SUU brings UMCA Institute and Academy to Cedar City
By Haven Scott
Southern Utah University and the Utah Municipal Clerks Association recently announced a partnership to bring the UMCA Institute and Academy for Utah clerks and recorders to Cedar City for the next three years.
By partnering with SUU, municipal clerks throughout the state of Utah can complete their Certified Municipal Clerk and Master Municipal Clerk certifications in southern Utah.
SUU was selected by UMCA and the International Institute of Municipal Clerks to lead the institute and academy for Utah municipal workers from a tough field of applicants, said UMCA president and North Ogden city recorder Annette Spendlove.
“We had several applicants to choose from throughout the state, yet we were impressed with SUU from the very beginning, and things just snowballed from there,” Spendlove said. “We are thrilled to have SUU offering our education for the certified municipal clerk and the master municipal clerk programs. We look forward to working with them for many years.”
UMCA communications director Colleen Mulvey, who also serves as city recorder in Cedar Hills, said it takes several years for Utah clerks and recorders to earn their CMC and MMC certifications and many classroom hours.
“Utah clerks and recorders benefit from this partnership because it provides them with much needed educational opportunities,” Mulvey said. “The expert instructors will present and discuss best practices, current issues, legislative changes, and updates and offers many more tools and techniques to improve the efficiencies and effectiveness of the clerk’s role in city government.”
Dr. Cynthia Kimball Davis, chair of the Department of Integrative & Engaged Studies at SUU, will serve as co-director of the UMCA Institute and Academy with Melynda Thorpe, executive director of SUU’s Community Professional Development program.
“We are excited and honored to have been selected by UMCA and IIMC to host their annual institute and academy at Southern Utah University,” said Davis. “For the next three years, our goal is to deliver the highest quality of continuing education and certifications through our top-notch faculty, and others, from among several municipalities throughout the state of Utah.”
The keynote speaker at the 2019 UMCA Institute and Academy will be Dr. John “Jeb” Branin, who is currently associate dean of Southern Utah University’s School of Integrative and Engaged Learning and serves as the executive director of SUU’s Experiential Learning Leadership Institute. He was part of the team that created SUU’s EDGE Program, which is recognized as the top experiential education program in the country. He is also part of the team that creates SUU’s popular Community On The Go program, which provides community members opportunities to learn from SUU experts on educational trips around the world.
To offer attendees a reprieve from the UMCA conference rigor, SUU has scheduled several outdoor excursions designed to showcase southern Utah outdoor experiences, including a Silver Reef Ghost Town tour, a tour of the Parowan Gap Petroglyphs hosted by the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, and a guided hike in Zion National Park.
The 2019 UMCA Institute and Academy will be held March 11–15 in Cedar City. Registration will remain open until Feb. 14 for regular course cost and until March 1 with a late registration fee. For more information, visit suu.edu/wise and select “Professional Development,” or call (435) 586-7808.
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