Glen Taggart: Pioneering Undergraduate Research at USU

Glen Taggart was the 11th president of Utah State University from 1968 to 1979 and he played a pivotal role in shaping the university's commitment to undergraduate research. Taggart believed that students should engage with faculty research beyond the classroom and in pursuit of this vision, he launched the Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities (URCO) Program. It was initially an "experiment" within the College of Agriculture and Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. He promised that if successful, the program would expand university-wide by the 1975-1976 school year. His leadership laid the foundation for undergraduate research as a defining element of a USU education, bridging the university's teaching and research missions and fostering a legacy of student-driven discovery.