Programs

Fry Street Quartet

Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences

Mentors and coaches for university students by day—professional musicians by night.

It's not often that university students get to study with professors who combine classroom activity with performances at concert venues around the world. USU students have the unique opportunity to learn from the Fry Street Quartet—the Faculty String-Quartet-in-Residence in the Caine School of the Arts and the Department of Music.

"Our string music majors are receiving the type of high-quality instruction one usually finds only at a fine music conservatory," says Music Department Head Bruce Saperston.

Throughout the year, Fry Street members—William Fedkenheuer, violin; Rebecca McFaul, violin; Russell Fallstad, viola; and Ann Francis, cello—are in the classroom teaching, coaching or conducting rehearsals with student musicians. They travel into the community to work with high school musicians as well. The quartet completed the Chamber Music Mentoring Program at Logan High School, a program sponsored by the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation and the Utah Arts Council. The high school students worked with the Fry Street Quartet, and talented USU students joined the sessions as coaches, becoming mentors themselves.

The Fry Street Quartet's residency at Utah State has a powerful impact on the level of programming the Music Department provides for its music majors, the general student population and the local community.

"The quartet's residency has also greatly enhanced the cultural environment of the university through performances by the quartet, our numerous student chamber groups and, of course, the outstanding USU Symphony Orchestra, which is clearly the best in the region," Saperston says.

The effects of the quartet's residency are beginning to show. When the Fry Street Quartet joined the faculty at Utah State University four and a half years ago, there were six string majors. That number has risen to 45 string majors—all among the most highly talented students in the region.

Andrew Burgon

Science

USU undergrad Andrew Burgon tells family and friends his faculty mentor David York is to obesity research what director Steven Spielberg is to filmmaking.

"I'm incredibly fortunate to be working with someone of his stature," says Burgon, a biology major who hopes to enter dental or medical school. "Not only is he a great thinker, but he takes the time to involve me in every aspect of the experimental process."

Burgon is exploring the impact of nutrition on such 21st century plagues as obesity, Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease with USTAR Professor York and research assistant professor MieJung Park at USU's Center for Advanced Nutrition.

"They're so proactive about teaching me experimental processes and techniques and then letting me run the experiment," says Burgon of his mentors. "It's really cool to have these hands-on experiences and be a part of an important project."

"Undergraduate research gives students a totally different perspective on the information they're learning in class," says York. "Working in the lab helps them appreciate the amount of effort, along with the sophisticated techniques and methods, needed to reach scientific conclusions."

Park says students involved in research glean important insights and learn to work collaboratively.

"Students gain greater enthusiasm for their studies when they have opportunities to work alongside scientists."

Before selecting USU as his college destination, Burgon considered another school that touted teaching over research. "They claimed I would receive more attention from professors if they weren't involved in research," he says. "But I can't imagine a place where I'd receive more personalized learning than Utah State."

Vance Twitchell

Athletics

Athlete Vance Twitchell knows the kind of dedication it takes to be competitive in sports. He was named to the All-Mountain Region Team this fall by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association after leading the team to success all season.

But Twitchell knows how to make dedication to success work for him in the classroom too. The senior from Helena, Mont., is again on the Dean's List in a rigorous civil engineering program in the College of Engineering.

"When I'm not competing, I have to focus and budget my time well," he says.

"There's not a lot of excess time for entertainment, only time for homework and time for studying."

Twitchell is lucky, he says, in that his wife, Jennie, also is on the track and cross country teams and travels to the same meets. And Jennie, too, is both an exceptional athlete and exceptional in the classroom as well.

The Twitchells are just two of a number of student-athletes who have led Utah State to honors both on and off the field. Utah State is ranked first in the Western Athletic Conference and second among peer institutions in graduation success rate for student-athletes. When compared with peer institutions, other land-grant universities and universities with a similar profile, Utah State is ranked second among a list of several prominent universities that includes Pennsylvania State University and Texas A&M.

"This is a great honor for the university and for the student-athletes themselves," says Stan L. Albrecht, president of Utah State University.

"It offers compelling evidence that our student-athletes are applying themselves in every aspect of their college career. We take pride in ensuring that our student-athletes will have a bright future no matter which path they choose in life."

Twitchell says it definitely helps that his professors have been understanding and adaptable with course schedules and alternate assignments to accommodate sometimes hectic travel requirements during the competition seasons.