$1M gift advances planned USU ranch and resource management institute
LOGAN - A $1 million gift from the Mike and Melissa Schultz Family Foundation will help Utah State University develop a planned Western Institute of Ranch & Resource Management, according to a USU Today announcement posted Oct. 28.
The gift to the Quinney College of Agriculture and Natural Resources creates an endowment and an expendable fund for the proposed institute, which would expand USU's existing Western Ranch Management Academy. USU is also developing a 36-credit Master of Science in Ranch and Resource Management, aiming to enroll its first graduate students in fall 2028, pending required approvals. Students would spend at least three months working with a ranch, regulatory agency or other resource management organization.
"Land stewardship is one of our foundation's core priorities," Mike Schultz said in the announcement. Other supporters include the Henry C. Jorgensen Foundation, Intermountain Farmers Association, Utah Cattlemen's Association and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Why this matters
Cache Valley's farm and ranch economy could gain a new graduate program aimed at training ranch and land managers, though it still needs approval.