- Utah Valley University signs partnership with Draper's Loveland Living Planet Aquarium.
- The union is expected to offer oceanography study and research opportunities for UVU undergraduates.
- The aquarium has also partnered with Utah State University.
Marie Taylor hails from arid Saratoga Springs, Utah — hundreds of miles away from the nearest ocean.
But the Utah Valley University zoology student has a love for marine biology, spending time in South Carolina studying wild bottlenose dolphin behavior.
Now for Taylor and many other fellow UVU students across several academic fields, the oceans’ wonders are just a short drive from the school’s Orem campus to Draper’s Loveland Living Planet Aquarium.
On Wednesday, UVU formally entered into an institutional partnership with the sprawling aquarium that has long been a popular destination for sea-loving Utah kids and their families.
The partnership is expected to provide UVU undergraduates with expanded learning and research opportunities that would have once been the sole claim of coastal institutions.
More chances for local, hands-on study is happy news for UVU science students such as Taylor.
“Doing dolphin research is amazing, but it can be hard because we have to travel across the country to do it,” Taylor told the Deseret News.
“Now we’ll be able to research organisms right here in Utah — and we’ll be able to take field trips here to learn more about things and take classes to learn more about marine biology in general.”
Wednesday’s UVU agreement is not the aquarium’s first partnership with Utah’s public higher education system.
In 2024, the aquarium signed a similar partnership with Utah State University to enrich marine science studies by providing an on-site lab and integrating college coursework with the aquarium.
Landlocked USU now offers a minor in marine science.
Highlights of the UVU/aquarium partnership include:
- Field-based courses hosted on-site at the aquarium.
- Interdisciplinary coursework integrating aquarium science, aquaculture and hydroponic systems.
- Expanded study opportunities in marine conservation, animal behavior and rehabilitation.
- Increased undergraduate research and creative work experiences.
- And, finally, a dedicated lab space within the Sam & Aline Skaggs Science Learning Center neighboring their USU colleagues.
Aquatic partnership to benefit a variety of ‘Wolverines’
UVU and Loveland Living Planet Aquarium leadership gathered at the Draper aquarium Wednesday to celebrate their partnership, conduct tours of the new on-site UVU research lab and sign a memorandum of understanding formalizing the union.
“This moment represents a shared commitment to engaged learning and discovery; preparing students across every discipline to thrive in their work and in their lives,” said UVU Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Wayne Vaught.
Engaged learning, Vaught added, is the foundational vision of UVU academic instruction. The school’s partnership with the aquarium “brings that vision to life.”
“Through field-based science courses hosted at the aquarium, our students are going to be able to step into this immersive experiential learning environment,” said Vaught. “New science coursework — integrating aquaculture, hydroponics and sustainability — will expand hands-on opportunities for our students interested in environmental and life sciences.”
Daniel Horns, UVU’s dean of the College of Science, said Wednesday’s partnership will benefit students and faculty across the school campus — but particularly UVU science students.
Students of the natural sciences, he added, must experience science outside of the classroom — including performing scientific research. Utah boasts a variety of ecosystems that provide field trips and off-campus research opportunities. But it’s also a landlocked state — so ocean study has typically been limited.
“But this collaboration offers an unparalleled leap and opportunity for our students to learn outside of the classroom in different contexts,” said Horns.
“By engaging with the different organisms that are housed here — and by engaging with the different ecosystems that are recreated here — our students will be able to get a global perspective without ever leaving the state.”
Loveland Living Planet Aquarium’s founder and CEO Brent Andersen is a Utah native — but he decided to look far beyond the state’s borders and become a marine biologist after receiving a book about the sea when he was a little boy.
His passion for all things “ocean” fueled the building of the sprawling aquarium in the Salt Lake Valley — while inviting Utah’s higher education institutions to blend it into their extended campuses.
Andersen said the partnership between the aquarium and UVU has existed long before Wednesday’s formal signing — including ongoing areas of penguin research that have gleaned global attention.
He added that the UVU students expected to take advantage of the partnership go beyond biology and zoology majors. Students studying architecture, graphic design, engineering, marketing, accounting and human resources will also benefit.
“Anything is possible here with this partnership,” said Andersen. “And if we can be just a small part of what UVU does to help everyone learn, then that’s the point of pride that we’re really happy to be able to do.”
UVU students: Eager for engaged ‘sea’ learning
Perhaps no one is more excited about the UVU/Loveland Living Planet Aquarium partnership than “Wolverine” students.
UVU biotechnology/premed student Angel Garfield is part of a campus team studying penguin genetics that includes penguin research at the aquarium. Such research will help zoos and aquariums understand the relatedness between their penguins — allowing them to make better decisions about birds’ health and genetic diversity.
“Participating in this research is required under my degree — but it’s more than just credit hours for me. It’s engaged learning,” said Garfield.
“It’s participating in the entire scientific community. Experiencing the scientific method. And appreciating the trial-and-error involved in scientific advancement.”
Hands-on research, she added, improves understanding, while broadening connections to other fields and people. “I’m excited to see how this partnership connects students, faculty, staff and institutions with more opportunities such as this.”
Emmaline Saunders is a recent UVU grad. Now she’s working as an educator at the aquarium.
“I have grown way more than I initially expected,” she said. “This job has not only made me a better educator and a better communicator, it’s allowed me to become a better scientist.”
An Eagle Mountain native who made aquarium visits as a little girl, Saunders added the UVU/aquarium partnership will offer students valued undergraduate research experience.
“Not only is that going to benefit the students at UVU, but I think it’s going to bring a fresh, young perspective to the aquarium and really help us grow in the scientific area.”