Alumni

Connor Morgan

August 15, 2019

What does a former Student Body President and Biology alum do after graduating from the U? You start by moving to New Hampshire as a boots-on-the-ground organizer for a presidential candidate.

Connor Morgan (BS,2019) has hung up his cap and gown, and his sojourn at the office of the Associated Students of the University of Utah where he served as president to join candidate and former U.S. Naval Reserve officer Pete Buttigieg, the young mayor of South Bend, IN. Buttigieg, the nation’s first openly gay presidential candidate for a major party, is seeking the Democratic nomination and Morgan is there to help him win the race.

“Right now,” says Morgan, “we’re trying to build relationships with those on our turf, recruiting volunteers who support the mayor and training them on how to recruit their own teams of volunteers.” He says he’s not super excited for the New England winter coming up when there will be more door-to-door canvassing in one of the first states where these sorts of outings either get “legs” or don’t. “But I guess, it’s not too much worse than Utah’s.”

Earlier, at the College of Science convocation and commencement, the double-major (biology and political science) baccalaureate says his face was hurting from smiling so much as he assisted in handing out diplomas and shaking thousands of hands. “But I had a great time.”

While he loved ninety-five percent of the job being student body president, he says he’s now “happy to pass on that other five percent of the job. I’m guessing it will be one of the best jobs I’ve ever had working with student leaders, administrators, faculties, in a collaborative approach with many partners around the U.” One of his ambitions during his own 2018 campaign to represent 32,000 students was to move beyond just developing programs and events, but to have his executive team work internally to create a culture of student advocacy.

“I think student government is unique among other student organizations,” he says. “It was incumbent upon us to advocate on behalf of the student body.”  Through this lens, a movie night became a partnership with the resource office at the Student Union among other collaborations that leveraged the full plate of University offerings.

Morgan also worked to have full participation with the University senators, one each from the colleges and the academic advising center. One of the legacy policies that he and his team led was a push to work more closely with the sustainability and facilities team to recommit to the climate commitment initially made by the University at the end of 2008. The goal? For the University of Utah to be a carbon-neutral campus by 2050 if not by 2032 which is the city of Salt Lake’s target. Before leaving office, Morgan helped set up a task force to reassess the way forward, including the money, infrastructure, energy sources, and sustainable living practices to be folded into the curriculum.

Another related initiative, certainly helped by the nation’s raucous and controversial 2016 presidential election, was to increase the vote in the university community. Under his leadership, campus voting booths increased from six in 2016 to twenty during the most recent mid-terms. “Students are more engaged than they have been in recent memory,” he says. "[Many have felt] disenfranchised and not particularly infatuated with the way things are going–more the [general] direction of things, [than just political] parties. They are eager to do something [about it].”

From the beginning campus safety was a priority for Morgan, so it was deeply ironic that just weeks into fall semester, Lauren McCluskey, a college track star, was murdered on campus by a former acquaintance. Morgan recalls that the days following October 23rd were some of the most formative for him, days that were deeply traumatic. “I didn’t know Lauren personally, and I don’t want to appropriate from her friends, but it was very hard to balance being a twenty-one year-old college student myself with doing my part  to console the student body.”

Morgan visited with McCluskey’s friends, helped plan and then attended the vigil. The October 24th event, he says, was “a really good coping mechanism, especially for student athletes.” The biggest lesson from the tragic ordeal for Morgan was when University trustees expressed their gratitude to him for doing his part. “I thought, ‘Why gratitude for showing up?’ The most important things for a leader to do is not to give a speech or to have the best policy ideas, but to show up. I didn’t know that.” He does now, which triggered new policies and a statement embedded in the ubiquitous class syllabi that looks at campus safety through the lens of interpersonal violence.

There are a lot of things that this twenty-two year old U alumnus now knows, and much of it has been shaped by his generation. "We are very different from our parents,” he muses. “In some sense we have more opportunities like having the breadth of the world’s knowledge at our fingertips; the boom in tech and service jobs, for those who are educated enough in these areas; increasing standard of living for many sectors in our generation. But at the same time in some ways we are more limited [by the] challenges.”

He gives the example that for millennials the country has always been at war. “Most of our adult lives have been dealing with the economic shock of 2008/9. We’ve had a much harder time getting first jobs that can provide for the cost of living, to buy a house. We are the first generation that is expected to have a lower life expectancy and make less money than our parents.”

And then there are the political, social and environmental challenges. “The onus on us is to solve problems through science and [by being] civically engaged.” In important ways, he continues, the democratic process isn’t working for his generation and the ones just ahead of his. “An especially prominent concern with many of the people I grew up with … is that we’ve been in a highly educated bubble: the real world isn’t that bubble.”

As a biology graduate, he is deeply concerned about ignorance over science and the scientific method, but “active distrust of science. In the past science has been labeled elitist, [but] now [it’s] being considered by some as 'fake news.'” While he believes society should heed scientific findings, particularly local and global environmental degradation, it is the job of the new generation to better communicate that science to the public. “Yes, peer reviewed communications are critical,” he says, “but equally if not more important is to share those findings with the public.” Morgan had a great model for outreach and working against what he calls the “science deficit model of communication” from Biology professor Nalini Nadkarni. A forest ecologist, Nadkarni knows from working with populations that range from church-goers to the incarcerated that people don’t like to be lectured to. Instead, her model is to engage and integrate communities, with a two-way collaborative, relational and approachable way of sharing data and experiences.

“The everyday person when they hear that ninety-nine percent of scientists believe in [human-induced] global change … will agree [with them].  The first time I took a step back on how people engage with science it was through rose-colored glasses as a sophomore. I thought that everybody believed in science. That wasn’t true. What are some of the issues are in science communication and how we can bridge some of those gaps?"

As a recent graduate, Morgan’s advice to his fellow Utes is to take advantage of the resources the University of Utah offers. For him being a member of the UtahSwimming and Diving Club helped hi find his passion. “Do academics,” he advises, “but remember college is about much more than that.” Aside from being a great de-stresser, the back-stroker (with a little freestyle and individual medley thrown in) says that clubs also provide an “incredible network of friends” to move forward in life.

Headed eventually for law school, a “couple of years from now,” Morgan hopes that with his background in biology he will be “a scientifically informed policy maker,” whether as an officer in a federal department, or working at the local or state level. A run for public office is a possibility. Currently, being in the petri dish of a presidential campaign in the early weeks of a run for a major party nomination will most likely help him make that decision. Speaking as the public servant that he seems destined to be, he remarks that wherever he ends up he “hopes to be able to do whatever is most needed to be useful.”

Lynn Miller

April 15, 2019

Throughout the University of Utah’s remarkable 169-year history, there have been many outstanding alumni who have made a significant impact in Utah, the country, and the world.

College of Science alumnus Lynn C. Miller, BS’ 63 in Mathematics, is an excellent example. As the Chief Actuary at E.F. Hutton Life, in 1978, he was instrumental in the development of a revolutionary form of life insurance known as Universal Life.

Lynn grew up in Salt Lake City near the University of Utah campus. His father, Clyde Miller, BA’34 in Business, spent the majority of his career in Utah politics. Clyde ascended the legislative ranks and eventually served as the Secretary of State and Lieutenant Governor for the State of Utah from 1965-1977. Although Lynn did not follow in his father’s footsteps in the political forum, Lynn’s mastery of diplomacy would become a great asset to complement his mathematics skills.

Lynn was a fervent University of Utah basketball fan and he attended many games at the Einar Nielsen Field House. His enthusiasm for basketball would fuel his passion for mathematics and statistics. For example, he used probability modeling to create a dice game that could statistically simulate a basketball game. His interest in mathematical analysis and statistics would eventually lead to a career in mathematics and actuarial science.

However, when Lynn enrolled at the U as a student, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. “I lacked the focus and confidence to initially thrive,” says Miller. “In fact, due to my early academic struggles, I was placed on academic probation!”

During his junior year, Lynn found the confidence and commitment to academics, due to the kindness and encouragement of Mathematics Professor J.D. Smith. Professor Smith took a special interest in Lynn’s success and encouraged him to realize his true potential.

“I credit the University for supporting me. In addition to my degree, I also received valuable life lessons of hard work, dedication, and perseverance,” says Miller.

After graduating from the U, Lynn began his professional career at the Hercules Powder Company in Magna, Utah. His job allowed him to apply his mathematical skills to analyze test firings for quality control.

While at Hercules, one of his colleagues witnessed Lynn’s mathematical brilliance and mentioned that he should look into becoming an actuary, a specialized math discipline based on the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty.

Lynn seized upon an opportunity at Surety Life Insurance in Salt Lake City and began his career as an actuary. For eight years Lynn juggled his advanced actuary classes and exams, worked long hours, and along with his wife, helped to raise his young family. Ultimately, due to the job at Surety Life, Lynn found himself leveraging his mathematics and actuary skills to the pathway of disrupting the life insurance industry.

In 1972, Lynn discovered that E.F. Hutton had an opening for a Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary position. Observing the grand opportunity that presented itself, Lynn interviewed and, eventually, won the position. During his time at E.F. Hutton, Lynn became one of the key individuals to reinvent the life insurance industry. Lynn shared that a big part of his career growth was due to his awareness of opportunities and faith in his abilities to succeed.

In the late 1970s, traditional whole life insurance came under heavy criticism from the investment community. Policy cash values were being credited with very low interest rates in the 2-3% range, while external new money rates exceeded 10%. In addition, the rigid nature of a typical contract made it difficult to adapt to changing needs of the client. This created the ideal environment for the creation of the universal life product that offered the following:

  • An open, fully disclosed architecture that allows flexibility in the amount and timing of premium payments and in the balance between the savings (cash value) and pure insurance elements.
  • An earnings rate on cash values that reflected the high investment yields available at that time. This provided a significant advantage over established companies who were burdened with investment portfolios earning well under new money rates.

It’s not surprising that universal life created significant controversy, turmoil, and resistance from established insurance companies.

In fact, Mass Mutual and other large mutual companies launched expensive ad campaigns that tried to disparage and rebuke the new product. Lynn met with many groups and key individuals including the IRS, U.S. Treasury, federal and state legislators, tax attorneys, and even fellow industry antagonists to convince them of the attributes and legitimacy of universal life.

In 1981, the IRS provided a Private Letter Ruling, which held that universal life was a legitimate insurance product. The ruling was challenged in 1984. This led to an effort to permanently enact into law what constitutes a legitimate life insurance product. Lynn was extensively involved in this effort and was one of the original authors of the federal income tax definition of what constitutes life insurance for policyholder and company tax purposes, enacted in the DEFRA Tax Act of 1984.

Universal life has since become the dominant form of life insurance for the past quarter century. Last year it represented more than 60% of permanent cash value type life insurance sales.

In 1999, Lynn moved to Pacific Life Insurance Company and became the Chief Actuary for the Life Insurance Division. In 2002, he was promoted to Executive Vice President and Head of the Life Insurance Division. He retired in 2012.

His stellar career positively impacted millions of life insurance customers, and their families, who have benefited from universal life insurance.

Lynn and his wife, Sue, reside in San Diego, CA, and are strong supporters of Utah athletics. They have season football tickets and attend many home games in Rice-Eccles stadium.

 

Ryan Watts

November 18, 2017

Dr. Ryan Watts, BS’00 in Biology, is the CEO and Co-Founder of Denali Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on finding treatments and cures for neurodegenerative illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Watts and his colleagues at Denali are passionate about discovering drug therapies to help over 22 million people across the world who are fighting crippling neurodegenerative illnesses. In fact, Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases are reaching epidemic proportions. Expressed solely in financial terms, the cost of treating people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is estimated to exceed $260 billion by 2020 in the U.S. alone.

Watts graduated from Cottonwood High School and came to the University of Utah, reflecting his desire to attend a top-tier research institution. As an undergraduate, Watts received the opportunity to conduct research in the Department of Biology. It was there that Ryan discovered the passion that would determine his career path. Along with his undergraduate research experience, Ryan served as a teaching assistant for Dr. Baldomero “Toto” Olivera and was a Pediatric Technician in Surgery at Primary Children’s Medical Center.

Watts was particularly impacted by his interactions with Dr. Olivera because he recognized how Olivera’s biochemical insights could be translated into treatments for pain. Ryan excelled in the lab and the classroom, and upon graduation was accepted into Stanford University’s Biological Sciences doctoral training program.

At Stanford, Ryan continued to distinguish himself in research and received his Ph.D. in 2004, focusing on the molecules that regulate nervous system development. Afterwards, he accepted a position at Genentech. During his eleven-year tenure there, Watts focused initially on developing therapies for cancer, then switched his attention to neurodegenerative diseases. He led Genentech’s entry into Alzheimer’s disease discovery and drug development, eventually building and leading their newly created Neuroscience Labs.

Watts and a select group of neuroscientists and investors eventually formed a biotech startup named Denali Therapeutics. In contrast to the broad approach of companies like Genentech, Denali would be fully specialized in solving the mystery of neurodegeneration.

Founded in 2015, and headquartered in South San Francisco, Denali Therapeutics has already raised more than $349 million and grown to more than 110 employees. As the name Denali suggests, the treatment and study of neurodegenerative diseases pose significant challenges. These conditions, and therefore the therapies targeting them, are difficult to track. In contrast to cancer, neurodegeneration is both more difficult to target than cancerous tumors and has fewer and less well-defined biomarkers.

Reflecting on his time as a student at the U, Watts has some advice for the current generation of students. “Build connections with the incredible faculty at the U and explore opportunities to get in the research lab as soon as possible. Top notch research universities like the U offer a unique chance to discover original insights as part of your education.”