The Utah Board of Higher Education has named a 28-member committee to conduct a national search for the next president of the University of Utah. Ruth V. Watkins, president of the University of Utah, announced on Jan. 12, 2021, that she planned to step down as president effective in April 2021. The Board will name an interim president by that time.
The search committee will be co-chaired by Utah Board of Higher Education Chair Harris H. Simmons and University of Utah Board of Trustees Chair Christian Gardner. It is comprised of representatives from the Board of Higher Education, trustees and institutional stakeholders including faculty, staff, students, administration, alumni and community members.
“The University of Utah is an institution of great national and international prominence with respect to its research, health care system, academic standing and student success,” said Harris H. Simmons, Chair of the Utah Board of Higher Education. “The members of the search committee were selected from an impressive pool of campus and community stakeholders to conduct the search for President Ruth V. Watkins’s successor. I am thankful for the time and expertise these committee members will be devoting to the process and I am confident in their ability to finalize a list of highly qualified candidates from which the Board can ultimately select the 17th president of the University of Utah.”
Below is a complete list of the University of Utah Presidential Search Committee members:
| Utah Board of Higher Education | |
| Harris H. Simmons | Board of Higher Education Chair and Search Committee Co-Chair |
| Arthur Newell | Board member |
| Crystal Maggelet | Board member |
| Shawn Newell | Board member |
| University of Utah Board of Trustees | |
| Christian Gardner | Trustee Chair and Search Committee Co-Chair |
| Katie Eccles | Trustee Vice Chair |
| David Parkin | Trustee |
| Kim Brunisholz | Trustee; President U of U Alumni Association Board of Governors |
| University of Utah Administration, Faculty and Staff | |
| Randy Dryer | President, Academic Senate; Lecturer, Honors College, College of Law |
| Sneha Kasera | Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering; Professor, School of Computing |
| Mary Elizabeth Hartnett | Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences; Adjunct Professor, Neurobiology and Anatomy Labs and Pediatrics |
| Al Landon | Assistant Dean, Business Relations, David Eccles School of Business; Adjunct Professor, Accounting |
| Chris Linder | Associate Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy, College of Education; Director, McCluskey Center for Violence Prevention |
| Matthew Sigman | Peter J. and Christine S. Stang Presidential Endowed Chair of Chemistry; Chair, Department of Chemistry; Distinguished Professor, Chemistry |
| Smitha Warrier | Assistant Professor (Clinical), Department of Anesthesiology |
| Randall Peterson | Dean, College of Pharmacy; Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology |
| Martell Teasley | Dean and Professor, College of Social Work |
| Alison Flynn Gaffney | Executive Director, Service Lines, Ancillary & Support Services, U of U Hospitals & Clinics |
| Mary Ann Villarreal | Vice President for Equity, Diversity & Inclusion |
| Bryce Williams | President, Staff Council; Program Coordinator, Bennion Community Service Center |
| Heidi Woodbury | Vice President for Institutional Advancement |
| University of Utah Students | |
| Merry Joseph | Undergraduate, Biomedical Engineering /Psychology |
| Ethan Ramos | Undergraduate, Computer Science |
| Claudia Loayza | Graduate Student, Architecture + Planning |
| Community/Alumni Representatives | |
| Clark Ivory | CEO, Ivory Homes |
| Kathie Miller | Member, U of U Health Educational Resource Development Council |
| Jennifer Price-Wallin | Chair, College of Fine Arts Advisory Board |
| Charles Sorenson | President and CEO Emeritus, Intermountain Healthcare; Founding Director, Intermountain Healthcare Leadership Institute |
The Presidential Search Committee will host public forums over the coming weeks to obtain input from the University of Utah community and the general public on the presidential search. Details of these forums will be available in February 2021.
Based on feedback obtained in the public forums, the committee will approve a position announcement and call for nominations and applications, with the assistance of a national search firm. The committee will then screen applications for the position and conduct interviews with candidates. After deliberating, the committee will recommend three to five semifinalists to the Board of Higher Education. The Board intends to name a new president by the fall of 2021 but will take the necessary time to find the most qualified candidate.
