- Utah Valley University President Astrid Tuminez is granted a temporary leave of absence following the unexpected passing of her husband, Jeffrey Tolk.
- Tolk died Feb. 5, after suffering a pulmonary embolism while mountain climbing in Ecuador.
- UVU Vice President Jim Mortensen is serving as UVU's acting president until Tuminez returns in April.
Utah Valley University President Astrid Tuminez is taking a brief sabbatical following the recent death of her husband, Jeffrey Tolk.
On Tuesday, the executive committee of the Utah Board of Higher Education approved a request for Tuminez to take a leave of absence from her duties at the Orem university through March 31.
Board policy authorizes the executive committee to grant such leave of absences and sabbaticals for its institution presidents.
“We’re all very shocked and sorry for the loss of President Tuminez’s husband and completely understand her request for such a leave,” said board chair Amanda Covington.
At Tuminez’s request, Jim Mortensen, UVU’s vice president of finance and auxiliary services, was appointed Tuesday as the university’s acting president, giving him authority to act as school president during Tuminez’s absence.
“We’re supportive of Jim Mortensen — and appreciate him stepping into this role,” said Covington.
UVU campus mourns loss of ‘first gentleman’
The death of Jeffrey Tolk — Utah Valley University’s “first gentleman” — on Feb. 5 has staggered the campus community at the state’s largest university.
“We will miss him more than words can express,” UVU noted in a press release.
Tuminez, meanwhile, called her husband of 37 years her “soul mate, my pillar and partner … who will have my heart, my laughter, and my tears forever.”
Tolk, 61, died after suffering a pulmonary embolism and complications caused by high altitude while climbing Ecuador’s Mount Cotopaxi, according to his obituary.
In 2016, the obituary noted, Tolk was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was told by his doctors that “his life would change drastically, that he could end up in a wheelchair, and that he might suffer debilitating physical and mental challenges.”
Doctors also told him that exercise was the most proven activity for alleviating Parkinson’s effects.
Soon after his diagnosis, Tolk started climbing mountains — summiting Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mount Whitney in the U.S., Mera Peak in Nepal, and Thorong La Pass on the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal.
“Jeffrey spent his last moments doing what he loved,” the obituary added. “He wanted to live fully, so he did. Just a few months ago, he jumped out of an airplane in Nephi, Utah. In the mountains and in the air, he felt very little of his Parkinson’s symptoms. He felt free. All who love him wish for him to keep climbing and flying.”
Professionally, Tolk enjoyed a broad career in corporate law, international banking and asset management. He was a business owner and investor and taught finance as an adjunct professor at UVU.
He was also a proud member of Wolverine Nation and an ardent supporter of school athletics and other campus activities.
Tolk and Tuminez met at a church dance when they were both students at Harvard and were married in 1988. The couple are the parents of a daughter — Michal — and two sons, Whitman and Leo.
A public viewing for Tolk will be held on Feb. 27 from 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. in the Roots of Knowledge Gallery in the Fulton Library on the UVU campus.
Tolk’s funeral will be held the following day, Feb. 28, at 10 a.m. in the UCCU Center on campus and will be livestreamed.
Acting UVU President Jim Mortensen
Mortensen was promoted to vice president at UVU in 2023 after working as an MBA Program professor at the school and the founder and CEO of Idyllwood Investments LLC.
Additionally, Mortensen has facilitated strategic planning and training sessions for the Utah Highway Patrol, the Mighty Five Parks, Davis County, the Human Resource Association of Central Utah, and other organizations, according to his UVU bio.
He was an adjunct professor of economics, statistics, leadership, and project management at Brigham Young University for seven years. Prior to that, he was a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton.
In 2019, he received the Ian Wilson Community Engagement Award from the Woodbury School of Business.
Mortensen holds a Master of Public Administration from BYU, a Master of Science in human development from Virginia Tech and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from BYU.