- Utah's ranking elected leaders and the state's public college presidents signed a resolution Friday pledging support for students.
- The resolution signals a shared commitment for preparing students for meaningful lives and successful careers.
- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox: Higher education teaches people to think for themselves.
Perhaps it’s fitting that many of the state’s top educators who gathered together Friday are all determined to earn straight A’s.
In this case, the group pledged to make sure higher education in Utah remains “Affordable, Accessible and Attainable.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and ranking Republican legislative leaders were joined Friday in the Capitol’s Gold Room by a veritable “who’s who” of public higher education in Utah — including almost all of the state’s college presidents, the chair of the Utah Board of Higher Education and the CEO of the state’s higher education system.
Each added their signature to a “Higher Education Resolution.”
“As leaders of the State of Utah and Utah’s System of Higher Education,” the resolution reads, “we are committed to our core mission: to cultivate minds, foster discovery, build a civil society, and prepare students for meaningful lives and successful careers.”
The declaration goes on to signal a shared commitment to keeping higher education affordable, accessible and focused on “impactful outcomes — preparing graduates to think critically and independently, thrive in the workforce, and strengthen their families, communities and our state.”
The past year in Utah’s higher education community has been marked by disruption. An ongoing, state-mandated strategic reinvestment plan has required the state’s public colleges to reallocate millions of budget dollars to programs determined to be of highest value.
The reallocation plan has its proponents. It has opponents. But it has altered operations in every public degree-granting institution.
Cox noted that one of the first things the pioneer settlers did after arriving in what’s now Utah was establish institutes of higher learning.
“So it’s been a priority for over 176 years in this place, and I’m grateful to the leaders who continue to strengthen those institutions,” he said. “Utah’s System of Higher Education has been instrumental in driving economic growth in our state.
“We’re so proud of producing high-yield degrees for a strong workforce. Offering affordability with lower student debt than the national average — and boosting individual prosperity through higher earning and better health outcomes.”
Higher education, he noted, teaches people how to think for themselves.
“Our ability to debate one another. Our ability to understand who we are as Americans. Our ability to reason and to learn from our past mistakes is just as important as any of the economic boosts that we see here.”
It’s critical, said Cox, to prioritize access by empowering students to claim admissions opportunities, scholarships, financial aid and high school concurrent enrollment.
“We need to increase timely completion of degrees, awards and industry credentials by mitigating or removing barriers to time of completion — and to always award credit for prior learning.
“We don’t have to make this harder than it is.”
Ranking lawmakers tout Utah’s higher education
Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said Utah’s higher education system allows the Beehive State a place at the table of the global economy.
“We’re seeing what’s going on around the world,” he said. “We see what’s happening in China and other spots, and we think about all the things that are happening with critical minerals and energy development. We are in a dynamic spot.”
Adams recalled growing up during a nuclear arms race.
“We’re in an economic arms race right now. We need to try to solve that in Utah. And I feel passionately that America is the hope of the world.”
Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, thanked the state’s higher education leaders for their willingness to “do what is right for the students — even when the work is often difficult, uncomfortable and sometimes unpopular."
Many college campuses across the country, he added, are “increasingly consumed” by social battles and political conflicts.
“Utah has made a deliberate choice to lead differently. We have chosen collaboration over confrontation. We have chosen reform over rhetoric. And we’ve chosen to stay focused on what truly matters — and that’s delivering real opportunity to our students.”
The goal of all who gathered Friday, said Schultz, is the same: “To give Utah students the best possible chance to build meaningful lives and contribute to their communities together.”
Utah’s higher education leaders sound off
Utah Board of Higher Education Chair Amanda Covington said Friday that higher education touches everything — so Utah’s education leaders have to get it right.
“Our students, and the faculty and staff who serve and support them, really are the core of our state,” she said.
“Students are on campus with unique experiences and backgrounds. They have questions and they have ambitions. And hopefully our goal is to have them prepared to thrive in their careers and beyond.”
Utah’s public colleges and universities, added Covington, must remain places where students find support.
“Our institutions are teaching students how to reason carefully, disagree respectfully and better, and to participate constructively in a very complex world.”
Southern Utah University President Mindy Benson spoke Friday on behalf of the state’s degree-granting institutions.
“This resolution,” she said, “reflects our shared commitment to keeping college affordable, accessible and focused on outcomes that matter for all of us.
“Preparing students not just for their first job, but for meaningful careers and lives as critical thinkers, problem solvers, better neighbors, innovators and leaders.”
Dixie Technical College President Jordan Ruston said Friday’s resolution signatories share a common purpose, regardless of their varied duties.
“Whether students are graduating with a research doctorate from one of our research institutions or a certification in a high-yield field from one of our technical colleges, the outcomes are the same: Lives are changed for the better.”
When Utah’s higher education students succeed, he added, “Utah succeeds.”
Utah Commissioner of Higher Education Geoffrey Landward offered the formal reading of Friday’s higher education resolution.
He saluted the commitment of the state’s elected leaders and higher education chiefs to fortify education at a national moment when colleges are being devalued and distrusted.
“Unified leadership is not the absence of difference — it is the mastery of it,” he said.
“When leaders align around shared purpose, individual strengths are no longer isolated talents, but become force multipliers. Vision sharpens. Trust deepens. Momentum accelerates.
“In the Utah System of Higher Education, we are on the precipice of pioneering new ways to deliver exceptional higher education to our students and communities more effectively — while increasing access and enhancing excellence.”
