UVSC President William Sederburg gave his last State of the College address on Wednesday. He's not leaving, but next year's address will be the State of the University.

He spoke about Utah Valley State College's transition year of 2007 and, putting on his fortune-teller cap, what the future holds for the school in 2008 and beyond.

"What a phenomenal year 2007 has been," Sederburg said.

During the last year, UVSC acquired its 57th baccalaureate degree and received approval from the board of trustees for its first master's degree. Final approval from the state board of regents is expected in April.

"That was yesterday; the future is more interesting," Sederburg said.

Looking into his crystal ball, Sederburg let his audience in on a few little secrets and some things they already knew.

Michael Dover, senior research analyst in UVSC's office of institutional research, said Sederburg's message wasn't too full of surprises.

"It's fairly common knowledge," Dover said.

Tongue in cheek, Sederburg knew that too.

"I also predict -- [my] this is tough, but somebody's got to predict these things -- that the library will be constructed," Sederburg said.

The new library has been under construction for more than a year and will open July 1.

Dover said he is looking forward to UVU, so he can study the patterns that come with it.

"We're looking forward to university status," Dover said. "That means the opportunity to study a vibrant institution going through change."

UVSC has much to do to make the transition, including changing Web pages and 1,200 signs. The school is also looking at several building projects, including a new science building and a student-life and recreation center. Sederburg plans to ask the Legislature for the funding for the new science building next month.

Those projects may help ease the congestion that is facing campus, but Sederburg says the issue will not go away.

"Another prediction I have is that we are going to have headaches related to space," Sederburg said. "This is very psychic."

By 2018, Sederburg predicts a student body of 30,000 students -- more than 5,000 more than are currently enrolled.

Sederburg also spoke about the renaming of academic departments and splitting the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences into two parts: one to focus on humanities and social sciences, and one to focus on arts.

In 10 years, Sederburg said he expects UVU to keep with its mission and stay a teaching institution that provides opportunities to students, serves the needs of the regions and provides substantive scholarship.

To meet the needs of what Sederburg has predicted will be a surging student body, the school will need to find more money from everywhere it can.

"The big elephant in the room is funding," Sederburg said. "We face the significant financial challenges of fulfilling our destiny."

To end his remarks, Sederburg spoke about keeping the university vibrant in a shifting world through its ability to keep up with the times. That's something Dover said could be challenging.

• Brittani Lusk can be reached at 344-2549 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it