'True-Blue Cougar' Ruth Todd Returns to BYU

PROVO, Utah – Sep 26, 2019 – Thirty-six years after completing her communications undergrad, former news anchor and adjunct faculty member Ruth Todd is thrilled to be back at BYU, this time as a student in the BYU Marriott Executive MBA program.

Todd is a familiar face to many in Utah and even nationally, having worked as an award-winning television news anchor in Salt Lake City for NBC affiliate KSL and later for KTVX’s ABC 4 News. She also spent time anchoring in Phoenix for KTVK’s ABC News and in Washington, DC, for both CBS and ABC affiliates. She even had a small role playing herself in a fictional news segment in the movie The R.M.

After twenty-five years in news broadcasting, Todd returned to BYU in 2007 to teach at the College of Fine Arts and Communications for four years and remains a member of the BYU Alumni Association board. Todd joined the public affairs team for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2011 and then in 2014, accepted a position with Nu Skin, a company that produces personal care products, as SVP of global public affairs, where she has worked for the past five years. Her success has allowed her to volunteer with local charities such as United Way, The Leukemia/Lymphoma Society, and the American Cancer Society, along with others.

Todd says her latest position with Nu Skin is what prompted her to enroll in BYU Marriott’s EMBA program. “Working for a publicly traded global company was a new opportunity for me,” she says. “I knew greater financial literacy would enable me to do my job better and returning to school for a master’s in business administration seemed like a good idea, so back to BYU I came!”

BYU Marriott's EMBA program describes itself as having a unique focus on taking working professionals and creating complete leaders. Instead of focusing solely on traditional business leadership skills, professors tie elements of the gospel of Jesus Christ into business learning to educate the mind, heart, and spirit of each student. Students learn while navigating around traditional business schedules so students can get their MBA without having to put their careers on hold.

This focus, along with Todd’s identity as a “true-blue Cougar,” are what led her to choose the EMBA program at BYU Marriott. “I chose BYU for its highly-ranked quality education, stellar faculty, proximity to my home and work, and emphasis on one's total life beyond the office,” says Todd. “I'm back in school to learn new skills that will hopefully make me a more valuable employee and a better person.”

Already in her second year of the program, Todd has been thoroughly impressed with the faculty, staff, and curriculum at BYU Marriott, but she feels the best part of her experience may be her classmates.

“The breadth and depth of their collective work experience and their willingness to share with our class has certainly enriched our first year of learning,” Todd says. “The esprit de corps among our cohort is exceptional and makes for engaging and inspired learning every time we are together.”

As the class of 2020, Todd and her fellow EMBA students sometimes joke that they are the “class with vision; 20/20 vision, that is.”

After graduating, Todd will continue living in Salt Lake City and working at Nu Skin. She hopes she can share the leadership and business skills she has learned not only with her coworkers, but also at home with her husband, Bryan, and their family.