CHaSS Awards

CHaSS Student Senator

Colin Hastings is a sophomore in the Political Science program. He has been heavily involved since attending and has joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, been a member of the Student Alumni Association, and is President of the Order of Omega Greek Honor Society. 

Ambassadors

Makayla Darrow
Brielle Dursteler
Carson Hair 
Claire Hansen
Beau Jenson
Bethany Miller
Abigail Stanger
Jade Velazquez
Felicity Westwood 
Hannah Wetzel 

Student Council

Marshall Crawford

Marshall's dedication to education and diversity is evident through his 12-year tenure on the USU Foundation Board. This is in addition to over 35 years of experience in investment banking and international affairs.

Paige Frame

Paige is the president of McKinnon-Mulherin, a leading corporate communications firm in Salt Lake City. She holds a Bachelor
of Science in English from Utah State University and a Master of Business Administration from Westminster University, where
she also serves as an adjunct professor. Recognized for her leadership, Paige received the Forty Under 40 award from Utah
Business in 2018. She advises students at Westminster, coaches low-income women through job preparation with People
Helping People, and volunteers with the Girl Scouts. She is being awarded for her dedication to empowering the next generation of professionals and making a positive impact in her community.

Judge Ted Stewart

Judge Stewart practiced law before transitioning to public service and academia, serving as a visiting professor at Utah State
University for over three decades. His public service includes positions with various State of Utah departments and
congressional offices. Appointed to the United States District Court for the District of Utah by President Bill Clinton in 1999,
he has served with integrity and distinction. He co-authored "The Miracle of Freedom: Seven Tipping Points That Saved the
World," which achieved New York Times bestseller status. 

Linda Walton

Linda founded the Walton Group, a marketing and media relations agency to help businesses and nonprofits reach their
communication goals. A fellow of the Public Relations Society of America, she was also given a doctorate of Humane Letters
from Utah Valley University. In addition to her professional career, Linda has been a leading social activist since her time at
USU where she was instrumental in promoting the racial integration of her sorority. Today, Linda, who is also a chaplain,
continues helping others through her involvement with numerous nonprofits serving the needs of Utahns and beyond. We are
honored to present her with the CHaSS Distinguished Alumni Award.

Robert King
World Languages and Cultures

Robert's teaching career began in September 1975 as a nervous ENGL 1010 Teaching Assistant in Bellingham, WA. Following the completion of his PhD from the University of Utah in 1977, he was hired as an English department adjust at USU's Tooele campus in 1981. In 1990, Robert took a fulltime contract with USU Statewide. Over the years, Robert notes that teaching in CHaSS evolved from a job to a career to a calling. He says, "I’m still nervous before class, but better prepared, and appreciate the support over the decades from Logan, from both CHaSS and the English Department."

Michael Lyons
Political Science

Simply put, Michael Lyons is the most influential teaching professor of the last 50 years in the Department of Political
Science. Upon arriving at USU fresh from his Ph.D., he developed a variety of innovative courses, perhaps most notably his
legislative politics simulation. His commitment to hands-on learning in that class, and others, is now emulated in political
science departments across the country. Michael’s teaching has inspired hundreds of USU alumni to pursue careers in
government and public policy, and his classes have prepared legions more to be effective and politically aware citizens. He has
served on many committees and received numerous awards during his profoundly influential years at USU.

Candi Carter Olsen
Journalism & Communication

Candi Carter Olson has brought attention to subaltern populations in the media and engaged students in innovative projects. After working with first-generation, undocumented, and refugee students in Denver, she received a second master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. Utah State University was her first full-time academic employer, and it may be her last, as well.

Nov. 1, 2023 was Candi’s first day on full-time disability. All of the research and writing skills she acquired as a journalist and professor have served her well as she has fought for a diagnosis, although the one she eventually received in October is an unknown quantity even to the doctors who have no actual title for the overall disorder.

Candi has been spending her retirement fighting to live and reconnecting with her family and the arts she left behind to become an academic.

Jim Rogers
Intensive English Language Institute

Jim started at USU in 1990, and we are grateful for his 34 years of service in the Department of World Languages and Cultures.
He served as the director of the Intensive English Language Institute and won awards for his teaching and research, which
focused on appropriate uses of technology in instruction, socio-cultural models, and teacher development.

Friend Weller
Utah Public Radio

Friend was Utah Public Radio’s longstanding chief engineer, who started at the station as an intern in 1979 before returning
full-time in 2005. He is a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers, holding the rank of Certified Radio Broadcast Engineer and is the director of Alumni Records, Inc., a non-profit corporation which operates KVWJ, a low-power FM radio station serving Hyrum.  KVWJ is the culmination of his life-long dream - to own and operate his own radio station.  He is the father of eight and enjoys all things radio - and has several widely-varied side interests. 

Reid Youmans
CHaSS Advising

Reid John Youmans graduated from Utah State University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and worked at the university as an academic advisor for nearly twenty years before retiring in 2024. He was known around the office for his many catchphrases, his boisterous laugh, and his great heart. There was always a seat for anyone at Reid's table.