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Board Of Regents Selects New Weber State University President

COURTESY OF WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY

Weber State University’s newest president is a familiar face to the campus.

 

Brad Mortensen was selected on Thursday by the Utah State Board of Regents to be the university’s 13th president.

Mortensen has been with the university since 2004 and he served as a vice president of university advancement for 11 years.

“I just couldn’t be more excited and humbled to take on this responsibility,” he said.

Among the challenges Mortensen will face is managing Weber State’s growth, increasing student retention rates and figuring out how to help first-generation college students. The Ogden-based university has a student body of more than 28,000.

Former university President Charles Wight stepped down from the post in June 2018. Wight is now the president of Salisbury University in Maryland. Vice President for Administrative Services Norm Tarbox has been serving as interim president since Wight left.

As vice president of university advancement, Mortensen worked closely with university faculty and staff, but also built bridges beyond the campus with budget and policy makers and donors, said Madonne Miner, Weber State’s provost. Miner sees Mortensen’s experience as an asset as he transitions into his office.

“All of that, I think, is going to multiply in his new role and bear fruit for us that will be really exceptional,” she said.

 

Mortensen will step into his new role early next year, with an annual salary of about $300,000, said Commissioner of Higher Education David Buhler.

Rocio is coming to KUER after spending most of her life under the blistering Las Vegas sun and later Phoenix. She earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and Spanish at the University of Nevada, Reno. She did brief stints at The Associated Press, the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Reno Public Radio. She enjoys wandering through life with her husband and their toy poodle.
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