University of Utah Provost Mitzi Montoya has announced that Senior Associate Dean of Research Rebecca Utz has accepted an appointment as interim dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Science (CSBS). Utz will begin working in this new role on July 1, 2026, and will continue to serve until a new dean is appointed. Montoya will work with Peter Trapa, vice provost and senior dean of the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and CSBS leadership and faculty to determine next steps and timing on a search process for a new dean.
Utz, a professor in the Department of Sociology who has an adjunct appointment in the College of Nursing (gerontology), came to the U in 2004 and has been a senior associate dean for research in the U’s CSBS since 2022. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate students how to be better consumers and producers of research (research methods), and she also teaches courses related to epidemiology, population studies and families and health.
Utz earned a doctorate in sociology from the University of Michigan in 2004. Before that, she completed a master’s degree in gerontology (long-term care administration) from Miami University, and she worked as an applied research associate in Washington, D.C. At the U, she formerly served as director of the Health Society & Policy program (an interdisciplinary undergraduate degree), co-director of the Consortium for Families & Health Research and senior faculty associate for the Family Caregiving Collaborative. Her research interests center on how families manage end-of-life and chronic disease care transitions. Utz has been recognized as a University of Utah Presidential Scholar and has been awarded the university’s Distinguished Teacher and Excellence in Mentoring awards.
“I appreciate Dr. Utz’s willingness to take on this important role and to lead the CSBS during a period of growth and change for the college and for the university,” Montoya said. “During more than two decades at the U, she has proven to be an outstanding professor, administrator and mentor, and I look forward to the contributions she will make as interim dean.”
Utz’s move comes as current CSBS dean, Michelle Camacho, prepares to move into a new role as assistant provost and senior advisor for strategic initiatives for the university. Camacho will begin service in that new position on July 1.
In her interim role, Utz will dually report to Montoya and Trapa.
“I have great confidence in Dr. Utz’s leadership as interim dean,” Trapa said. “She will extend the trajectory of excellence and innovation that defines the College of Social and Behavioral Science.”
The University of Utah’s College of Social and Behavioral Science offers 12 undergraduate majors. With shifting global economies, climate upheavals and escalating health crises, the college’s diverse departments, programs and centers empower students to grasp the vital connection between disciplines in formulating effective human-centered solutions.
“I know transitions like this can feel significant,” Utz said. “I want to honor that by ensuring continuity where it matters most, not to replace what came before, but to build on CSBS’s historical strengths and continue to move forward together. I’m looking forward to helping shape the next chapter of CSBS’s long history of strengths in student success and research.”