By Taylor Randall, University of Utah President
Utah State University Eastern leaders seemed like they weren’t quite sure they’d heard right.
“I’d like to give you $100,000 if someone will tell me where to send the check,” said Kem Gardner, the name donor and an advisory board member for Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah.
Though it may seem counterintuitive to bring donors to another state university as part of our tour of Utah, that’s the essence of real collaboration — when one Utah university succeeds, all do.
Earlier this month, the U tour bus stopped at the USU Eastern Campus in Price, where Kem announced his scholarship donation to the school. His gift adds to the $400,000 the U has already invested in USU Eastern students.
Like U presidents before me, this summer I’ve traveled around Utah to redefine and rededicate our university to its unique role in the state. The University of Utah has a lot of reach, but also tremendous responsibility. It’s an obligation we share with our sister institutions across the state, including USU Eastern, Snow College and Southern Utah University.
The fifth leg of my tour took me to Southeastern Utah where our group spent two days winding through Utah’s coal country to the recreation gateway community of Moab. We capped off the excursion by traveling 12 miles underground to the Sufco Mine coal seam outside Salina. Along the way, we visited Helper’s historic Main Street, a new mural in downtown Price and the rPlus Energies Solar Farm in Wellington.
Industrial expansion, coal mining and the railroad drew immigrants from around the world to towns like Helper and Price, creating a rich and diverse history. While extracting coal still plays a key role in the economy of some Utah communities, providing the resources needed to diversify the economy of current and historic mining communities is essential. The Gardner Institute is supporting this goal through the Coal County Synergy Team.
As president of the University of Utah, I recognize the responsibility my university has for making the lives of every Utahn better. During my first year, I’ve focused on three numbers: 40,000 students, 3.3 million Utahns and $1 billion in research funding. These goals help guide every decision I make.
These numbers tell the story of the university’s statewide impact:
- Students come to the U from 84.6% of Southeastern Utah zip codes.
- U of U Health patients live in 97.4% of those zip codes — over 1,500 from Carbon County, another 600 from Emery County and 800 from Sevier county.
- The U manages 550 buildings totaling 15.4 million square feet of space in 14 counties and 33 cities across Utah
- The U awards more than half of the advanced degrees awarded to Utah graduates
- The university is the state’s largest employer with 39,300 direct jobs, and directly and indirectly supports another 831,000 jobs
- The university trains 2/3 of Utah’s physicians
But our renewed compact with the state around us is more than numbers. The state invests heavily in us, and that carries with it an obligation to teach, to advance knowledge and to help the communities around us. It’s a mission all state colleges and universities share.
As we work together to improve the state around us, I make these Six Commitments to you:
- To lead as the state’s flagship university
- To educate and elevate our students
- To innovate and improve lives through research
- To serve the communities around us
- To provide exceptional patient care
- To unify Utah’s higher education institutions
To read more about the Six Commitments, visit president.utah.edu.