President Scott L Wyatt 
President | Southern Utah University
Cedar City, UT, UNITED STATES
A leader in higher education specializing in creating transformative learning experiences and achieving high-quality outcomes.
Biography
Scott L Wyatt is Southern Utah University’s 16th president. His priorities for SUU are summarized in the University’s new vision statement: “Southern Utah University will receive national recognition for its innovations in learning, student success, and providing the best educational experience in the Intermountain West.”
During his time at the university, SUU has led Utah’s colleges and universities in student enrollment growth, launched the University of the Parks initiative, opened a new veterans center, started a center for diversity and inclusion, and seen the construction or acquisition of more than $60 million worth of capital improvement projects.
Prior to his appointment at SUU, Wyatt served as president of Snow College, in Ephraim, Utah. Before that he was a member of the Utah House of Representatives, a partner in the Logan, Utah law firm, Daines, Wyatt & Jenkins, LLP., and the Cache County Attorney. His pubic practice focused on prosecuting homicide, domestic violence, and sexual violence cases, along with leading victim services and educational programs.
President Wyatt spends most of his time supporting students, staff, and faculty, as they explore diverse ideas, create transformative learning experiences, and achieve high-quality outcomes. Wyatt earned a bachelor’s degree from Utah State University, with a dual major in philosophy and economics. His J.D. is from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law.
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Industry Expertise (7)
Government Administration
Legislative Office
Fund-Raising
Writing and Editing
Research
Legal Services
Education/Learning
Areas of Expertise (23)
Higher Education Access and Affordability
Organizational Changes in Higher Education
Dual Enrollment in Higher Education
Law
Campaigns and Elections
American National Government
Domestic Violence (Partner and Victim)
Sexual Violence
Enrollment Planning
Ethics
Education Research
Higher Education Administration
General Education Reform
Legal Practice
Strategic Planning
Fundraising and Business Development
Academic & Administrative Leadership
Dating Violence
State and Local Government
Higher Education Policy
University Campus Safety
Student Success Strategies
Higher Education Innovation
Education (2)
Utah State University: B.S., Philosophy & Economics
University of Utah: J.D., Law
Accomplishments (15)
Outstanding Experiential Education Program Award
National Society for Experiential Education
Crime Victims Service Award (professional)
Utah Council on Victims of Crime and Utah Commission of Criminal and Juvenile Justice
Governor's Leadership in the Arts Award
Utah Division of Arts and Museums 2017
Professor of Political Science, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah, 2015-present (professional)
Faculty appointment in the Political Science Department.
President, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah, 2014–present (professional)
Serves as CEO of a state university. Faculty appointment in the Political Science Department.
President, Snow College, Ephraim, Utah, 2007–2014 (professional)
Served as CEO of state, two-year college with multiple campuses.
Representative, Utah State Legislature, District 5, 2005-2007 (professional)
Standing Committees: House Political Subdivisions Committee, Judiciary Committee, House Business and Labor Committee, and Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee
Instructor, Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative, American Bar Association, 2005 (professional)
Taught seminars to trial and appellate court judges throughout western Ukraine to assist members of the judiciary in the former Soviet Union implement democratic principles into their practices and constitutional revision efforts
Partner, Daines & Wyatt, LLP, 2002-2007, 1990-2004 (professional)
Managed private law firm, consulted with local government officials regarding management and public relations matters and provided legal counsel to cities, towns, businesses, and individuals.
Candidate, United States House of Representative, 2002 (professional)
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Silver Gavel Award for Media and the Arts (professional)
With KSL-TV Salt Lake City, Utah for the documentary entitled, “It’s Called Rape.”, American Bar Association, 1999
County Attorney, Cache County, Utah, 1995-2002 (professional)
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Member, Snow College Board of Trustees, Ephraim, Utah 1993-2005 (professional)
Served as a member of the advisory board with delegated governing Responsibilities.
City Attorney, 1990-2007 (professional)
Served as City Attorney for several cities and towns
Campaign Volunteer, 1976-2006 (professional)
Managed or consulted with approximately 20 national, state and local campaigns, including Republican and Democratic candidates
Affiliations (12)
- Big Sky Athletic Conference
- Bear River Mental Health Board of Directors, 2003-07
- Cache County Victim Services
- Curriculum Development Committee, The National Institute for the Prosecution of Sexual Violence, American Prosecutors Research Institute, 2004-2007
- Experiential Learning Leadership Institute
- National Advisory Committee on Domestic Violence, 2006-2008
- National Society for Experiential Education
- Serious Misconduct Taskforce, Big Sky Conference, NCAA
- United States Supreme Court Bar, 1993-present
- Utah State Bar, 1990-present
- Utah System of Higher Education
- Violence Against Women Act Measuring Effectiveness Initiative Project Advisory Committee, University of Southern Maine, 2000-2002
Links (2)
Media Appearances (13)
President of Southern Utah University — a champion for not increasing tuition — will step down this year
The Salt Lake Tribune online
2021-06-15
“I am immensely grateful for the years I’ve had at Southern Utah University,” Wyatt said in a statement. Along with his wife, Kathy, he added: “Part of our hearts will stay in Cedar City forever; we will remain supporters of the university for the rest of our lives.”
A public university bachelor’s degree for $9,000? They’re not kidding
Deseret News online
2021-05-02
“I think the cost of higher education and access for everyone is a really difficult problem,” says Wyatt.
Southern Utah University Might Just Have The Cheapest 4-Year Degree Program In The Country
Kuer online
2021-03-29
“We believe this is the least expensive bachelor's degree in the United States,” said SUU president Scott Wyatt. “We have not been able to find one less expensive offered by a public college or university.”
College in Utah will cost more next fall — with one exception
Deseret News online
2021-03-26
On average, tuition at Utah’s degree-granting colleges and universities will increase by just under 2%, with all but Southern Utah University seeking a slight hike. Next fall, SUU’s tuition and fees will decrease by $44, or 0.64%. This was the third consecutive year the university sought no increase and for the coming year, reducing costs.
Southern Utah University to teach students how to run a no-kill animal shelter
The Salt Lake Tribune online
2019-12-10
“Our goal is to help strengthen the quality of the education and deliver credit in a format that’s helpful to all of the students who want to be engaged in this great mission,” President Scott Wyatt added. “Perhaps this will even evolve into a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree in animal services in the future.”
Ending Tuition Unfairness for Online (and Part-Time) Student
Inside Higher Ed online
2019-08-28
Most of Southern Utah's part-time students study online, where the anytime, anywhere nature of the course delivery meshes better with lives complicated by work, family and other responsibilities. And the overwhelmingly majority of the university's online students -- upward of 90 percent -- are taking fewer than 12 credits, with the average being seven. "In reality, by the time they get a bachelor's degree done, they have paid considerably more than the face-to-face student," Wyatt says.
SUU president Embarks on 170-mile 'Grand to Grand' Run for Campus Childcare Center
Deseret News online
2018-09-23
Southern Utah University President Scott Wyatt on Sunday embarked on a 170-mile, seven-day run through the Grand Canyon that culminates at the summit of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
College Presidents Land a New Gig: Podcasting
The Chronicle of Higher Education online
2018-08-16
As it turned out, the president’s office made for a terrible recording studio. Air conditioning whirred. The floors of the building, dedicated in 1898, creaked. And the walls were thin enough to hear noises from surrounding rooms. So Scott L. Wyatt, Southern Utah University’s president, moved the makeshift podcast studio to a "small, junky" bedroom in a midcentury house adjacent to the campus, in Cedar City. Nobody was around. He could turn off the fan.
SUU Wins National Experiential Learning Award
USA Today online
2015-09-21
“Our project based learning program has taken an enormous amount of work over the last five years and I m extremely proud of what our faculty and staff have accomplished,” said SUU President Scott Wyatt. “Our students and their future employers are the beneficiaries.
General education gets a makeover at Utah university
Inside Higher Ed print
2015-11-06
The way most colleges teach general education to undergraduates is hopelessly broken, according to a group of professors and administrators at Southern Utah University.
‘Speeding up innovation’: SUU president Scott Wyatt on the future of higher ed
Desert News online
2020-07-22
Innovation comes slowly to institutions that have been around for a very, very long time.
Southern Utah University President Scott L Wyatt: “Here Are 5 Things That Should Be Done to Improve the US Educational System”
Authority Magazine online
2019-11-06
I had the pleasure of interviewing Scott L Wyatt. Scott is Southern Utah University’s 16th president. His priorities for SUU are summarized in the University’s new vision statement: “Southern Utah University will receive national recognition for its innovations in learning, student success, and providing the best educational experience in the Intermountain West.”
Even Amid Covid-19, Enrollment Soared at This University. Here’s Why.
The Chronicle of higher Education online
2020-09-28
Five years ago, two administrators at Southern Utah University worked evenings calling hundreds of students who had dropped out to ask them why. The causes, they learned, weren’t exactly surprising: financial challenges. Family problems. Poor fit. The usual reasons students leave without a degree. But after students repeatedly said they didn’t know where to go or whom to talk to about their reasons for leaving, the administrators had a revelation.
Courses (7)
Civil War to Civil Rights
Honors Course
The Writings and Speeches of Abraham Lincoln
Honors Course
POLS 1100 American National Government
Source of democratic ideas and principles of the constitutional system. Cultural, group, party and governmental influences on the process of public policymaking. The administration and impact of public policy.
PHIL 3400 Mind, Language, and Reality
This course examines issues in metaphysics. Topics include causation, determinism, consciousness, artificial intelligence, language, and reality.
POLS 3120 Courts
Examination of law, courts, judges, the legal profession and their roles in the larger political system with an emphasis on judicial processes, U.S. courts compared to other nations, and current issues surrounding the legal system.
TEAL 6740 School Law
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POLS 2300 Introduction to Political Thought
An introductory survey of key political ideas, concepts, and movements from antiquity to the 21st century.
Social