In a press conference with the Daily Utah Chronicle on Thursday, University of Utah President Taylor Randall reflected on the progress he’s made in the last two years and shared ongoing efforts and future goals to improve the U.
As a university, Randall said it’s been important to take a “step back” to think about “major shifts that are going on and will continue to occur over the next 10 years.”
Last year, Randall explained his biggest goals for the U included increasing on-campus housing, growing the student body, making the freshman experience more hands-on and boosting research.
“I would say most of the progress has been made in the planning, and you’ll start to see over the next year those plans being revealed and [executed],” Randall said.
In Jan. 2023, the U set a goal of adding 5,000 new student beds by 2030 — doubling on-campus housing. The university set first-year class records each of the past four years and looks set to another enrollment record this fall.
“It’s not out of the realm of possibility that we [eventually] have 12,000 students living on campus, so that dynamic is an interesting one,” Randall said. “We’re not going to do this without talking to and understanding students and what they want.”
Tuition
Tuition at the U stayed stagnant this academic year due to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox calling on all members of the Utah System of Higher Education to freeze tuition for the 2023-24 school year.
About 80% of tuition goes toward salaries for staff and faculty at the U.
Randall explained next year they’re trying to maintain a balance between funding for salary increases and day-to-day operational needs.
He added as the student body grows, “it means that tuition increases go a lot further. Practically speaking, it means we don’t have to raise tuition as much, right?”
Over the next year, the U will listen to what the governor says about tuition increases and gather feedback from students, said Mitzi Montoya, senior vice president for academic affairs, who also attended the press conference.
“We’re doing a really good job of providing scholarships for some [to offset tuition], but we need to continue to work to understand where we’ve got gaps and who we’re supporting,” Montoya said.
This week, the U ranked eighth in the Wall Street Journal’s list of best public universities in the country, based on student outcomes, learning outcomes and diversity.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
In the 2023 Legislative Session, Sen. John Johnson introduced a bill aiming to prohibit diversity, equity and inclusion programs, also referred to as DEI. Randall defended DEI in the committee hearing, where the bill was then changed to a study.
“By collaborating on diversity, equity and inclusion in higher ed, we’re going to realize many benefits,” said Randall in February. “We’re going to gain a deeper understanding of the significant health and education and housing and economic disparities in the state.”
In today’s press conference, he said they’ve had a lot of productive conversations with legislators over the summer.
“Everyone is on the same page with respect to promoting access to the system, and also making sure that groups are able to complete [school],” Randall said. “… We agree that we’re able to provide services to groups of students that want to find their home here and find belonging.”
Randall said he’s optimistic that bills restricting DEI in higher education won’t exist in the next session.
“If they do, we know where our common ground is, and I think we’ll speak to that common ground and continue to ask that we’re able to do the good work around diversity, equity and inclusion that we’ve done.”
Pac-12 to Big 12
In August, the U decided to move from the Pac-12 Conference to the Big 12.
Logistics of the U’s departure are still being worked out, including how travel plans will impact student athletes and how the transition affects the other departing members of the Pac-12.
A judge granted Oregon State and Washington State a temporary restraining order against departing Pac-12 members on Monday. The order prevents the remaining 10 members from meeting until it’s determined who controls the future of the Pac-12 conference.
Randall said despite the restraining order, they are having productive conversations.
“Our view is we do not want to get in the way of the future plans that Oregon State and Washington State may have,” he said. “We would just like to be able to participate in this year’s operations so that we can ensure that the tournaments get played and our athletes get taken care of.”
