Those Who Came Before (1966-2021)

In 1966, Dr. William Partridge was appointed the first Vice President for Research (VPR) at the University of Utah. A Professor of Physics, Dr. Partridge came to the role with experience as a scientist at the Atomic Energy Commission and Jet Propulsion Laboratories. Over the next thirteen years, Dr. Partridge would help to build infrastructure to position the University of Utah to conduct top-tier research.

Dr. Partridge stepped down as VPR in 1979, and he was followed by Dr. James J. Brophy (VPR, 1979-1990), Dr. Richard Koehn (VPR, 1992-2001), Dr. Raymond F. Gesteland (VPR, 2001-2007), Dr. Thomas Parks (VPR, 2008-2016), and Dr. Andrew Weyrich (VPR, 2016-2021). Those six individuals played an instrumental role in developing the University of Utah over a span of fifty-five years.

Across seven decades, past VPRs developed numerous strategic initiatives, programs, and plans. Yet, those plans were situational; each driven by an immediate goal or temporal objective. What the university lacked was a long-term research plan to guide research across decades (if not centuries).

The Interim Phase (2022-2023)

In 2022, Dr. Erin Rothwell transitioned from Associate Vice President for Research (AVPR) to interim VPR. Caren Frost was already serving as the Associate Vice President for Research - Integrity and Compliance (AVPRIC) and I joined as the interim AVPR.

During the interim phase, we spent many hours discussing how we could enhance the research infrastructure. VPR Rothwell noted that it would be valuable to have a long-term strategic plan that guided the research community across the decades. A long-term plan would facilitate larger strategic moves and provide research leaders with a shared vision.

The development of a long-term plan requires patience and persistence. It also requires platforms for the VPR to interact and engage with the research community. Inspired by the success of the Health Sciences Research Council, VPR Rothwell tasked me with developing a council that represented the entire research community. In Spring of 2023, I put together a committee of 30 research leaders from across campus and over a series of meetings we developed a plan for a larger council. In Fall 2023, the One Utah Research Council (OURC) launched with monthly meetings during the academic year.

At the same time, we launched multiple working groups, town halls, and forums to better understand the interests and trajectory of our vast community. We met with research leaders in every college, chatted with directors of institutes, and asked for bottom-up documents describing research strengths and goals.

The interim phase consumed all of 2022 and most of 2023. Our efforts also paralleled and were informed by larger university moves. Most notably, in Spring 2023, President Randall initiated a university wide effort to develop a new five-year plan for the university. It was a time of honest conversations and deep planning.

Developing the Plan (2024-2025)

In Summer 2024, I began to develop a series of visuals to help the university see and convey research strengths. I viewed this as a “test run” for the development of a long-term strategic plan. I created multiple iterations of the visuals, refining the documents based on feedback from VPR Rothwell, AVPRIC Frost, and multiple staff members including Tyler Matsamas, Whitney Mackay, Sara Salmon, Mercedes Ward, Marian Rice, Natalie Mcleroy, Clarisa Depari, and Nicole Frank. Bridget Hughes, Director of Research Program Development (RPD) Team in the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, was instrumental in working through drafts that would conceptualize research strengths in the health sciences.

These initial visuals were then shared with the OURC, President’s Leadership Cabinet, Council of Academic Deans, and the Academic Senate. After each presentation, the visuals continued to be refined and adjusted.

In April 2025, President Randall announced a new five-year plan for the university: Impact 2030. The goal of the plan was to, “To improve the life of every Utahn and advance a new national higher education model for delivering societal impact.”

After the announcement of Impact 2030, VPR Rothwell tasked me with developing a five-year strategic plan for the VPR. The purpose of the plan was to guide the research community from 2025-2030. From April – September 2025, I worked with VPR Rothwell and Amanda Ashley, Director of Communications for the VPR, to develop the plan. It went through numerous iterations and was revised based on feedback from hundreds of leaders, faculty, and staff. We hosted multiple retreats to explicate pillars for the plan, including Saturday gatherings in the Park Building and a three-day retreat in Park City. Feedback led the plan to evolve and grow. For example, the first draft of the plan had 4 pillars, but that quickly expanded to six pillars and, finally, eight pillars. A primary driver of the expansion was a desire to pair immediate strategic opportunities (e.g., pillar #1: Expand the Portfolio) with long-term research goals (e.g., pillar #4: Create High Quality Scholarship). A five-year plan needs to represent both opportunity and values.

Looking across the iterations, a few themes rise to the surface. First, we tried to represent the entire research community. We focused on “health, technology, and society” as those three areas capture the rich complexity of the university. Second, we infused history into the document. We crafted the plan while celebrating the 175th anniversary of the University of Utah; it was a time to learn and reflect about our past. The document does this directly by including snapshots of administrators and researchers. It also does it indirectly through photos and images pulled from different eras. Third, and finally, the document speaks to disruption both as an immediate force and as one that we have engaged across time. Some of the images, stories, and figures represent moments from our past when we faced disruption such as the mid-1800s, 1920, and 1940. Navigating disruption is and always has been a part of our story. Hopefully, future generations will be strengthened knowing that disruption is part of our DNA.