Health care vice president A. Lorris Betz at the U. is retiring

SALT LAKE CITY — Dr. A. Lorris Betz, a major heavyweight on the University of Utah campus for the last 11 years, is retiring.

Betz oversaw huge growth in the U.'s health care system as senior vice president for health sciences, executive dean of the School of Medicine and chief executive officer of University Health Care. The health sciences budget jumped from $830 million in 1999 to $1.9 billion in the last fiscal year.

He announced his retirement Tuesday at a board of trustees meeting.

Betz controlled roughly 60 percent of the U.'s campus in his various duties, and it's unclear if his successor will wear all the same hats, said Chris Nelson, assistant vice president for health sciences public affairs.

— Paul Koepp