HomeCity LifeDean’s List: Women at Utah Universities
UVU President Astrid Tuminez and her husband Jeff Tolk individual and group portraits in studio as well as individual lifestyle photos of Astrid with students at the Fulton Library and on the campus of Utah Valley University Friday June 1, 2018. (August Miller, UVU Marketing)
In 2019, women are still fighting for equality, and, according to WalletHub’s 2018 study, Utah is the worst offender, coming in dead-last in the “Best States for Women’s Rights” category. From income and executive position gaps to gender-based discrepancies in work hours and political representation, Utah has a lot of work to do.
Know Your Presidents
Dr. Noelle E. Cockett (USU) Ph.D. Breeding and Genetics Spent five years as a research geneticist at the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
Deneece Huftalin (SLCC)
Ph.D Education, Leadership, and Policy Dr. Huftalin has taught in the Education, Leadership, and Policy program at the University of Utah and serves on a number of community boards and committees including for the Salt Lake Chamber, EDCUtah, and Envision Utah.
Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez (UVU) Ph.D. Political Science Formerly the founding Vice-Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.
Dr. Ruth V. Watkins (U of U) Ph.D. Communication Development and Disabilities in Young Children Spent 20 years at the University of Illinois serving in roles from faculty to Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Bethami Ann Dobkin (Westminster) Ph.D. Rhetoric and Social Order Previously held faculty positions at University of Hartford and University of San Diego.
Bright spot: There are a handful of women pioneering the charge for gender equity in their roles as presidents at universities across the state. Add Salt Lake Community College, with its student body of more than 34,000, also led by a woman, President Deneece Huftalin, and Utah has a female majority in higher education’s upper levels.
“I am very pleased to see four women university presidents in Utah, overseeing institutions educating roughly 70 percent of the students in the state,” said Dr. Astrid Tuminez, President of Utah Valley University. “In academia, as in most sectors, the top levels of leadership are still occupied by men. Women remain underrepresented in the top ranks of leadership despite the fact that we have made great strides in education and have entered the workforce in large numbers.”
Tuminez isn’t alone in a desire to encourage this trend of female academic leadership. Ruth V. Watkins, University of Utah’s president, knows her role is important to young women. “To be honest, I was a bit unprepared for how much it would mean to other women for me to be named president,” she says. “It is very powerful for me to have people come up and say that what I am doing has shown their own sons and daughters what is possible for women in leadership in Utah.”
“To be honest, I was a bit unprepared for how much it would mean to other women for me to be named president”
–Ruth Watkins, U of U president
Watkins’ leadership was indispensable during the tragic shooting death of University of Utah student Lauren McCluskey late last year. Facing a poignant crossroads, Watkins comforted and led her university community after the act of violence, releasing a statement grieving “the senseless loss of this bright, young woman,” and offering her students access to the school’s counseling and psychological services.
In the #MeToo era, violent acts against women take center stage, but so do stories of strong women helping bolster their communities in leadership roles even in the face of continued institutional bias. Westminster College is one of those leading the charge to achieve female equality in leadership. President Bethami Dobkin has made this issue an important part of her agenda. “Currently, over half of my executive cabinet identifies as female,” she says.
The rest of Westminster has followed suit. “There is no imbalance between women and men in the student population at Westminster. Westminster currently admits more women than men as students and women graduate at higher rates than men,” Dobkin adds. In fact, Westminster goes a step further and ensures pay equity across the campus as “all forms of equity are important to us.”
Much like Dobkin, Utah State University’s Noelle Cockett takes up this mantle as a central part of her agenda. “As President, I have no tolerance for inequity at Utah State,” she says. “We actually have more female students–52 percent to 48 percent at the time of graduation.” Cockett is also very aware of the importance of her position and uses it to help guide future female leaders: “Women need to mentor each other, offer suggestions to each other and help market their strengths as leaders throughout their respective industries.” Though UVU’s Tuminez is only a few months into her position, she, like Cockett, remains dedicated to advancing gender causes university-wide. “In 2015, UVU joined with other organizations across the state in accepting the ElevateHer challenge to elevate the stature of women’s leadership,” she says. “In 2018, UVU adopted a new search advocacy model for recruiting candidates for leadership and faculty positions and established UVU’s Women Council to provide a holistic perspective for UVU’s efforts for students, faculty, staff and outreach into the community.” While Utah continues the gender equality struggle, these incredible women offer a modicum of comfort to those dismayed by the current climate. Ultimately, USU’s President Cockett embodied the hope many have for the state’s future: “It’s important to me that women are empowered to follow their academic and professional passions and look for ways to lead.”
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@granarybakehouse_slc is a small, immaculate and intimate 9th and 9th bakery with some of the best laminated pastry in town. (That means golden flakes that get all over your car because you can’t wait until you get home to take a bite.)🥖🥐🧈
Read more about Granary Bakehouse at the link in our bio! ❤️...
A brand new issue of Salt Lake magazine is coming your way!
We can't wait to share these stories with you. This issue includes our annual Blue Plate Awards celebrating those surviving and thriving in the restaurant biz. Plus, we take a road trip to Wyoming and ask why the only Utah passenger on the Titanic didn’t survive her journey.
A note from our editor Jeremy Pugh, including beautiful tributes to Mary Brown Malouf from our friends in the community, is online now. Read more at the link in our bio ❤️
Subscribers: Look for this issue in your mailbox soon. The magazine will be on newsstands March 1! 📬...
Today, we are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2021 Blue Plate Awards! 🎉
These prizes honor the growers, food evangelists, grocers, servers, bakers, chefs, bartenders and restaurateurs who do more than put good food on the table—they make our community a better place to live. This year, just surviving as a local business deserves an award, but each of our Blue Plate winners did more than that. They made us grateful for every person involved in the essential act of feeding us. 🍽
At the link in our bio, we have the full list of winners, a celebration of feats of COVID creativity and a tribute to restaurants we lost this year. If you’re hungry for more, pick up a copy on newsstands March 1! Plus, check out our Instagram for spotlights on some of the Blue Plate winners.
This year’s Blue Plate Awards are the first without our beloved Executive Editor Mary Brown Malouf. We dedicate them to her, our town’s biggest food fan, critic and champion. xoxomm 💙...
2021 Blue Plate Award winner: @ricobrandut for Staying in Beansness
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2021 Blue Plate Award winner: @thestore_utah for Special Deliveries
As grocery delivery becomes the new norm, The Store offers a personal touch that only an independent grocer can provide. Last March, high-risk and elderly customers began calling in their grocery lists over the phone, and The Store’s general managers personally delivered food to their homes. 💙...
2021 Blue Plate Award winner: @cucinaslc for Preserving Neighborhood Connection
Cucina’s outdoor spaces became a place where the neighborhood could gather safely. Owner Dean Pierose offered free coffee in the mornings and encouraged his regulars to linger and commiserate together, preserving a semblance of society during a socially distanced time. 💙...
2021 Blue Plate Award winner: @fisherbrewing for Creative Canning
This year, Fisher found ways to utilize their beer, taproom space and canning capabilities for good. They created special lines of limited edition beers in custom cans to help raise funds for local businesses struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic. 💙...
2021 Blue Plate Award winner: @hearth_and_hill for Opening Doors
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2021 Blue Plate Award winner: @oquirrhslc for Betting the Bottom Dollar
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@oquirrhslc is the kind of restaurant Salt Lake was slowly becoming famous for—chef-run, definitively local, deserving of awards and stars.
Now, a year into the pandemic, co-owners Andrew and Angelena Fuller are doing everything they can to keep Oquirrh alive. There are no days off, and they are serving all kinds of to-go orders to stay afloat, from burgers to charcuterie boards. 🍽
Independent restaurants like Oquirrh need our help! Tonight, order takeout from Oquirrh—or your favorite neighborhood spot—and support these essential members of our community. ❤️...
A wind storm #tbt for your feed today. 🌬️🛹
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Check the link in bio for full story....
Melissa Diaz, owner and baker at @sweet_vinyl_bakeshop, calls herself a “baketender.” And that’s because, in addition to the usual sugar, flour, vanilla, etc., her cupcakes are flavored with beer and liquor from local brewers and distillers. So, Imperial Stout cupcakes, champagne cupcakes, bourbon maple chocolate cupcakes… you get the point. 🧁🍺
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Check the link in bio for full story....
“We’ve had to make some very tough decisions regarding staffing and operations to get through difficult times, but we’ve leaned ontechnology to help us adapt,” Nick Gradinger, co-founder of @vesselkitchen explains. “We transformed our business to facilitate seamless online ordering and curbside pickup. It’s helped create a safer environment for our customers while still delivering the quality of food and level of service they’ve grown to expect from Vessel.”⠀
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Read the full story through the link in bio....
Mother nature gifted us with some fresh snow over the weekend! ❄️ More snow in the forecast later this week means it's time to strap into those snowboard boots. ⠀
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📸 Photos courtesy of: @snowbasinresort⠀
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Check the link in bio for @snowbasinresort lift tickets, upcoming events and more! ⠀
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Just hours after being sworn in, President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling for a review of the boundaries for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. The monuments—designated by Barack Obama in 2016 and Bill Clinton in 1996—were reduced by roughly 2 million acres by former president Donald Trump, and the executive order is seen as move towards restoring the original boundaries.
Read the full story through the link in bio.
📸Bears Ears National Monument: Courtesy of Utah Office of Tourism...
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Doki Doki is one of Salt Lake City’s most authentic Japanese bakeries. And the authenticity shows through their delicately handcrafted pastries and cakes. Plus- fluffy pancakes, can it get any better? ⠀
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Check the link in bio for a fun little write up! ⠀
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You can eat a pie and go for a walk at the same time- who knew?! 🥧⠀
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Check the link in bio for our little review!...