December 2025 – January 2026

Hello. I hope the beginning of your 2026 is off to a great start.

As we look ahead, spring semester always turns our attention to Commencement—it’s one of the most exciting times on campus.

But more on that in a future recap.

I want to start, with a few thoughts on how we wrapped up 2025.

December was a busy month, much of it focused on athletics. At our December Board of Trustees meeting, we introduced a new solution to address the rising costs of sustaining college athletics.

In short, we proposed that the University of Utah Foundation establish a new company—Utah Brand Initiatives—to enhance athletics revenues, to help fund student-athlete revenue sharing and to manage operating expenses.

We believe this innovative approach will create new funding sources, generate additional revenue for Utah Athletics, and support the broader university mission, while protecting affordability.

With the support of our Board of Trustees, we are finalizing the details and are excited about what’s ahead for athletics.

We also closed out the year on a high note with a Utah Football win in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl on New Year’s Eve. It was great to see so many Utah fans in Las Vegas.

We kicked off the new year by officially welcoming Morgan Scalley as our 24th head coach of Utah Football. In a passionate press conference, Morgan shared his love for the program, the players, and the U. I’m confident we have the right leader for this new era of college athletics.

This month, we honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through a week of events, service, and reflection—reminding us that “the time is always right to do what is right.”

I also had the privilege of introducing University of Utah Impact Scholar Dr. Tim Shriver at the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce’s Economic and Public Policy Summit.

Tim spoke powerfully about why, now more than ever, the belief in human dignity is essential to strong organizations, effective leadership, and long-term economic success. We’re fortunate to have him as both a scholar and a friend of the U.

This month, Provost Mitzi Montoya and I met with alumni boards from across campus in a first-of-its-kind gathering.

We discussed our Impact 2030 priorities and how alumni can help move those goals forward. We also learned about Ask an Alum, a new two-way micro-mentoring platform connecting more than 200,000 alumni experts, check it out at: askanalum.utah.edu.

On the topic of Impact 2030 and specifically serving our communities I’m proud to share that the University of Utah received the 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, recognizing the impact our students, faculty, and staff are making across Salt Lake Valley and the state.

This month, we also celebrated the opening of Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark, the new home of Utah Baseball.

This is more than a new athletic facility—it’s a community asset designed to bring people together well beyond game day.

Thank you to our partners from the City of Salt Lake, including Mayor Erin Mendenhall and the City Council, along with neighborhood leaders, university teams, and our donors. This project shows what’s possible through collaboration and will have a lasting impact for years to come.

Finally, the 2026 legislative session is now underway. Over the next 45 days, we’ll be working closely with lawmakers to advance shared priorities.

This is a critical time to show how the University of Utah partners with the state to build a talented workforce, drive innovation, strengthen our economy, and support the health and well-being of all Utahns.

I encourage you to stay engaged on the issues that matter most to you.

That’s a wrap for this month.

I’ll see you next time and as always, Go Utah!