The board of regents for the Utah System of Higher Education has selected Noelle Cockett as the 16th president of Utah State University. When she takes office, Dr. Cockett will be the first woman to lead the university. The land-grant university based in Logan, Utah, enrolls more than 25,000 undergraduate students and more than 3,300 graduates students. Women make up 53 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Since 2013, Dr. Cockett has served as executive vice president and provost at the university. From 2006 to 2013, she was vice president for extension and agriculture. From 2002 to 2013, Dr. Cockett was dean of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences.
In accepting the promotion, Dr. Cockett stated: “I am deeply humbled and greatly honored to be named as the 16th president of Utah State University. Today, I pledge to all in the USU community that as president I will tirelessly devote my skills, experience and energy to keeping this institution true to its land grant mission, to doing everything possible to increase its success and impact and ensure that it flourishes and continues its tradition of excellence in the years to come.”
Dr. Cockett holds master’s and doctoral degrees in animal genetics from Oregon State University.