[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 8, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S131]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RECOGNIZING WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY

  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, this week marks the 125th anniversary of the 
first week of classes at Weber State University, and I would like to 
take a moment to officially recognize this valued Utah institution.
  In the mid-1800s, pioneers from the Mormon Church, also know as the 
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, settled an area 35 miles 
north of Salt Lake City, known as the Weber Valley. The surrounding 
area, including the Weber River, was earlier named in honor of John 
Henry Weber, a noted frontier trapper with the Rocky Mountain Fur 
Company.
  As our country continued westward expansion, it became necessary to 
create territorial governments. During this expansive period, Congress 
passed the Compromise of 1850, part of which created the Utah 
Territory. The territorial government oversaw general administrative 
matters, including the establishment of schools, during the latter half 
of the 19th century. The region experienced an increase in population, 
as Mormons and non-Mormons alike came to further settle the West. With 
the driving of the golden spike at nearby promontory summit in 1869, 
the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad brought tremendous 
economic growth to the Weber Valley.
  As the Mormon settlers grew in numbers and cultivated the land, they 
also created institutions of learning for themselves and their 
children. In 1888, members of the Mormon Church were encouraged by 
their leaders to institute local boards of education to oversee the 
creation of schools that could teach the principles of religion in 
conjunction with the standard curriculum of the day.
  In 1889, the regional group of Mormon congregations, known as the 
Weber Stake of Zion, started the Weber Stake Academy for the education 
of local students who had passed the sixth grade. The school was ``open 
to students of either sex, and of any religious denomination or 
nationality.'' The mission of the academy was ``to provide an education 
which includes moral culture, as well as mental and physical 
training.'' Courses were offered in theology, business, pedagogy and 
psychology, languages, English and literature, natural and physical 
science, mathematics, history, and political science.
  The school grew in notoriety and enrollment over the following 20 
years. In 1918, it was renamed ``Weber Normal College'' and 
subsequently ``Weber College,'' as the institution eventually dropped 
all preparatory and high school education to focus on college-level 
education. During the first few decades of the 20th century, the famed 
purple and white were chosen as school colors, and the wildcat was 
apparently adopted as the school mascot after a reporter dubbed the 
football players ``scrappy as a bunch of wildcats.''
  As the 1920s closed, the Great Depression began to take shape and 
Weber College, like all other institutions at the time, did not foresee 
the financial calamity that would befall her. After a few years of 
struggle, the Weber College Board, in conjunction with the church's 
Board of Education, transferred the school to the State of Utah in 
1933. The subsequent years were very difficult for faculty and 
students, but the junior college persevered and continued to mold good 
citizens.
  The school carried along and grew in size as the Depression subsided. 
With the attack on Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into 
World War II, Weber College's faculty and students did all that they 
could to support the war efforts. Many students joined the armed 
forces, and the school helped in training naval cadets and radio 
operators for the military.
  Because of the war, mostly women attended the school, and they ``had 
to hold things down until the fellows returned to campus,'' as one 
alumna recalled. In 1945, the school even held a dance called the 
``Polygamist Prance,'' which was girl's choice. To make sure that all 
the girls could attend, the boys were to accept all requests for a 
date. Many boys showed up at the dance with 5 or 10 dates, and even 
though such a ration was unfair to the girls, the students had a great 
time.
  Although it was a tremendously difficult time for the entire country, 
Weber College students, showing the spirit of America's greatest 
generation, exhibited principled leadership and courage through the 
storm of World War II. In all, 82 faculty and alumni did not return 
from Europe or the Pacific, and all were profoundly affected by the 
great and terrible conflict.
  As the war came to a close, Weber prepared for the return of many 
soldiers who were anxious to go to college. Enrollment exploded from 
465 students in 1945 to over 2,000 students in 1959, and 3,000 students 
in 1962. During this time of expansion, the Utah Legislature directed 
the State board of education to find a new place for the burgeoning 
school. The college was subsequently moved from downtown Ogden to 
Harrison Boulevard, where it currently resides today.
  In 1959, the men's basketball team, an ever-formidable force, won the 
Junior College National Championship. In that same year, the Utah 
Legislature passed a bill allowing Weber College to become a 4-year 
senior college, and the first courses contributing to 4-year degrees 
were offered in 1962. The next year, Weber College became Weber State 
College, and the campus was greatly expanded during this time.
  Weber continued to grow and progress as Weber State College over the 
subsequent 30 years, and in 1991 Weber State College was made Weber 
State University. The university now has more than 26,000 full- and 
part-time students and offers more than 250 undergraduate degrees and 
11 graduate degrees. The athletic programs continue to be ranked among 
the best in their divisions, and the arts at Weber State continue to 
enrich the lives of many Utahns.
  President Charles A. Wright now continues the tradition of excellence 
in leadership, which has been passed down for 125 years. Weber State 
boasts many notable alumni, and the institution continues to fulfill 
its mission to serve ``as an educational, cultural, and economic leader 
for the region.''
  Although I normally bleed blue, I have set aside this week to bleed 
purple with my Wildcat friends and colleagues. I congratulate the 
countless students and faculty members who have worked hard to make 
Weber State University what it is today. May the next 125 years be as 
tremendous as the last, and may the ensign of truth and right continue 
to proudly wave o're ole Weber.

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