University of Utah President Ruth Watkins moving on after 3 years

University of Utah President Ruth Watkins announces the U. has been selected to host the 2020 vice presidential debate during a press conference at Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Watkins will step down as president of the U. in April after accepting the position of president of Strada Impact. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Watkins has accepted top post at Strada Impact

SALT LAKE CITY — Ruth V. Watkins will step down as president of the University of Utah in April after accepting the position of president of Strada Impact.

Watkins, who was selected the 16th president of the university on Jan. 18, 2018, will lead Strada Education Network’s national research, philanthropy, policy and thought leadership efforts to improve students’ access to college, degree completion and career connections, according to a university press release.

Strada is a national social impact organization dedicated to strengthening the pathways between education and employment. Strada is based in Indianapolis.

The Utah Board of Higher Education will begin a national search for a new president.

In a letter announcing the news to the university campus community, Watkins said she is eager to have an opportunity to share the U.’s innovative, collaborative approaches to student success with other institutions around the country.

“I believe the work of Strada Impact is more important today than ever before because completing college and securing employment will be especially crucial for millions of young Americans post-pandemic,” Watkins stated in the letter.

Watkins is the first woman selected president in the University of Utah’s 168-year history. Prior to becoming president, she was the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs, a position she assumed in 2013. She joined the U. from the University of Illinois-Champaign, where she spent 20 years in leadership and faculty roles.

“Ruth Watkins has been an exemplary leader for the University of Utah and for the entire Utah System of Higher Education during her tenure as president,” Harris H. Simmons, chairman of the Utah Board of Higher Education, said in a statement.

“Among other accomplishments, under her leadership the university’s students achieved a dramatic increase in degree completion, total research grants increased significantly, and the U. was admitted to the prestigious Association of American Universities. We will greatly miss President Watkins’ authentic, intelligent and personable leadership. At the same time, we wish her great success in her new role,” Simmons said.

Watkins’ signature initiatives, as president and senior vice president, focused on student access, success and degree completion. Other top priorities included diversity, student mental health and wellness, and safety.

Some of the safety reforms on campus were implemented following the homicide of student-athlete Lauren McCluskey, who was fatally shot outside her dorm in 2018 by a man she had dated. McCluskey’s parents sued the university and in November reached a $13.5 million settlement in their two lawsuits against the university.

Both donor contributions and research funding increased significantly during Watkins’ term. A press release noted the U. achieved a capital campaign goal of $2 billion in December 2020 — ahead of a 2023 target date — and a record $603 million in sponsored research.

Watkins drew top-tier administrators to the university to oversee health sciences; academic affairs; equity, diversity and inclusion; athletics; and safety, among others.

The campus footprint changed dramatically, with the completion of Kahlert Village, Carolyn and Kem Gardner Commons, Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House, the Robert H. and Katherine B. Garff Executive Education Building, Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital, Spence Eccles Ski Team Building, David S. Layton Golf Academy, and the in-progress addition of the Ken Garff Performance Zone at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Most significantly for the future, the University of Utah was asked to join the Association of American Universities in November 2019, placing it among the 65 leading research universities in the nation.

“On behalf of the board of trustees and myself personally, I want to express how appreciative we are of President Watkins,” Christian Gardner, chairman of the University of Utah trustees, said in a statement.

This story will be updated.

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