LOGAN – On Friday, Nov. 21, new Utah State University President Dr. Brad Mortensen talked about his first 12 days on campus, also explaining his early days as a college student which took him from Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) to Utah State University then back to Ricks working through a year-long internship supporting Ricks’ vice presidents.
It was during that time Ricks President Steve Bennion advised him if he wanted to work in higher education, he should become a state budget analyst, which would help him see how the money flows.
So, he and his wife Camille and their first child Brynn were off to Syracuse University for an MPA (master’s in public administration).
His Syracuse University degree prepared him for work he was seeking as a state budget analyst, first in Arizona, then in Utah Governor Mike Leavitt’s budget office as the higher education policy analyst for two years. In the next four years at the Utah Board of Regents Office, he learned to understand the budget at USU and of all of Utah’s higher education institutions. He was responsible for tracking all the budgets through the legislative process.
“Steve Bennion was very correct because in the early portion of my career I got this big picture view of how state government works,” Mortensen said. “I saw how the funding processes work and I got to see how the politics play out and how to work with all of the institutions.”
Later as he was joining Weber State in 2004, some of his early assignments included working in NCAA compliance, overseeing the mail service and the ticket office, plus involvement in legislative support and alumni donor support.
When he joined Weber State 21 years ago, he said he had never imagined becoming a university president. He was named the school’s vice president in 2007 before he took over as president in 2018.
He said he enjoyed his time at Weber State but when the opportunity at his alma mater opened he said he had to give it a shot.