Gov. Olene Walker today appointed Gary C. Swensen to fill a midterm vacancy on the Utah State Board of Education. He replaces Denis R. Morrill, who resigned from the board last month. Swensen will serve the remainder of the term, which expires in 2006.

Swensen was the superintendent of the Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation Department for 20 years. He was also the executive director of Utah Federation for a Drug Free Youth and was affiliated with the March of Dimes. He has been a member of several community boards, including the Granite School District Board of Education, the Taylorsville-Bennion Improvement District, the Salt Lake Arts Advisory Council and the Central Valley Water Reclamation District. He is a member of the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District Board of Directors. Swensen received a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Utah.

The State Board of Education oversees the public school system, which includes the State Office of Education, charter schools, Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind and the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation. The board is responsible for establishing and ensuring a wide range of minimum standards for Utah public schools from graduation requirements and teacher evaluations to bus transportation and health and safety requirements.

The appointment is subject to state Senate confirmation.
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