this
position. President Tuminez mentioned that we don’t celebrate enough of the success in Utah.
Navigating politics was also a surprise to her.

UVUSA President Report

Karen Magana, UVUSA President and Trustee, reviewed the UVU student demographics with the Board.
She highlighted the initiatives they have worked on this year, including free campus-wide period
products, baby-changing stations, Wee Care Center partnership, doubled the student government voter
turnout, and providing multilingual voting materials, to name a few. Karen went over the goals of
UVUSA. She noted that supportive faculty and staff have contributed to student success, as well as
flexible learning options for those with demands outside their class schedule. She reviewed their new
facilities, including the Vallejo Auditorium within the Keller Building. Board member Marcum described
Karen’s leadership as inclusive and said she is never blind to the differences of the students and brings
them together.

Board member Shawn Newell made a motion to go into closed session for the purpose of
discussing the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an
individual; Board member Church seconded the motion and the motion passed.

Closed Session

Board member Shawn Newell made a motion to end closed session; Board member
Church seconded the motion and the motion passed.

The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.

Date Approved: May 20, 2022