Southern Utah University

Student life

Most student organizations at SUU are officially recognized and provided with assistance by the SUU Student Association (SUUSA). SUUSA is the leading student organization and provides activities throughout the school year for students. Activities range from comedians, concerts, carnivals, outdoor movies and dances. SUUSA is governed by four executive council members, elected each March, along with one representative per college in the Student Senate, by the general student body. Event Directors, members of the President's Cabinet, and Club Directors are appointed by the Executive Council through an application and interview process. They are then investigated and ratified by the Academic Senate. Students can apply for funding from the Academic Senate for academic initiatives or travel expenses for conferences.Community service

Many of the student organizations at SUU are service orientated and take part in community service days each year. Through the , President recognized SUU's students for outstanding service when the University earned a Distinction for Excellence among the schools included on the U.S. President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This marks SUU's fourth consecutive appointment to the prestigious honor roll. The SUU community carried a 64 percent increase in service completed, logging in 141,307 hours of community service among 4,468 students between July 2011 and July 2012.

Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service

The Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service is named after alumnus (former Utah governor and member). Student leaders in the Leavitt Center engage the student body through voter registration drives, public policy awareness, public service, and internships. The mission of the Center is to help students prepare for a life of public service and responsible citizenship. The Leavitt Center helps to fulfill this mission by helping to provide internships on the local, state, and national levels. Some internships that are offered include in the Cedar City City managers office, with the Iron County Commissioners office, the State Legislature, and Utah's Congressional Delegates, including Senator Hatch and Representative Chris Stewart. .

Student news

SUU students operate and write a weekly newspaper, The University Journal, which is delivered to campus and local community. It's news website, SUUNews.com, which carries and streams archived debates and news stories, is a digital news delivery system. The website has ranked within the top three collegiate news websites in the nation by the Society of Professional Journalists.

91.1 FM (Thunder 91) is a student-operated radio station at the university. Many of its are students. It airs games by SUU Athletics teams in and men's and women's and women's . In conjunction the Michael O. Leavitt Center, Thunder 91 also hosts weekly political debates.

SUTV is a cable TV channel operated by the university's Department of Communication. It is operated on an channel of the Bresnan Communications system in Cedar City, Utah. It is affiliated with the . Most of the local programs are produced by students enrolled in communication classes at the university. The include SUTV News, a weekly broadcast of newsworthy local and campus events, and the T-Bird Zone, a showcase of Thunderbird athletics featuring interviews with coaches and players, as well as highlights of games and sports news.

Utah Shakespeare Festival Fred C. Adams Theatre on SUU's campus

The Shakespeare Festival, which is housed on SUU's campus, was founded by Fred C. Adams in 1961 and presented its first season in 1962, bringing in 3,276 spectators. The initial two-week season yielded $2,000 and demonstrated the cooperative relationship between SUU and the community. Now in 2003, nearly 150,000 ticket-holders viewed 246 performances in three theaters during a sixteen-week season. The Festival is now a year-round operation with a full-time staff of 26 and now an outgoing educational outreach program, including workshops and a touring version of one of the plays.