Utah Valley University, which spent two decades transforming from a modest community college into Utah’s largest educational institution, once prided itself on having one of the safest campuses in the nation. That carefully cultivated image was irrevocably shattered in mere seconds by the assassination of activist Charlie Kirk.
The sprawling campus, home to nearly 50,000 students nestled beneath the Wasatch Mountains, will now forever be associated with the events of 10 September. A bullet tragically ended the life of the Turning Point USA founder as he addressed a large crowd at an outdoor amphitheatre situated in the heart of the campus.
Previously largely unknown beyond Utah’s borders, the university was thrust into an unwelcome national spotlight during the intense search for Kirk’s killer. Students and faculty, returning to classes this week, are grappling with profound grief, fear, and anxiety, confronting the difficult question of how to navigate UVU’s sudden and tragic infamy.
“This has put the university on the map and given it more attention than it’s ever received,” said branding expert Timothy Calkins, a professor at Northwestern University. “They certainly didn’t want this situation. But they have to find some way to come back.”
University leaders say they’re focused right now on the safety of students and their community, but they’re already starting to think about how to reshape the school’s shattered identity.
Kyle Reyes, one of Utah Valley University’s vice presidents, said he hopes the school can be a model of healing and embracing difficult dialogue.
“We know that the eyes are on us and we’re not going to shy away from demonstrating our resilience collectively on this,” Reyes said.
The school has had only minimal violence for years, according to data collected by the U.S. Department of Education. UVU’s most recent report for its main campus in Orem, covering 2021-2023, showed police investigated or received reports on four aggravated assault allegations, 13 rape allegations, one apparent arson and no cases of murder or manslaughter. Kirk’s killing was the first murder on campus that administrators are aware of, University spokeswoman Ellen Treanor said.
University officials cite this data to support the claim that it is “one of the safest colleges in the country.”
UVU also touts its strong connections to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as home to the world’s largest education institute for young Mormons. Its mascot is the wolverine. “Just like wolverines, UVU students are determined, ambitious, and fearless,” the university’s website says.
Student Marjorie Holt, 18, who is studying elementary education at UVU, was late to the Kirk rally and arrived minutes before he was shot. She ran with others to shelter inside a nearby building in the immediate aftermath.
In the days since, Holt took time off from work and went home to spend a night with her family in Salt Lake City. She said she feels like the university failed Kirk and his family by not providing better security. She worries about going to classes in a building near the crime scene.
Yet as Kirk’s shooting deepens the nation’s political divides, Holt believes the shared trauma has brought UVU closer together.
“We’re all people who, you know, loved him or hated him,” she said of Kirk. “We’re all still coming together no matter how we believed, and I feel like this has made our school closer than ever.”
