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Board of Trustees

Board of Trustees

Prior to 1969, the University of Utah was overseen by the Utah Board of Regents. An Institutional Council governed the university from 1969 to 1991, when the first Board of Trustees was established.

Today, The University of Utah is governed by a 10-member Board of Trustees, eight of whom are appointed by the governor of the state of Utah with consent of the Utah Senate. The president of the University of Utah Alumni Association and the president of the Associated Students of the University of Utah serve as ex officio board members. The eight appointed board members serve four-year terms, with four terms expiring on June 30 of odd-numbered years. The two ex officio board members serve for the terms of their respective offices. The board elects one of its members to serve as chair and another member to serve as vice chair; the term of these offices is two years, pending the selection and qualification of successors.

The board’s responsibilities include consulting with the Utah Board of Higher Education on the appointment of the president of the university; overseeing the university president’s enumerated and delegated powers; and other duties, responsibilities and functions as delegated and authorized by the Utah Board of Higher Education or through rules and regulations of the university. Its duties include acting on behalf of the university in facilitating communication between the university and the community; assisting in the planning, implementation and execution of fund raising and development projects aimed at supplementing university appropriations; and perpetuating and strengthening alumni and community identification with the university’s traditions and goals. The board also approves all candidates for earned degrees and diplomas granted by the university. More information is available here: https://regulations.utah.edu/u-organizations/2-002.php

The board operates several committees, including an executive committee, audit committee and honors committee that, in consultation with the university’s president, makes recommendations for honorary degrees, portraits and other honors bestowed by the university. The board may form other ad hoc committees as needed to carry out its business.

The University of Utah Board of Trustees meets regularly, in most cases monthly during the academic year. For more information or if you have questions, contact Karen West at 801-585-5846.

Board of Trustees Members

Christian Gardner

Chair

Christian Gardner

Chair
Christian Gardner is president and CEO of The Gardner Company, a full-service real estate firm that specializes in the development of corporate office, retail, industrial and medical buildings. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in real estate development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Gardner is active in many community and charitable causes, including serving as a member of United Way’s Alexis de Tocqueville Society and on the board of directors of: United Way; the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce; and the National Advisory Board of the university’s David S. Eccles School of Business.

Katie Eccles

Vice Chair

Katie Eccles

Vice Chair
Katie Eccles is an attorney, Of Counsel, at the law firm Ray, Quinney & Nebeker. She previously clerked for the Honorable Stephen H. Anderson of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. After graduating from Stanford University, with distinction in history, she earned a juris doctorate from Stanford Law School; she was a Note Editor for the Stanford Law Review and president of the Stanford Law Association. Eccles currently sits on the American Cancer Society Board of Directors, where she chairs the governance committee. She also serves as a director of the Goldener Hirsch Inn and vice chair of the Nora Eccles Treadwell Foundation and the Goldener Hirsch Inn. She also serves on the advisory committees for the Emma Eccles Jones Foundation and the George S. & Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation. She has served on numerous boards, including Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Hogle Zoo, the Natural History Museum of Utah, the Children’s Museum of Utah, as president of the University of Utah’s Young Alumni Association, chair of the Dilworth Elementary School Community Council and on the Board of Visitors of Stanford Law School.

Kim Brunisholz

Board Member

Kim Brunisholz

Board Member
Dr. Kim Brunisholz currently serves as a senior scientist and assistant research professor within the Healthcare Delivery Institute at Intermountain Healthcare. She received a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degree in public health from the University of Utah. Brunisholz is the president of the University of Utah’s Alumni Board of Governors. She was a member of the Canadian Women’s National Gymnastics Team and competed for the U’s Red Rocks gymnastics team. Brunisholz previously served as the president of the Division of Public Health Alumni Association and Student Athletic Advisory Council.

Maria J. Garciaz

Board Member

Maria J. Garciaz

Board Member
Maria Garciaz is the CEO of NeighborWorks Salt Lake, a nonprofit community development corporation that has worked since 1977 to revitalize neighborhoods experiencing blight and decline. She oversees 19 staff members and an operating budget of $3.2 million and a development budget of $8 million, with $32 million in assets. She was an early supporter and community partner of University Neighborhood Partners and brings a fresh and important perspective on the needs of Salt Lake City’s westside communities. Over the past 30 years, Garciaz also has been involved in “high risk” youth intervention strategies and supporting fine arts and cultural events. Garciaz received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in education from Utah State University.

David Parkin

Board Member

David Parkin

Board Member
David Parkin is co-founder and partner at Tower Arch Capital, a Utah-based private equity fund, where he leads investments in new and existing companies. He previously was a partner for Huntsman Gay Global Capital. Parkin also worked in various capacities for the Huntsman Corporation, including his last role as global vice president of intermediates. Parkin serves and has served as a board member for numerous Tower Arch Capital and Huntsman Gay Global Capital investments, along with Huntsman Family Investments and Taylor Derrick Capital. He received a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Utah.

J. Steven Price

Board Member

J. Steven Price

Board Member
Steven Price is the founder of Price Real Estate. He develops and manages industrial/distribution and manufacturing commercial real estate buildings with a portfolio of more than 120 local, regional, national and international tenants in a wide range of economic clusters. In addition, his company acquires and preserves historic buildings in the urban core of Salt Lake City’s Central Business District. Price currently serves as a board member of the Salt Lake Airport Authority Board, the John and Marcia Price Family Foundation, EDCUtah, the World Trade Center Utah, the SLC 2030 Olympic Winter Game Pre-bid Committee, the Utah Sports Commission and was a key partner in the renovation of the Utah Tibetan Community Center. Price attended the University of Utah before moving to work for a family media business in California, where he graduated from California State University with a bachelor’s degree in organizational communication.

Bassam T. Salem

Board Member

Bassam T. Salem

Board Member
Bassam Salem is the CEO and founder of Mindshare Venture, a management consulting and venture firm that helps technology startups and entrepreneurs succeed, and of AtlasRTX, a platform for artificial intelligence-based customer software engagement used in a variety of industries. He is the former chief operation officer of MaritzCX, the world’s largest customer experience technology company, where he was responsible for global operations and a $125 million budget. Salem also worked as the chief business officer at inContact, where he oversaw more than 300 employees and revenue growth of $175 million. Salem received four degrees from the U: a bachelor, master and master of philosophy in computer science and an MBA in management of technology.

Randy Shumway

Board Member

Randy Shumway

Board Member
Randy Shumway founded Cicero Group, a global management consulting firm, in 2001. In 2017, he was recognized as Utah’s CEO of the Year. Today, Shumway serves as chair of the company, in addition to leading Cicero’s social impact private equity spin-off. Prior to founding Cicero, Shumway was an executive vice president and managing director at Answerthink. He worked for Bain & Company and Dow Chemical before attending graduate school. Shumway currently serves on a host of corporate and non-profit boards. Before being appointed to the U’s Board of Trustees, Shumway also was an adjunct professor of strategy at the David Eccles School of Business. He received a bachelor’s degree in international business from Brigham Young University and an MBA, graduating with highest honors, from the Harvard Business School. 

Jim Sorenson

Board Member

Jim Sorenson

Board Member
James Lee Sorenson is chairman of the Sorenson Impact Foundation, which funds sustainable, scalable endeavors designed to positively impact lives and societies. Sorenson contributed $13 million to establish the Sorenson Impact Center at the U. He has founded many companies, from technology to life sciences, real estate and private equity investment firms. He helped develop digital compression software technology at Sorenson Media, which contributed to the online video revolution, and video relay services that transformed opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing individuals at Sorenson Communications. He co-founded Sorenson Capital, a mid-market private equity firm and Catalyst Opportunity Funds, a real estate investment firm. Sorenson has helped launch or grow numerous charitable organizations focused on fostering self-sufficiency of underserved populations. He has held leadership and board positions at several companies and humanitarian organizations, including serving as chairman of Village Capital, the National Advisory Board of Impact Investing, David Eccles School of Business, University Venture Fund, Art Works for Kids, Gallaudet University and the Utah Sports Commission.

Jessica Wojciechowski

Board Member

Jessica Wojciechowski

Board Member
Jess Wojciechowski is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in political science with an emphasis in public policy, and is currently the president of the Associated Students of the University of Utah (ASUU). Wojciechowski and her team are the first all-female student body presidency at the U. Elevating marginalized voices has been Wojciechowski’s priority from a young age. Her experiences growing up as a queer woman in Utah have greatly influenced her roles and work at the U and in the community. She has worked for the Utah House of Representatives as a legislative intern and held several leadership roles on campus, including in legislative capacities within ASUU. Wojciechowski is passionate about education and is currently a high school math tutor with intent of starting a career in education and policy work.

Spencer F. Eccles is the board treasurer.

2021 Meeting Schedules and Agendas

The University of Utah Board of Trustees has eight public meetings annually. Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month. The board usually meets at the Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House, located at 155 Central Campus Dr., Salt Lake City, UT 84112. Changes to meeting locations are announced in the agenda. Agenda materials are posted on BoardDocs no later than three business days prior to a meeting.

Meetings begin at 9 a.m. and are currently being held via Zoom. If you would like access to the meeting, please contact Karen West at karen.west@utah.edu. The length of each meeting varies according to business needs.

On occasion, trustees meet in executive sessions, which are closed to the public; those sessions begin at 8:30 a.m., prior to the board’s regular meeting.

Feb 09
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Mar 09
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Mar 12
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Apr 13
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May 14
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Jun 08
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Aug 10
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Oct 12
Nov 09
Dec 14