After months of searching and interviews of more than 46 applicants, Matthew S. Holland was chosen as the next president of UVU. He will assume his presidential duties on July 1, 2009. What does this new president mean for students? “Students can expect great involvement in student activities from him,” said Jed Pitcher, chair of the presidential search committee.

Nunchucks, Tahitian dancing, guitar-playing, opera and reciting monologues were some of the varied talents seen at the 2009 Miss UVU that took place a week ago. UVU student Lauren Burton took home the crown along with a full-tuition scholarship for next year and a $200 book scholarship from the UVU bookstore.

Tuition is likely to increase, according to UVU Director of Budget and Planning Linda Makin in a statutory tuition hearing last Tuesday. UVU is the first higher education institution in Utah to hold the state-required hearing this year. Makin, along with Interim President Elizabeth Hitch, discussed what to expect in terms of tuition costs next year.

Kickboxing champion of Central Asia, Azamat Umarzoda of Tajikistan, is now one of the newest members of Utah Valley University’s student body. Umarzoda, who transferred to UVU this semester, is currently studying ESL at UVU and training in Orem for his next kickboxing competition.

In an effort to help young Latino students prepare for college, UVU student volunteers and faculty members hosted local eighth graders last week. Around 36 Latino eighth graders from Centennial Middle School in Provo came to UVU as part of the school’s Latino Outreach program.

With Barack Obama recently sworn into office as the new U.S. President, a panel of Utah professors will be at Utah Valley University discussing the topic of “New Presidency: A Turning Point in History?” on Feb. 3 from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. at Center Stage in the Sorensen Student Center.

With more than 3,500 pounds of food donated from UVU students, the UVU Service Council considers its winter food drive a success. “We completely underestimated the generosity of UVU students,” said Rich Doxey of the UVU Service Council. “Even though the economy has struggled, students were still willing to give.

Increased tuition, less faculty and decreased funding are a few of the concerns going through many minds at UVU because of the unstable economy resulting in budget cuts at UVU. These are speculative concerns until the Utah State Legislature meets for its general session, slated to begin Jan.

As students, many of us log on to UVlink to check our grades and announcements. But many students don’t realize some of the hidden perks of using some of UVlink’s features. 1. Post an announcement- If you are part of a club or organization on campus and want to get the word out about your events, the best way is to put an announcement on UVlink.

As the new year rolls around, so will the Utah Transit Authority’s (UTA) new electronic fare collection system (EFC). Starting Jan. 1, bus riders will be required to tap their card against an electronic reader when boarding and tap off when exiting a bus or train platform.