EPHRAIM, Utah-Thursday afternoon, Bradley J. Cook was officially inaugurated as the 17th president of Snow College at the Eccles Performing Arts Center Theater.
Cook was bestowed with the prestigious symbol of his inauguration, a scepter with the trademark Snow College orange “S” on the top.
This ceremony was performed by Snow College Board of Trustees president Leslie Kiesel and Utah Board of Regents vice chair Nina Barnes.
Other dignitaries on hand included Utah Lieutenant Governor, Spencer J. Cox, current Eastern Kentucky University President Michael Benson and Snow College student body president Ben Scheffner, each of whom addressed the audience during the proceedings.
Also addressing the audience were Cook’s wife, Jen Cook, their son, Sam, Barnes and Kiesel.
During his inaugural address, Cook confirmed that $4 million have been raised during his tenure for donations toward student scholarships.
Showing ambition, Cook said the next goal is to raise $5 million in such donations while he called upon the audience and community members to assist in this regard in any way they can.
A key theme of Cook’s remarks was that keeping Snow College affordable amid rising costs in academia is of paramount importance.
He, invoking Cox’s comments about the job market changing throughout the world and especially in the Beehive State, stated that “new collar” jobs (as opposed to prototypical white collar and blue collar jobs) are what the landscape is bringing forth.
Therefore, he confirmed that Snow College is doing all it can to give students opportunities to excel in these spheres.
Cook announced a partnership between Snow College and Lehi-based Bottega, a silicone slipes company.
Furthermore, he announced the implementation on campus of The Grit Center For Rural Entrepreneurship, citing Generation Z’s collective desire to become entrepreneurs.
In this context, “GRIT” stands for “grassroots, resources, innovate (innovation) and tenacious.”
Additionally, in hopes of helping adults who would like to return to college and have not yet achieved collegiate degrees, the Stoddard Building of Studies and Rural Development will commence construction on the Ephraim campus.
In conclusion, Cook announced that effective this summer, Snow College will host the “Mormon Heritage Festival.”
This will epitomize the cultural heritage of the 6-county area that U.S. Highway 89 overlaps and will replace the now-defunct Mormon Miracle Pageant.
