October 2025

Hello everyone—welcome to another Recap. I can’t believe it’s only been a month – so much has happened and is happening. So, let’s get into it.

What a beautiful fall at the U. We welcomed our largest incoming class ever, a total of 6,513 students. Homecoming Week this month brought our community together in true Utah fashion—from the Swoop Sprint 5K to our first ever Soapbox Derby and the 106th Songfest. What a great season to be a Utah fan.

The Fox Big Noon Kickoff visit to Rice-Eccles Stadium, put Utah football, our fans and university on the national stage. I was told that the Fox team was deeply impressed by our ability to go above and beyond to make the show successful—a testament of the passion our staff and fans have for the U. The positive exposure was immeasurable.

We also recently wrapped up our 175th anniversary celebration—a year-long reflection on how far we’ve come and where we’re headed next.

And we celebrated the naming of the new Spence Eccles Drive on campus and the beam topping-off of the John and Marcia Price Computing and Engineering Building, a facility that will expand innovative research and hands-on learning for generations to come.

We’re also expanding opportunities in higher ed. Earlier this month, we announced Utah Promise, a new scholarship that guarantees full tuition and fees for eligible Utah students from families earning less than $100,000 a year and who have a high school GPA of 3.5 or higher. This new program emphasizes both access and achievement—helping more Utahns graduate on time and launch their futures.

On a somber note, we were reminded of the strength and compassion of Utah’s higher education community with the tragic death of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Our thoughts remain with our UVU colleagues, and everyone affected.

We also paused to honor the passing of Russell M. Nelson, a beloved U alum, global faith leader, medical pioneer, and head of the U’s cardiothoracic program for 20 years. Building on the work of trailblazers like Dr. Nelson, our research and innovation momentum continues to climb.

We’ve teamed up with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and NVIDIA to accelerate discovery using artificial intelligence. We also launched the Nucleus Institute partnership, joining higher education, industry, and government to drive innovation and job growth. And we’re proud of our 2025 Wilkes Climate Prize winner, Build Up Nepal, a social enterprise using sustainable bricks to reduce emissions and rebuild communities worldwide.

As we look ahead, I’m more confident than ever that the University of Utah is climbing higher—creating opportunity, discovery, and impact for Utah and beyond.

Thank you for all you do—and as always, Go Utah.