The University of Utah is the state's oldest and largest institution of higher education and is a Tier 1 research university. The various departments and colleges within the university are overseen and administered by the following organizations.
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Taylor R. Randall was selected by the Utah Board of Higher Education as the 17th president of the University of Utah in August 2021. An award-winning educator, innovative leader, and champion of higher education, he comes to the position with more than two decades of experience at the U, serving as both dean of and an accounting professor in the David Eccles School of Business. He is the first alumnus since 1973 to serve as president.
Randall began his tenure building on the momentum established by his predecessors, declaring a bold vision to make the U a top 10 public university with unsurpassed societal impact. His strategy outlines three objectives: to inspire a new generation of students by revolutionizing the student experience, innovate and generate discoveries that change the world, and impact the lives of all 3.3 million Utahns. The vision includes goals to increase enrollment to 40,000 students and secure $1 billion in research funding annually.
In the first year of his presidency, Randall achieved significant milestones on strategic initiatives:
- Embarked on a statewide tour and signed a new compact with the state of Utah to rededicate the U’s role as the state’s flagship university, pledging six commitments to lead, partner, educate, research, provide health care, and serve
- Broke ground on the Impact and Prosperity Epicenter and Ivory House to increase student housing and build living-learning communities
- Hired a Chief Experience Officer to help revolutionize the student experience
- Launched the Wilkes Center for Policy and Climateto leverage the U’s expertise in combatting climate change
- Initiated plans for the John and Marcia Price Computer Science Buildingto support the program’s growth and meet surging demands for computer science graduates
- Saw research grants grow to $686 million
- Oversaw the merger of the College of Mines and Earth Sciences with the College of Science, creating a much stronger base for science and mathematics education
- Announced the Climate Change Action Plan to move the U’s net-zero emissions from 2050 to 2040
- Launched the West Valley initiative, a hospital and outpatient health center that offers world-class and culturally appropriate care alongside an academic campus to support education and career pathways
In his 20-plus years at the university, Randall has become known as a dynamic leader who drives growth and innovation. During his tenure as dean of the David Eccles School of Business (DESB) from 2009-2021, the school grew five-fold and now holds top 10 entrepreneurship rankings for both undergraduate and graduate programs. Seven of the school’s programs are currently ranked in the top 25 in the nation. Under his leadership, the business school also expanded experiential learning opportunities and its societal impact with the creation of the Goff Strategic Leadership Center, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, the Marriner S. Eccles Institute for Economics and Quantitative Analysis, and the Sorenson Impact Center.
Randall began his career at the U as a professor of accounting from 1999-2009. He received awards for the best teacher in the MBA, Executive MBA, and undergraduate programs, as well as the Brady Superior Teaching Award. His professional experience includes consulting positions with major companies such as General Motors, Dupont, and O.C. Tanner. He graduated from the University of Utah in 1990 with honors in accounting and earned an MBA and a doctorate in operations and information management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Randall and his wife, Janet, have four children, one daughter-in-law, and one son-in-law. He loves spending family time playing games, relaxing in the backyard, mountain biking, road biking, golfing, and all things sports-related.
Senior Vice Presidents
The senior vice presidents report to the president and oversee the academic and health care missions of the organization.
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Mitzi M. Montoya, Ph.D., was appointed provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs in January, 2023. She joins the University of Utah with a vigor for solving problems, breaking barriers and innovating change for the greater good.
Montoya is a thought leader in higher education. Throughout her career she has supported student and faculty success, enhanced entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems and led collaborative initiatives to find solutions for social, technical and political challenges.
Before joining the U, Montoya was the dean of the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico. She also served as provost and executive vice president at Washington State University and as the Sara Hart Kimball dean of the College of Business at Oregon State University. At Arizona State University, she was dean of the College of Technology & Innovation, vice provost of the ASU Polytechnic campus, and the inaugural vice president and university dean of entrepreneurship and innovation. Prior to ASU, Dr. Montoya spent 15 years at North Carolina State University where she held the Zelnak Chair in Marketing & Innovation in the Poole College of Management. She received her doctorate in marketing and statistics and a bachelor's in applied engineering science from Michigan State University.
Montoya’s entrepreneurial approach to problem-solving is driven by her research on innovation processes and strategies and influenced by her experiences as a former American Council on Education Fellow. As provost, Montoya seeks to inspire students, faculty and staff; lead innovation efforts; and help the U become a top 10 public university with unsurpassed societal impact.
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Michael Good began serving as the interim president of the University of Utah on April 7, 2021. He is the CEO of University of Utah Health, the executive dean of the University of Utah School of Medicine, and the A. Lorris Betz senior vice president of Health Sciences.
In his roles leading the health system, Good works to assure the professional and educational success of more than 20,000 talented faculty, staff, and students who make University of Utah Health (U of U Health) one of the nation’s premier centers of academic health sciences. His leadership has enhanced U of U Health’s reputation as an academic health system that provides world-class health care, research, education, and service to the state, region, and nation. He leads the organization through a period of remarkable growth, evidenced by the construction of a half-dozen major new facilities on the health campus and in the community, the implementation of transformational educational and research initiatives, and the recruitment of dozens of new leaders and faculty.
Prior to joining U of U Health, Good held many leadership positions at the University of Florida (UF) and its clinical affiliates, including dean of the medical school, senior associate dean for clinical affairs, chief of staff for UF Health Shands Hospital, chief of staff for the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, and system medical director for the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System. Early in his academic career, he led a team of UF physicians and engineers to create the Human Patient Simulator, a sophisticated computerized teaching tool that is now used in health-care education programs throughout the world.
Good graduated with distinction from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in computer and communication sciences. He also earned his medical degree from Michigan, then completed residency training and a research fellowship in anesthesiology at UF and joined the UF College of Medicine faculty in 1988. Currently, he is chair-elect of the Board of Directors for the Association of Academic Health Centers, and a member of the American and Utah Medical Associations and the American and Utah Society of Anesthesiologists.
Good and his wife Danette have five adult children and four grandchildren.
Vice Presidents
The vice presidents oversee all of the administrative and support functions of the university.
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Cathy Anderson, CPA, is the Chief Financial Officer and Vice-President of Administrative Services for the University of Utah. She assumed these roles in September 1, 2018 and July 1, 2020, respectively.
As CFO and VP of Administrative Services, Cathy is responsible for a variety of areas, including: Budget and Planning, Auxiliary Services, Campus Planning and facilities management, Campus Safety, Investment Management, Treasury Services, Financial and Business Services, Internal Audit
As CFO, Cathy works in close partnership with the president and two senior vice presidents on the overall university budget, advising on strategies and actions that enable sound financial management and advancement of the entire University of Utah mission. One of the key aspects of the role is carrying out the One U vision.
Cathy formerly served as chief financial officer for main campus; associate vice president for budget and planning and associate dean for finance and administration in the School of Medicine.
She was chief financial officer for Cimarron Software before joining the University of Utah. She has also held several positions with the Utah State Auditor’s Office.
Cathy has a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from the University of Utah and is a certified public accountant.
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Lori McDonald, PhD, is serving in her third year as Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Utah. She has previously served as Associate Vice President and Dean of Students from 2013 – 2019.
Credited with the capacity to build vibrant partnerships with major offices and academic units across campus, McDonald provides innovative leadership to a comprehensive Student Affairs Division that includes Housing & Residential Education, Student Development & Inclusion, Student Health & Wellness and the Office of the Dean of Students. As Dean, she served as the Student Affairs Administrator for Campus Emergency Management and as the Senior Deputy Title IX coordinator and now sits on the President's Cabinet and the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs' Academic Leadership Team.
McDonald earned her doctorate from the University of Utah’s Department of Educational Leadership & Policy. She has a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs from The Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in biology, also from the U. This year of her tenure as Vice President marks the twenty-fifth year of service within the University of Utah’s Division of Student Affairs.
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Mary Ann Villarreal, Ph.D. is fueled by an unwavering commitment to ensure the doors to receiving a degree remain open and the table is set for everyone to participate. As the inaugural vice president for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the University of Utah, she provides leadership and strategic oversight of diversity and inclusion initiatives across the University’s academic and health sciences campuses.
Through difficult and meaningful conversations with people representing a variety of perspectives and diverse communities, Villarreal aims to foster a shared commitment to cultural transformation in practice, policy, and processes at the U and in higher education. In doing so, she also serves on the Association of American Colleges & Universities’ Board of Directors and the executive committee of the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities’ Commission on Access, Diversity and Excellence.
Prior to her current role, Villarreal served as the associate vice president of strategic initiatives at California State University, Fullerton; the associate dean at Colorado Women’s College at the University of Denver; an assistant professor of history at the University of Colorado, Boulder; and an instructor as well as an assistant professor of history and ethnic studies at the University of Utah. She has authored articles and book chapters, and her book Listening to Rosita: The Business of Tejana Music and Culture, 1930–1955, won the South Texas College Américo Paredes Book Award.
Adopted and raised by her grandparents in a small Texas town at the junction of Texas Highways 239 and 35, Villarreal’s grandmother and sister worked extra jobs so that she could participate in extracurricular activities—a practice that made her a strong believer in creating equity in access to high-impact practices. Villarreal enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and became the first member of her family to earn a degree. She holds a bachelor’s in women’s studies from Mount Holyoke College and a Ph.D. in history from Arizona State University.
When not working, Villarreal enjoys the quiet moments of drinking coffee on the deck with her partner and the laughter when they play board games with their two children and her grandmother. She starts each day knowing she stands on the shoulders of brave and courageous mentors who set her on the path to learning and growing in social justice work and the field of oral history; this path has taught her to enter spaces with a responsibility to make room for others. She believes education can change the trajectory of a life—since it remarkably changed hers.
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In June 2021, Mark Harlan began his fourth year as director of athletics at the University of Utah. A veteran administrator with a deep history in the Pac-12 Conference, Harlan brought more than 20 years of intercollegiate athletics experience at five universities to Salt Lake City, including four years as director of athletics at the University of South Florida.
In his first three years at Utah, Harlan has overseen significant success in competition, in the classroom, in the community, and in fundraising, with marked improvements to the student-athlete experience. The skiing program has won two national championships (2019, 2021) and was the leader through two days of the 2020 NCAA Championships when the meet was canceled; the football program won back-to-back Pac-12 South championships in 2018 and ’19, and played in the Holiday Bowl and Alamo Bowl; gymnastics finished third at the 2021 NCAA Championships, advanced to the 2019 NCAA semifinals and claimed both the 2021 Pac-12 Championship and the 2020 regular season Pac-12 title; and the volleyball program has competed in three consecutive NCAA tournaments with a Sweet 16 appearance in 2019.
In addition, the men’s tennis, women’s cross-country and men’s golf programs have advanced to NCAA Championships competition as teams, and the Utes achieved their highest final fall ranking in the 2019 Learfield/IMG Director’s Cup, ranking 18th, third among Pac-12 schools. That 2019 fall sports season saw all four of Utah’s fall sports programs reach postseason play.
Academic achievement has risen to new heights under Harlan’s leadership, with Utah’s student-athletes posting the top three semester GPAs, including a program-record 3.57 in Spring 2020. In each of his three years at Utah, the Utes’ student-athletes have broken the previous record for full-year GPA, including a GPA of 3.407 in 2020-21. That topped the previous record of 3.387 set in 2019-20, which had eclipsed the previous best of 3.25 in 2018-19, Harlan’s first year at the U.
In addition, Utah’s 95-percent graduation rate, according to the NCAA’s November 2018 Graduation Success Rate report, was the highest in school history, and has been followed by back-to-back 94-percent rates in the 2019 and 2020 reports.
Harlan has spearheaded the development of the Ken Garff Red Zone at Rice-Eccles Stadium, which opened in 2021 and expands the stadium’s capacity to 51,444, while adding new team locker room facilities, club spaces and premium seating. Groundbreaking took place in November 2019, and construction on the $80 million expansion began in early 2020 on the project that will also fully enclose the stadium’s south end zone area. Harlan and University of Utah President Ruth V. Watkins unveiled plans for the project in November 2018, and in April 2019 announced the Ken Garff family’s $17.5 donation, the largest gift in Utah Athletics history.
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Jason Perry is the Vice President for Government Relations and the Director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah. Jason brings more than 25 years of experience working in the public sector, where he has worked extensively with policy makers at the local, state, and federal level.
Jason is a graduate of the S.J. Quinney College of Law at The University of Utah and began his career working for Attorney General Jan Graham. A passionate advocate for protecting children, Jason helped launch the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce and received the FBI Director’s Award for distinguished service to the law enforcement community. He also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney.
Following his service in the Attorney General’s office, Jason became an Administrative Judge in Utah’s Department of Commerce where he quickly rose to the level of deputy director. While serving in this capacity, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. appointed Jason to serve as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. During his time leading GOED, he was instrumental in the recruitment and expansion of companies that bolstered Utah’s economy and helped the state receive numerous national accolades including one of the Most Business Friendly States, Most Dynamic Economy, and Best Managed State. Most recently, Jason served as the Chief of Staff for Governor Gary Herbert. Jason became Vice President for Government Relations at the University of Utah in 2011 and Director of the Hinckley Institute in 2016.
Jason makes his home in Salt Lake City with his wife Mary Catherine and their four children.
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Chris Nelson is the chief university relations officer and secretary to the university. Prior to assuming this role in August 2022, Nelson served as interim chief marketing and communication officer and the university’s communications director/chief spokesperson. Over the course of his 26-year career at the university, Nelson has held a number of senior roles in strategic communications, marketing and fundraising, including: assistant vice president for public affairs at University of Utah Health and executive director of the University of Utah Hospital Foundation. He holds a master’s degree in public administration, bachelor’s degrees in mass communication and political science, and a graduate certificate in integrated marketing communications—all from the University of Utah.
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Jeff Herring has served as the Chief Human Resource Officer at the University of Utah since 2013. Prior to the U, Jeff served on the Governor’s Cabinet as the Executive Director of the Utah Department of Human Resource Management for 12 years. In HR, Jeff has consistently focused on developing the organizations strategic efforts using principles of increasing customer service, efficiency and effectiveness, and leadership capacity.
Prior to his public service, Jeff worked as an attorney focusing in the area of labor and employment law.
Jeff earned his BA in History from the University of Utah. He then went on to earn his MBA with an emphasis on HR and completed his law degree from California Western School of Law in San Diego, California.
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Dr. Erin Rothwell is the Vice President for Research (VPR) and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Utah. Since joining the VPR Office in 2018, Dr. Rothwell currently oversees 18 research administrative units that support research compliance, regulation policies, and safety procedures across campus. In addition, Dr. Rothwell serves as the President of the University of Utah Research Foundation that cultivates research innovation and technology transfer for university real estate prospects and industry partnerships.
Dr. Rothwell’s research is currently funded through the National Institutes of Health and is focused on ethical, social, and legal implications of genetic and technological advancements on individuals and families specifically within newborn screening, prenatal testing, and bio banking.
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Educational Experience:
- University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, J.D., 1987 Order of the Coif (Top 2%) Utah Law Review, Articles Editor
Professional Experience:
- Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy, Shareholder
- Utah Supreme Court, Clerkship with the Honorable Michael D. Zimmerman
Professional Associations and Community Activities:
- National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA)
- Past President Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake Board of Trustees
- Past President University of Utah Honors College National Advisory Board
- Utah State Bar, Ethics and Discipline Committee Member
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Heidi Woodbury has led Advancement at the University of Utah as the vice president for University Advancement since February 2019. During her tenure, she has spearheaded several fundraising campaigns and led the university to exceed its $2 billion Imagine New Heights campaign goal. Since her appointment as vice president, University Advancement has developed campus-wide partnerships with a renewed focus on donor-centric fundraising and a One U approach to customer service and teamwork.
Prior to Heidi’s current position, she served in various leadership roles in the David Eccles School of Business from 1996 – 2019, most recently as assistant dean for external relations. Under her direction, financial support from private, foundation, and industry donors significantly increased; new academic centers and facilities were built to meet the needs of students, faculty, and our community’s business professionals; and alumni connections across the nation and world have flourished. Prior to joining the Eccles School, Heidi was the director of public relations for KUER-FM, the university’s public radio station. During her storied career, Heidi has been the recipient of many awards for her outstanding achievements, most recently the Patti N. Choate Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Fundraising Profession from the Utah Society of Fundraisers.
Growing up in rural Utah, Heidi’s post-high school vision was not to attend college. Fortunately, her academic counselor urged her to apply for the prestigious University of Utah leadership scholarship. The scholarship offered life changing opportunities, enabling her to graduate from the U with a degree in Social and Behavioral Science in 1989. Heidi has since dedicated her life’s work to paying it forward and facilitating more University of Utah chances for those who want to achieve higher education goals.
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As Chief Safety Officer of the University of Utah, Keith Squires is responsible for the oversight and coordination of all campus safety initiatives, as well as supervising the university's public safety divisions.
He served in Governor Gary Herbert’s cabinet as the Utah Commissioner of Public Safety, retiring in September 2018 after 31 years of service as a law enforcement officer. He served as the homeland security advisor for Governors Huntsman and Herbert. Keith has served the state in many other capacities, including as director of the State Bureau of Investigation, assistant superintendent of the Utah Highway Patrol, and director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Keith served as a state and local law enforcement advisor to U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
He holds a master’s degree in homeland defense and security from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and a bachelor’s degree in administration of criminal justice. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and FBI National Executive Institute.
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Andrea Thomas has spent most of her 23-year career in brand management, retail marketing, innovation, and sustainability. Most recently, she was assistant dean of undergraduate studies at the David Eccles School of Business. Before that, she spent nearly nine years at Walmart Inc. in a variety of roles including senior vice president of marketing for the U.S. business; senior vice president of sustainability; and senior vice president of private brands. Previous to Walmart, she was vice president of global chocolate for Hershey Co. and spent 13 years at PepsiCo Inc. working in brand management, innovation, and retail marketing. She received a B.S. in mass communication and public relations from the U, an MBA from BYU, and an EdD in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania. LinkedIn
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