SALT LAKE CITY — For decades, Olene Walker was a pioneer in Utah politics and driving force in helping the Beehive State become a national pioneer in the effort to enhance resources for the unemployed and people in need of social services. Today, the memory of Utah's only woman governor will now be recognized in a way that will honor her legacy for decades more to come.
On Thursday, marking the 20th anniversary of the Utah Department of Workforce Services, Gov. Gary Herbert renamed the agency’s downtown administration office the Olene S. Walker Building — in recognition of the former governor's contributions to the formation of the department 20 years ago.
“Gov. Walker was a visionary leader who left behind an indelible legacy of public service,” Herbert said during a ceremony in downtown Salt Lake City. “The innovative organizational structure Gov. Walker envisioned for Workforce Services during her time is now a proven standard, which other states strive to emulate.”
Two decades ago, then-Lt. Gov. Olene Walker chaired the Workforce Development Task Force, which eventually lead to the creation of a new system for Utah that ultimately became a model for the rest of the country. DWS was officially launched on July 1, 1997, following Gov. Mike Leavitt's signing of Senate Bill 166. At the time, it made Utah the first state to consolidate employment and public assistance programs into one department, allowing patrons to more easily access an array of services at any of the “one-stop” employment centers statewide.
“We had nearly 30 different programs in various departments in state government and it just cried out for a better solution,” Leavitt told the audience gathered on the plaza in front of the newly renamed DWS building. “Olene came to me and said we don’t need a new program, we need to knit this into a new department and call it the Department of Workforce Services.”
With the recent passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Utah was recognized as a national leader in integrating critical services, DWS Executive Director Jon Pierpont said. With several states finding challenges to combining all the required programs, Utah was in position to implement the act because the majority of the programs were already aligned as part of the department’s creation 20 years ago, he noted.
“It is because of the sound foundation laid down by Gov. Walker that this department is able to assist as many people as we do as effectively as we do,” he said. “We take seriously our responsibility to administer taxpayer dollars in a way that maximizes impact for the good of our state. With every new person who finds economic stability comes a stronger Utah.”
In addition to the building renaming, the agency also unveiled a new logo prominently featuring a “W” for “workforce” and symbolism of open doors and stairs moving upward, meant to represent how the department helps people achieve their goals, he added.
“Recognizing the transformation that has taken place in the past 20 years, it’s time for Workforce Services to embrace a new look and a new logo to represent the work we do for all Utahns,” Pierpont said.