This is the April 13 - April 26, 1996 update.
April 26, 1996
Contact Vicki Varela, 538-1503
or Paula Ernstrom, 538-1509
Listed below are the highlights of Governor Mike Leavitt's activities over
the past two weeks. Please call if you have any questions.
Called and conducted a special session of the Utah State Legislature. The special session
resolved several issues that were not resolved during the 1996 general session. Issues
addressed at the special session included the following:
- funding for building projects on univerisity and college campuses
- making education the first priority for money from the state Rainy Day fund in the event
of a state fiscal emergency
- statute regarding educational clubs
- ammendments to prohibit cruelty to animals.
Encouraged Utah's high tech industry to become involved in public policy issues and to
recognize that in the deployment of advanced technology, it is the "sociology that will
limit us, not the technology." The governor spoke to the annual Utah Information
Technologies Association Members' Day at Snowbird on April 23. He painted a vision
of a high-tech world using examples of applications in the field of medicine. He outlined
a day in the life of a typical patient using such tools as smartcards, two-way interactive
video, and electronic diagnosis, when all players in the health care community will be
connected to each other via high-speed networks capable of transmitting audio, video,
data and graphics. He asked leaders of high-tech companies to help him break through
the bureaucratic, regulatory and turf barriers that slow the deployment of such technology.
Outlined his vision of a western virtual university to a gathering of university chief
financial officers from around the country. The governor spoke to the group from the
Utah State Capitol, linked to them through a video feed to their conference in another
state. He said the development of the virtual university by the Western Governors'
Association is going very well and there is a great deal of momentum and enthusiasm for
the project. The virtual university is not meant to replace traditional higher education
institutions, but instead will add an exciting new element with more choices and
flexibility for students, especially non-traditional students who have jobs and families.
Some of the country's top experts on distance learning and assessment of learning amd
competency are involved in the project. Western governors will get an in-depth report on
the initiative's progress at their summer meeting in June in Omaha, Nebraska.
Challenged graduates at UVSC to become part of the technological changes of the future
while holding on to the ageless values that have made our state great. Governor Leavitt
spoke at UVSC's commencement exercises and received an honorary degree from the
institution. The governor told graduates that technology will not only change our jobs
and the way we educate, it will also change the way we live our lives. "As we enter into a
new decade, century and millennium, we are faced with unparalleled change and
substantial uncertainty with a requirement that we adapt," the governor said. "The
technology will take care of itself. Our challenge will be the sociology." The governor
went on to say these changes could bring about great prosperity for some, which could
expose our society to complacency, arrogance, and social division. "Nations have often
been slowly consumed by the burden of prosperity. We must not." Governor Leavitt
then discussed the values that have made Utah one of the "brightest stars in the
constellation of the states. If we stick with the ageless values that have made this state
great, our second hundred years will be even better than our first."
Thanked donor families and the medical community for the thousands of lives that have
been saved through organ transplants. In 1995, Utah's organ donation rate was 20
percent higher than the national average. The governor joined with Intermountain Organ
Recovery Center to declare April 22 - 27 as Utah Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness
Week and encourage Utahns to sign organ and tissue donor cards.
Recognized Utah's community heros. Governor Leavitt signed a proclamation declaring
May 10 as Community Hero Day in recognition of ordinary people who through their
dedication to the community have made Utah a better place to live. Many of the
community heros present at the signing of the declaration have been selected to carry the
Olympic torch on May 10 as it passes through Utah on its way to Atlanta. Governor
Leavitt also encouraged Utahns to support these community heros by coming to see the
torch as it passes through our state.
Governor Leavitt also signed declarations in honor of Utah Infant Immunization Week,
Take Our Daughters to Work Day, and Utah Crime Victims Rights Week.
Started collecting stamps in his Centennial Passport. The governor is participating in the
Utah Travel Council Centennial Passport Program that encourages Utahns to visit every
county in the state during this centennial year and visit designated sites to receive a stamp
in your passport . "As a native Utahn, I have always enjoyed exploring this state. I look
forward during this centennial year to continuing this exploration and to fill my
Centennial Passport," the governor said.
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