University of Utah presidents

The University of Utah presidents include all sixteen men and women who served as president of the University of Utah or its predecessor the University of Deseret, which was founded in 1850 ^[1] just a few years after the Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.

List of presidents

According to the university's official count the current president, Taylor Randall, ^[2] is the 17th president of the University. ^[3] The university only counts the presidents that have served since the name was officially changed to the University of Utah, starting with John R. Park. The count also only counts the presidents, not the actual terms, because Joseph T. Kingsbury was president two different times. ^[4]

No.	President		Term start	Term end	Notes
Chancellors of the University of Deseret (1850–1892)
–		Orson Spencer [a]	1850	1852	[1]
–		NONE [b]	1852	1867	[5]
–		David O. Calder [c]	1867	1869	[5]
Presidents of the University of Utah (1892–present)
1		John R. Park [d]	1869	1892	[6] [7]
acting		Joseph T. Kingsbury [e]	1892	1894	[5] [8]
2		James E. Talmage	1894	1897	[9] [10]
3		Joseph T. Kingsbury [f]	1897	1916	[8]
4		John A. Widtsoe [g]	1916	1921	[11]
5		George Thomas	1921	1941	[12]
6		LeRoy E. Cowles [h]	1941	1946	[13]
7		A. Ray Olpin [i]	1946	1964	[14] [15]
8		James C. Fletcher [j]	1964	1971	[16]
9		Alfred C. Emery	1971	1973	[17]
10		David P. Gardner	1973	1983	[18]
11		Chase N. Peterson	1983	1991	[19]
12		Arthur K. Smith	1991	1997	[20]
13		Bernie Machen	January 1, 1998	December 31, 2003	[21] [22]
interim		Lorris Betz	January 1, 2004	July 31, 2004	[23]
14		Michael K. Young	August 1, 2004	May 15, 2011	[24] [25]
interim		Lorris Betz	May 16, 2011	March 11, 2012	[26]
15		David W. Pershing	March 12, 2012	April 1, 2018	[27] [28]
16		Ruth Watkins	April 2, 2018	April 7, 2021	[29] [30] [31]
interim		Michael L. Good	April 8, 2021	August 8, 2021	[32]
17		Taylor R. Randall	August 9, 2021	Present	[33]

Table notes:

1. Orson Spencer was named as the first chancellor of the University of Deseret when it was created on February 28, 1850. His tenure only lasted a short time until the university was temporarily closed.
2. The University of Deseret was suspended for fifteen years due to the lack of funds and "feeder" schools.
3. David O. Calder was a Mormon Pioneer from Scotland who was assigned by Brigham Young to re-open the University after its fifteen-year closure.
4. John R. Park is the longest tenured president in the history of the University of Utah, serving for 23 years. At the end of his tenure the name of the university was changed to The University of Utah and planning began to move the campus to the east bench of Salt Lake City. Upon his death in 1900, Dr. John R. Park bequeathed his entire fortune, plus his library, to the University of Utah.
5. Joseph T. Kingsbury became the first president of the university to have actually attended the university.
6. For the second time Kingsbury was appointed as the president of the University of Utah, this time serving for nearly twenty years.
7. John A. Widtsoe was the president of Utah State University from 1907 until 1916 when he became the president of the University of Utah. He continued as president until he was called as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve in the LDS church. The University of Utah, Utah State, and BYU all have buildings named after him.
8. His presidency, 1941–46, spanned the World War II years. Classes were added in military science, economics and philosophy of war and programs began in Army pre-flight, Navy V-1 and R.O.T.C. One of the far-reaching academic achievements of the period was expansion of the medical program into a four-year medical school. In 1980 one of the first three buildings on the campus was renamed in his honor. The LeRoy E. Cowles Building currently houses Mathematics.
9. During A. Ray Olpin's presidency the university quadrupled in size and the enrollment tripled from 4,000 to 12,000 students. The current student union building at the university is named in his honor.
10. James C. Fletcher was the president at the university from 1964 until he became the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1971.

Timeline of presidential terms

Presidents of the University of Utah v t e

References

1. "University of Utah Sesquicentennial, 1850-2000". J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections. 2000. Archived from the original on 2008-11-16. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
2. "Taylor R. Randall named as 17th U president | @theU". attheu.utah.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
3. "President Ruth Watkins, University of Utah". University of Utah. 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
4. "Past presidents of the University of Utah". University of Utah.
5. Whitney, Orson F. (1904). History of Utah. G. Q. Cannon. p.  356 . Retrieved March 31, 2009– via Internet Archive.
6. "The New U of U, 1892-1914". University of Utah. Archived from the original on 2008-11-16. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
7. "John R. Park". University of Utah.
8. "Joseph T. Kingsbury". University of Utah.
9. "University of Utah Alumni Association e-newsletter, U-News & Views, August 2007". Archived from the original on 2010-06-14. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
10. "James E. Talmage". University of Utah.
11. "John A. Widtsoe". University of Utah.
12. "George Thomas". University of Utah.
13. "LeRoy E. Cowles". University of Utah.
14. "A. Ray Olpin". University of Utah. 2007. Archived from the original on March 27, 2009. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
15. "A. Ray Olpin". University of Utah.
16. "James C. Fletcher". University of Utah.
17. "Alfred C. Emery". University of Utah.
18. "David P. Gardner". University of Utah.
19. "Chase N. Peterson". University of Utah.
20. "Arthur K. Smith". University of Utah.
21. "Bernie Machen". University of Utah.
22. Peterson, Anne Palmer (Winter 1998). "Hats off to President Machen". Continuum. Vol. 7, no. 3. University of Utah.
23. "Dr. Lorris Betz Appointed Interim President of University of Utah". University of Utah. December 8, 2003.
24. "Michael K. Young". University of Utah.
25. "U of U Inauguration Symposia to Feature Former Secretary of State James Baker". University of Utah. March 25, 2011.
26. "Dr. Lorris Betz appointed Interim President of University of Utah". University of Utah. May 2, 2011.
27. "David W. Pershing". University of Utah.
28. "New U President Takes Office". University of Utah. March 9, 2012.
29. "Ruth V. Watkins". University of Utah.
30. Adams, Brooke (Summer 2018). "President Watkins...knows what she wants to do". Continuum. University of Utah.
31. "U President Ruth V. Watkins accepts top post at Strada Impact". Utah System of Higher Education. January 12, 2021.
32. "Utah Board of Higher Education appoints Dr. Michael L. Good as interim president of University of Utah, effective April 2021". Utah System of Higher Education. February 20, 2021.
33. "Taylor R. Randall named as 17th U president". University of Utah. August 5, 2021.