University of Utah

I began my college career at the University of Utah about the first of October, 1962. The U was on a four quarter system at the time, with the standard curriculum going Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. Summer  usually had courses for make-up work, if you had to drop a class, or failed it during the regular part of the year.

I had really enjoyed my physics classes at Olympus High School, so I decided to major in physics. The Physics Department had a very specific schedule, in order to fit in all required classes within the standard four year program. I did well in some of the first classes, but bogged down when I got into calculus. I just didn't get what calculus was about, and I couldn't get help from the teachers. They were all graduate students in the math department, and didn't have time to help students. Calculus and other advance mathematics is used so much in physics that you cannot progress without a firm understanding. In fact, a couple of terms before you have enough physics credits to graduate in that major, you have enough credits in math to graduate with a math degree.

I went to the counseling center to get help in choosing a new major. Aptitude tests indicated that I should pursue a course to become a doctor. So I switched to pre-med as a course of study. I had avoided biology in high school because of the poor reputation of the teachers who taught it. Now I found myself taking several biology courses, and enjoying them very much.

When it came time in that course to apply to medical school, I hesitated. I was in the Air Force ROTC program, and I didn't think I could delay that for more school. I also had a poor grade point average compared to other candidates, due to my poor grades in math courses. So I didn't think I had a very good chance of getting in. Actually, I was afraid I wouldn't get in, so I was afraid to try. There were also rumors of a possible Air Force program to send people to medical school, for those who were already in the Air Force.

One of the best parts of my freshman year was the carpool. Many of my friends from the neighborhood were also attending the U. Jeff Anderson, Charlie Nielson, Cathryn and Carolyn Call were the regulars. There were several others who joined frequently enough that we usually needed two cars. The friendships were helpful as we discussed which professors were good, and which ones to avoid.

Another activity that was very helpful was Latter Day Saint Institute and the associated social groups. I joined the Alpha Chapter of Lambda Delta Sigma. Dennis Mead, who had gone to Olympus HS, was my mentor with the group. He was a good friend. I also went to the Institute Building most days at noon to eat my lunch. I often got into table tennis matches with friends I met there. Clyde Ford was one who was in pre-med with me. He beat me all the time. He eventually became one of the best oncologists in Salt Lake.

The Alpha Chapter parties were great. They gave me a chance to take girls out on dates that didn't cost too much. The best one, however, was the polygamy party where I had my first date with my future bride. They also had firesides with excellent teachers. S. Dilworth Young, a Church general authority who was the senior president of the Presidency of the Seventy was one who came. He gave us a very pointed lesson on chastity in our dating.


There were always noon hour devotionals once a week at the Institute. They were usually very inspirational. The Institute classes were very good. Georgia and I especially enjoyed the early morning Marriage Relations Class we took from T. Edgar Lyon. Several of the young wives in the class were pregnant for the first time, and frequently had to leave abruptly to go to the restroom with morning sickness. I enjoyed all the other Institute classes I had, and I was surprised when I was given a diploma for graduating from Institute, I had taken enough classes to complete all requirements, without even realizing it. I continued to take classes there after I received the diploma. What I learned there often helped counter some of the anti-religious bias I encountered in other classes.

Many of the University classes I took were taught by top notch professors. My first year chemistry classes were taught by Dr. Lloyd Malm, who had collaborated with Dr. Linus Pauling in writing our textbook. Another was Dr. Stephen D. Durrant, who taught comparative vertebrate anatomy. He was a legend in the Biology Department and throughout the University. He was named teacher of the year at least twice while I was there. All premed students had to take his class, and many doctors came back years later to thank him for what he taught them.

I had a music appreciation class from Ardean Watts. He had to be one of the funniest teachers I've ever had. He really made music fun. I bought season tickets to the Utah Symphony as part of the class. Georgia and I enjoyed those for a couple of years after the class.

I also had several teachers of whom I had little respect after taking their classes. I had fun learning about Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology when I was younger, and thought a class in mythology would be fun. It filled one of my basic requirements. However, the professor for the class considered all religions as myths and especially enjoyed trashing the Mormons in his lectures.

Another class I took was American Economic History. It was to fill a history requirement. I had taken and very much enjoyed two classes in basic economics during my freshman year. So I thought this would be an easy and enjoyable class. However, the teacher lectured on one subject, gave assignments that had no relationship with the lectures, and then gave some standard tests he'd found someplace, that seldom had any relationship with either the lectures or the reading assignments. He also blamed all economic problems on religion, and his lectures were basically "world religious history." I don't think he got to U. S. History until about the last two weeks of class. Then he left on a trip before the final test, which was administered by his graduate assistant. He didn't get back until several days after the beginning of the next term, and didn't get the tests scored nor entered until after he returned. So everyone in the class received an Incomplete for the final grade. A couple of students needed that grade for graduation at the end of the term and had to wait for everything to be straightened out by the administration before they could get their diplomas.

One chemistry class had a really bad reputation. It was required for premed students. Almost all waited until after they were accepted to medical school before they took that class, because the class grade average over the years was a 'D'. It was a bad reflection on the teacher, because many of those 'D' grades were given to students with very high GPA's. He was an excellent researcher, but one of the worst teachers. His lectures almost always started 10 to 15 minutes late. They were always disorganized and disjointed. And half the final grade was from the final exam. On the final exam, all the information was given, and all we had to do was do the math. The math was very long multiplication and division problems; 5 places divided by 5 places, with no calculators. So the test was a contest to see who could do the math the fastest, not who knew the subject matter.

One thing that kept me sane throughout the years I was there were the classes in the Physical Education Department. They usually only earned 1/2 or 1 credit hour, were almost sure 'A's and there were numerous choices. I started out taking Life Saving and then Water Safety Instructors classes. They earned me certificates that I used to make a living for the rest of my time at the U.  I also took basketball, tennis, golf, wrestling, gymnastics, swimming, etc. I took one class each quarter, which gave me the exercise I needed and lots of good therapy.

During my Life Saving class I was paired with Marv Fleming, who was the poorest swimmer in the class. He was also a future NFL star tight end, earning several Super Bowl rings. He had nearly drowned at a swimming party during the summer between his freshman and sophomore years. The teacher who taught all the men's swimming classes was also an assistant football coach. He signed Marv up for every swimming class he taught, because he didn't want to lose their star football player. Marv was big and black and had no fat on his body, so he did not float at all. I was the strongest swimmer in the class, so I had the privilege of towing Marv across the pool in all our practice carries. We did become friends, and he came back to finish his degree after being drafted by the Green Bay Packers. He'd see me on campus and say, "Hi!"

Most of the intramural sports were contested by members of the various fraternities. Most of those of us who had competed in swimming in high school were not in fraternities. One of our number decided to get the former high school swimmers together and form a team to compete. We won the intramural swim meet by a large margin. Then the guy who organized the swimmers went on to organize other groups of former high school athletes to compete against the fraternities, with the same sort of success. The fraternity boys were not happy that they almost always got beat.

My final term was the most difficult. I had to take several classes to complete a degree in Zoology and Entomology. I had taken the premed classes and the easiest degree to complete after that was in the Biology Department. The Air Force was beckoning, and if I took 21 credit hours, I could finish in one more quarter. I did that, but had to quit work so I could have enough time to complete all that work. I completed my requirements about the middle of March and then just had to wait for the Air Force to send me orders.

I missed my graduation ceremonies, because I was already on active duty in the Air Force. They didn't have a ceremony in March, and I entered the military in May. The ceremony for those finishing in March and June were held in June, but I was living in Illinois by then.