Gov. Herbert visiting USU to sign two USU-related House bills

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is visiting Utah State University Wednesday, March 30, to sign House Bill 57 and House Bill 4. The signing takes place at 12:30 p.m. at the University Inn, Sonne Board Room, 508, on the USU campus.House Bill 57, sponsored by Rep. John G. Mathis, R-District 55, allows for the development of the first doctoral-level veterinary program in the state. The bill received strong bipartisan support in both the senate and the house.House Bill 4 is the General Obligations and Bonds Authorizations bill, sponsored by Rep. Gage Froerer, R-District 8, that provides funding for a new business building and a new Tooele Applied Technology College building located on USU land on the USU Tooele Education corridor.The new doctor of veterinary medicine program, which has been in the works for more than three years, creates a partnership between USU and Washington State University. Students in the program spend the first two years at USU and finish their last two years, including clinical studies, at WSU.Once signed into law by the governor, the new DVM program will accept 30 students each year, 20 state residents and 10 nonresidents. Following the governor’s signature, the program begins accepting applications in fall 2011 with coursework beginning in 2012.The program will provide greater opportunity for Utah students interested in veterinary medicine as it was named one of the 50 best careers of 2011 by U.S. News and World Report.The business building, totaling $30 million, was funded with $14 million of state funds and a $16-million private match. The building will be approximately 100,000-square-feet and located just south of the current George S. Eccles Business building. It will include new classrooms, faculty offices, graduate student spaces, student study spaces, a business library and three new business centers.The $14.9 million Tooele Applied Technology building received $9.9 million in state funding and $5 million from Tooele City. The 67,000-square-foot building will stand on property owned by USU immediately west of the new Tooele County School District Community Learning Center. The building will house new and existing programs, including allied health, nursing, applied economics, construction technology, diesel technician, natural resource management, farm management, warehousing/material handling and professional truck driving. USU owns another 54 acres of land in the same area, which will be developed according to the university’s long-range plan, creating an education corridor on Tooele’s west side.

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