SALT LAKE CITY — A committee has named three finalists under consideration to become the next president of the University of Utah.
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After a national search, the U of U Presidential Search Committee on Wednesday recommended three finalists to the Utah Board of Higher Education.
“The University of Utah Presidential Search Committee is pleased to recommend these three candidates to the Utah Board of Higher Education,” said Harris H. Simmons, Board chair and search committee co-chair in a news release. “Our extensive search has led us to capable and distinguished candidates who will have the opportunity to be considered by the Utah Board of Higher Education as the next president and leader of the University of Utah.”
The three finalists are:
Carrie L. Byington, M.D. The Executive Vice President for the University of California’s health enterprise and a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco.
"In her role as EVP, Dr. Byington leads the country’s largest public academic health care system. In this capacity, she has also led the COVID-19 response for the UC System including preparing hospitals for surge, protecting 100,000 health care workers, developing testing, supporting the health and safety of 600,000 students and employees on 10 campuses, coordinating the COVID vaccine roll-out and partnering with the state of California to provide expertise and capacity for pandemic response," the USHE said in a release.
Jayathi Y. Murthy, Ph.D. is the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, with about 190 faculty members and more than 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Murthy is also a distinguished professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Department.
"Under Murthy’s leadership, UCLA Samueli has focused on growth in areas critical to the 21st century, including engineering in medicine and biology; sustainable and resilient urban systems; artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science; cybersecurity and the future internet; robotics and cyberphysical systems; as well as advanced materials and manufacturing," the USHE said in a release.
Taylor R. Randall, Ph.D. joined the University of Utah in 1999 and has served as dean of the David Eccles School of Business for 12 years. Under his leadership, the Eccles School has gained a national reputation as a place of innovation, garnering top 10 entrepreneurship rankings for both undergraduate and graduate programs.
"Currently, seven of the school’s programs are ranked in the top 25. During his time as dean, the value of an Eccles School education has increased dramatically. Experiential learning opportunities have expanded along with the institutes and centers that offer invaluable experience to students in fields ranging from finance to social impact to policy creation. The Marriner S. Eccles Institute for Economics and Quantitative Analysis, the Sorenson Impact Center, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute and the Goff Strategic Leadership Center all have opened under Randall’s direction," the USHE said in a release.
Read more about the finalists on the Utah System of Higher Education's website.
Next, there will be public meetings with the finalists on August 4th. The presidential appointment is expected the next day, on August 5th.
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The public meetings will be held at the Marriott Library Gould Auditorium.
For more information on the public meetings, visit the USHE's website.
