Searching for the next USU president
For the first time in the history of the state of Utah, there is a confidential search for a new university president. The new Utah Code Section 53B-2-102 is being actively practiced for the first time on the grounds of Utah State University.
The legislation has been in effect since March 17 and lays out an outline for how higher education presidents shall be appointed.
“A search committee shall: respect and protect candidate confidentiality; and through closed executive sessions review prospective candidates,” the legislation states.
The Utah System of Higher Education released an outline of the committee in a newsletter.
“The USU Presidential Search Committee is co-chaired by Board of Higher Education Vice Chair Steve Neeleman and USU Board of Trustees member David Huntsman. It is comprised of representatives from the Board of Higher Education, USU trustees and institutional stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, administration, alumni and community members,” the newsletter states.
USHE announced the search formally began in May, when the search committee was appointed. From that day forward, the committee has worked to collect feedback from students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members through listening sessions, online comments and anonymous submissions. This information was used to create the “Presidential Leadership Profile” in July, which includes a rubric for the qualities and priorities the next USU president must embody.
The profile states USU holds a unique responsibility to serve rural communities and extend educational opportunities across the state, so the next president must show “deep appreciation for Utah State’s critical role as Utah’s only land-grant institution.”
“Our land-grant mission has so much to do with serving the people of Utah — really helping those rural communities throughout the state,” said former USUSA President Matt Richey, who sits on the committee as the student representative. “The focus on the land-grant mission has been a significant part of our discussion.”
This year’s presidential search is the first in Utah to be conducted under new confidentiality guidelines.
“We’ve really been erring on the side of caution because a misstep here in this search will erode the trust of future searches for other colleges in Utah,” Richey said.
While the search is still underway, Richey emphasized the students of USU remain at the heart of the search.
“One thing that really does matter to students is a present president who’s really present and who’s approachable … and just someone who understands what the life of a student is like — who’s really careful of the way that we’re increasing our tuition and our fees,” Richey said. “Make sure that they’re not charging us any more than they need to and who will be proactive in addressing the needs of students.”
According to USHE director of communication Trisha Dugovic, applications for the position closed on Sept.7, and the process has moved to the interview stage.
“Presidential searches can take several months to complete to allow time for community input, thorough vetting, and careful consideration,” Dugovic wrote in an email to The Utah Statesman. “The Utah Board of Higher Education and the USU presidential search committee are working to move the process forward as quickly as possible while taking the necessary time to find the right leader. The Board anticipates it will publicly name the next president of USU during the 2025-26 academic year.”
The next president will also come into significant political and financial changes, mainly the ongoing reinvestment plan under House Bill 265, which Richey described as “the elephant in the room.”
“We’re the only university in the state that hasn’t had their reinvestment plan approved, and so that’s going to be day one, right?” Richey said. “They have to come in and really get to work on that.”
In an email to all university employees, USU interim President Alan L. Smith wrote, “News headlines pertaining to our strategic reinvestment plan (i.e., HB 265) were misleading – our plan was not rejected. Rather, a motion was approved by the legislative Executive Appropriations Committee to have our plan examined and revised by our new president, with that president bringing the plan to the Utah Board of Higher Education (UBHE) for assessment.”
Despite this looming challenge, the committee remains focused on finding the right leader to navigate any sort of complexity, according to Richey.
“If we’re looking five years down the road — a president who’s still around, who’s going to be around … a president who’s really been able to improve our relationships with the legislature, a president who’s able to really galvanize the community into supporting our athletics … and a president who has never lost sight of the needs of the students, who’s laser-focused on what the students need,” Richey said.
In the meantime, according to Richey, the committee continues their part in the process of selecting the best possible candidate based on the input collected from the Aggie community.