Dr. J. Marvin Higbee
Former UVU President & Friend of Wolverine Athletics
Inducted in 2008

Dr. J. Marvin Higbee has been a great supporter of Utah Valley University Athletics over the years. As president of the institution from 1982 to 1988, he hired the school's first full-time athletic director, Mike Jacobsen, and helped to create the vision of what Wolverine Athletics could become. When Dr. Higbee took over the reins of the school, the Wolverines had no basketball arena, and only a handful of fledgling intercollegiate programs. He was the driving force behind the planning and building of the Activity Center, which became the main arena for men's and women's basketball from 1984 to 1996, and has continued to be the site for intercollegiate volleyball and wrestling to this day.

Dr. Higbee provided the impetus to develop the Wolverine Athletic program into one of the premier NJCAA programs in the nation. His leadership, vision, and dynamic support helped paved the way for what has become a truly unique and outstanding athletic program. After leaving Utah Valley, Dr. Higbee continued to be a loyal supporter of Wolverine athletics.

Dr. Higbee is a local product - a graduate of Lincoln High School in Orem. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from nearby Brigham Young University, and has a doctorate in educational administration and psychology from the University of Southern California.

Before coming to UVU, Dr. Higbee served as the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Texas and was the President of Snow College from 1974-1982.

After leaving UVU, Dr. Higbee served as corporate director of education marketing and sales at Novell, a worldwide computer software vendor. He then took a position as the senior vice president of the education division of Wicat Systems Inc., a technology-based education and training company. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Mountain Valley Chapter of American Red Cross, and the Board of Directors of the Utah Humanities Council. Dr. Higbee has long been a respected civic and educational leader in the local community.

Dr. Higbee lives in Saratoga Springs, Utah, with his wife, the former Ethelynn Goodrich, who was born in Vernal, Utah and raised in Moses Lake Washington. They are the parents of eight children, and have 49 grandchildren.