Campus bash: The University of Utah’s celebrating its 175th birthday

The Oct. 16 175th Celebration Bash formally concludes a historic year at Utah’s flagship university — which was founded on Feb. 28, 1850, under the direction of Latter-day Saint prophet Brigham Young.

A proper “Dodransbicentennial” calls for a party, right?

The University of Utah is inviting the public to celebrate its 175th anniversary — aka, its Dodransbicentennial — for a free campus celebration.

The school’s 175th Celebration Bash is slated for Thursday, Oct. 16, at the A. Ray Olpin Student Union. Festivities start at 5 p.m., with a drone and light show starting at 7:30 p.m.

“From Day 1, the ‘U’ dared to dream bigger and climb higher, and we are thrilled to commemorate nearly two centuries of achievements alongside the campus community, students, friends and alums who’ve helped make it all possible,” according to a university release.

All are invited. Families are welcome — and all events and refreshments are free. Highlights will include dancing, a live band, games, caricature artists and desserts from the university kitchen.

Free parking will be available in several locations around the celebration, with shuttle service running from the Central Garage and the Rice-Eccles Stadium.

1850: Founding a ‘glorious institution … where knowledge may be disseminated’

University of Utah 175 Years_HO_00011.JPG — University of Utah students are pictured repainting the Block U above the campus in Salt Lake City in this undated photograph. | J. Willard Marriott Library Spec

The Oct. 16 175th Celebration Bash formally concludes a historic year at Utah’s flagship university — which was founded on Feb. 28, 1850, under the direction of Latter-day Saint prophet Brigham Young.

Originally named the University of Deseret, the University of Utah was the first university west of the Missouri River.

While founding regent Williams Ivans Appleby likely never envisioned today’s sprawling, hyper-modern 1,500-plus acres campus on the base of the Wasatch Mountains, his words — recorded in 1850 — have proven prescient:

“We wish … (to) lay the foundation of a glorious institution …, where knowledge may be disseminated in all its various branches, where literature, arts and sciences can be taught in all their present perfection and improved thereon.”

The work of Appleby and other founders, said University of Utah president Taylor Randall, “is the bedrock for the student-focused teaching, innovative research, world-class health care and thoughtful service performed every day by our campus community.”

Humble beginnings — 175 years ago

University of Utah 175 Years_HO_00001.JPG — An aerial view of the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City is pictured in 1939. | J. Willard Marriott Library Spec

University of Utah 175 Years_HO_00007.JPG — Rice Stadium, now Rice-Eccles Stadium, on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City is pictured in this aerial photo from the 1960s. | J. Willard Marriott Library Spec

University of Utah 175 Years_HO_00009.JPG — University of Utah students participate in commencement exercises in 1946. | J. Willard Marriott Library Spec

University of Utah 175 Years_HO_00006.JPG — Cummings Field, an early University of Utah athletic field, is pictured in this undated photo with sprinklers running. | J. Willard Marriott Library Spec

University of Utah 175 Years_HO_00008.JPG — Construction of the Special Events Center, now the Jon M. Huntsman Center, on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City in the 1960’s. | J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections

University of Utah 175 Years_HO_00004.JPG — The Museum Building (Talmadge) is pictured on the left and the Normal Building (Emery) on the right on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City between 1900-1940, | J. Willard Marriott Library Spec

University of Utah 175 Years_HO_00014.JPG — The Calisthenics Army Specialized Training Unit exercises trains on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City in 1943 | J. Willard Marriott Library Spec

University of Utah 175 Years_HO_00005.JPG — Cars are parked along Presidents Circle on the University of Utah campus in the 1960s. | J. Willard Marriott Library Spec

University of Utah 175 Years_HO_00003.JPG — University of Utah students are pictured walking between classes with a snow-covered campus at Presidents Circle in the late 1960s or early 1970s. | J. Willard Marriott Library Spec

University of Utah 175 Years_HO_00012.JPG — The University of Utah’s football team is pictured on Oct. 7, 1905. | J. Willard Marriott Library Spec

University of Utah 175 Years_HO_00013.JPG — Artillery exercises on the campus of the University of Utah are pictured in 1918 in Salt Lake City. | J. Willard Marriott Library Spec

The University of Deseret was opened in 1850 in the John Pack home in downtown Salt Lake City and chartered 25 students who paid $8 for a quarter’s tuition. For adjusted inflation, that amount equates to about $330 today.

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Economics forced the shuttering of the University of Deseret in 1853. But Brigham Young reopened the school in 1869, appointing John R. Park as the school’s first official president.

A bit of President Park trivia: The forward-thinking leader established branches in areas across the state, including one in Provo — the Timpanogos Branch — that would later become Brigham Young Academy and, eventually, Brigham Young University.

In 1892, the school was formally renamed the University of Utah — and the Utah Territorial Legislature petitioned Congress for 60 acres to be utilized for a new campus. That request was granted in 1894, landing the university on the east bench of the Salt Lake Valley where it operates today.

In its effort to secure statehood, territory leaders separated its public education system from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the institution became a secular school.

Utah became a state in 1896.

Looking ahead: Conjuring ‘College Town Magic’

Even while celebrating its 175 year history, campus leaders are crafting a future for the arts and sciences that founding regent Appleby would likely approve.

Major physical developments are underway at the University of Utah — signaling a transition from what’s traditionally been a commuter campus into a “destination campus” with significant increases in campus residential housing.

The future University of Utah is expected to be divided into distinct “districts” — anchored by a district dubbed “College Town Magic” that’s being designed to enhance the university experience with housing, dining, integrated arts and cultural space, retail, recreation spaces and plazas.

And last year, the University of Utah and the U.S. Army Reserve announced a historic land transfer and relocation agreement.

Using more than $100 million appropriated by the Utah Legislature, the University of Utah is building a headquarters for the Army Reserve at Camp Williams, clearing the way for the military to vacate the remaining 50.9 acres it occupies just east of the university campus.

Following the relocation of the Army Reserve, the historic Fort Douglas property will be transferred to the University of Utah for future campus development.

Source: Utah News