50 Years on the Ogden Campus Weber State University Stewart Library Excerpts from an atrium exhibit in fall 2004

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Imogene Scott
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1 50 Years on the Ogden Campus Weber State University Stewart Library Excerpts from an atrium exhibit in fall After half a century in downtown Ogden, in 1954, the Weber College moved to a new campus east of Harrison Boulevard. The move allowed the college to develop into the present Weber State University, with some 18,000 students. 2. Originally one of 22 academies sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, the Weber Academy opened in 1889 in the LDS Second Ward building, on the southwest corner of Grant Avenue and 26th Street.

The move allowed the college to develop into the present Weber State University, with some 18,000 students. 2.

2 4. During its first year, 196 students attended the Weber Stake Academy, studying what was essentially a high school curriculum, plus classes in religion. 3. Teaching both academic and religious subjects, the academy operated under the direction of the Weber Stake Board of Education. (The David McKay pictured here is the father of future church president, David O. McKay.)

Teaching both academic and religious subjects, the academy operated under the direction of

3 6. To answer those concerns and meet the needs of the growing student body, the church purchased property on the west side of Jefferson Avenue between 24th and 25th Streets. In 1908 the school s name changed to the Weber Academy. The campus soon expanded into additional properties and buildings. 5. Only a year after the academy opened, the Weber Stake Board of Education decided it had outgrown its Second Ward facilities and moved to the Ogden Tabernacle on Washington Boulevard and 22nd Street. However church leaders then worried that, given the pressures of the Edmunds-Tucker Act passed by Congress to expunge polygamy, the tabernacle might be seized by the federal government since it was being used to house non-religious studies.

Only a year after the academy opened, the Weber Stake Board of Education decided it had outgrown its Second Ward facilities and moved to the Ogden Tabernacle on Washington Boulevard

4 8. Athletics became important very early, as shown by the women s basketball team of Surrounded by the graduating class of 1901 are academy Principal Louis Moench (left) and David O. McKay, an instructor and principal who later became an apostle and church president.

Surrounded by the graduating class of 1901 are academy Principal

5 10. State Senator Ira C. Huggins, of Ogden, knew that only one-third of Utahns could pay state taxes, and thus a new revenue source must be found. An LDS bishop as well as a legislator, Huggins telephoned McKay -- then a counselor in the LDS First Presidency. Huggins suggested a 3.05 percent tax on beer brewed in Utah and sold in states where beer had been legalized as Prohibition ended. Huggins then maneuvered the controversial bill through the end of the legislative session, and Weber became a state college on July 1, Students often paid their tuition with produce, but during the Great Depression, even payment-in-kind became difficult. Donations and tithes to the LDS Church also dropped significantly. On February 4, 1931, LDS Church President Heber J. Grant told educators and legislators that the church could no longer support its many academies. Either the state legislature would need to provide for Weber College, or the school would close in 1932.

05 percent tax on beer brewed in Utah and sold in states where beer had been legalized as Prohibition ended.

6 12. Despite resistance from the governor s office, an executive committee began searching for a new campus site with plenty of space to grow. A sprawling area lying east of Harrison Boulevard was chosen, land then occupied by a dairy ranch, a few houses, and a cattail swamp. 11. Weber s next crisis came when, in 1949, Governor J. Bracken Lee vetoed Weber s attempt to become a four-year college. Lee then attempted to give Weber, Snow, and Dixie Colleges back to the LDS Church. In late 1953, Lee succeeded in convincing legislators at a special session to discontinue funding for those colleges. Although the LDS Church did not back the bill, it did promise to maintain the colleges if the state returned them.

Weber s next crisis came when, in 1949, Governor J. Bracken Lee vetoed Weber s attempt to become a four-year college.

7 14. A Save Weber petition gleaned some 57,000 signatures for a referendum in November 1954, asking voters to preserve Weber College as a state institution. Already four classroom buildings were open on the new campus. Here, students mingle outside building Number In March 1952, Weber College President Aldous Dixon (dark suit, white hat) participated in a groundbreaking for the new campus. He is surrounded by contractors, civic leaders, and educators.

Here, students mingle outside building Number 1. 13.

8 16. This projection of the completed campus was used for publicity (and optimistically included empty parking places). 15. To strengthen an early Nursing program, in May 1953 Weber College affiliated with Columbia University and five other colleges, establishing an associate degree program in Nursing. The first class of nurses to earn associate degrees graduated in spring 1955.

To strengthen an early Nursing program, in May 1953 Weber College affiliated with Columbia

9 18. In 1959, Weber s athletic tradition boasted the National Junior College Basketball Championship. 17. On March 19, 1959, President William P. Miller observed as Gorvernor George D. Clyde signed a bill making Weber a four-year college at last.

10 20. In the decades before computers, lines of students stretched across campus when the time came to register for classes. 19. The Temporary Union Building, known as TUB, became the center of student life by 1961.

Enrolled Copy H.B. 86 UTAH COLLEGE OF APPLIED TECHNOLOGY AMENDMENTS. Chief Sponsor: Ron Bigelow Senate Sponsor: Beverly Ann Evans

Enrolled Copy H.B. 86 UTAH COLLEGE OF APPLIED TECHNOLOGY AMENDMENTS. Chief Sponsor: Ron Bigelow Senate Sponsor: Beverly Ann Evans UTAH COLLEGE OF APPLIED TECHNOLOGY AMENDMENTS 2005 GENERAL SESSION STATE OF UTAH Chief Sponsor: Ron Bigelow Senate Sponsor: Beverly Ann Evans LONG TITLE General Description: This bill modifies provisions