The University of Utah is continuing its strategic effort to better prepare the institution for the long term.

This initiative to modernize the university’s business and operational infrastructure is intended to reprioritize spending and strengthen the university’s ability to invest in its mission through the next decade and beyond. University leaders say the work will shore up the institution and build resilience for the headwinds confronting higher education.

“The University of Utah has never become stronger by standing still,” said President Taylor Randall. “One of the most important responsibilities of being a leader is stewardship. We inherited a remarkable university that was shaped by those who came before, and we have an obligation to leave it stronger for those who follow.”

Building for the future

Like colleges and universities across the country, the University of Utah faces some of the most significant challenges in its 176-year history. Public trust in higher education and belief in the need for a college degree have declined. The federal government has scaled back research funding. And Utah’s elected leaders continue to push higher education to reduce costs and reinvest savings in high-demand degree programs and emerging fields of study.

At the same time, Utah’s college-age population—and student enrollment at the state’s colleges and universities—is projected to begin a multi-year decline starting in 2032.

Those pressures also are showing up in the university’s financial outlook. While the U remains financially strong, maintaining healthy operating margins is critical to its ability to invest in faculty, students, research, facilities and other strategic priorities. Across the university, expenses are growing faster than revenues, a trajectory that is not sustainable over the long term.

University leaders say acting now, from a position of strength, provides more options and allows the U to make thoughtful changes rather than waiting until financial pressures become more acute.

Bringing the work together

The university’s broader modernization strategy connects several efforts already underway and places them within a common framework focused on strengthening the institution and reinvesting in its mission.

Leaders note this work has already been implemented in the university’s Office of Advancement and in the centralization of the Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

Additional work already underway includes:

• Improving service and standardization of processes through Operational Excellence initiatives
• Transitioning from embedded, but siloed, staff teams to more efficient centralized and integrated human resources, IT, financial services, marketing and communication functions through Coordinated Services
• Connecting planning to educational mission in Academic Affairs (Mission Aligned Planning) and aligning clinical, education and research missions through University of Utah Health’s Coordinated Clinical Enterprise initiatives
• Leading out in college sports through Crimson Brand Partners’ new model for sustainability in Utah Athletics
• Restructuring the university’s retirement contribution formula to free up funding for more competitive employee salaries
• Implementing Anaplan, a modern planning and budgeting platform that will provide better data, stronger forecasting and more informed decision-making across the university

What this means for employees

Building on these efforts, university leaders will closely review requests to create or fill new positions in operational areas being evaluated as part of the modernization work. The goal is to carefully manage workforce growth while organizational structures and staffing needs are being assessed.

At the same time, university leaders expect the U’s approximately 5,700-person, non-faculty and non-clinical (health care) workforce to become smaller over the next year — by 5 to 15%, or 285 to 855 positions — as work is consolidated, simplified or eliminated. The U’s current workforce includes just over 47,000 full-time and part-time positions. University of Utah Health is following a parallel path in coordination with the broader university effort.

According to Chief Financial Officer Gary McArthur, comparable modernization efforts in other organizations have resulted in staffing reductions of 5% to 15% within particular operational functions. He emphasizes that range provides context for planning; it is not a university-wide target, does not apply uniformly to every unit and should not be interpreted as a planned reduction of 5% to 15% across all 5,700 positions.

He notes that some reductions will occur through normal attrition and retirement; others may require positions to be eliminated. The scope and timing will vary by function, and no final decisions have been made about the total number of positions that may be affected.

“Uncertainty about job changes and organizational structure creates deeply personal questions for employees and their families,” said Jeff Herring, chief human resources officer. “The teams doing this work are moving quickly and thoughtfully to meet the goals of our modernization project while always remembering that our employees are the university’s greatest asset. There will be changes, I want to be clear about that. But anyone impacted will be supported throughout the process.”

As decisions are made, McArthur and Herring say the university is committed to communicating directly and promptly with affected employees about timing, available resources and next steps. The ongoing work will proceed in phases. Some changes will begin during the 2026 calendar year with the goal of finishing the work by the end of the fiscal year in June 2027.

Protecting our ability to invest

Modernizing administrative and business operations is intended to free up resources for more investment in the university’s core missions of education, research and patient care. For example, that may mean more faculty positions, increased faculty salaries, more research support, and continued development of a more fully residential campus.

Financial margin is what gives the university the capacity to invest, adapt and respond to new opportunities and challenges. Strengthening that margin is not simply a financial objective; it is essential to sustaining the university’s academic and public missions over time.

These changes will also support the university’s core objective of boosting its graduation rate so that 80% of students can complete their degrees within six years and join the workforce with less debt.

“Ultimately, our goal is to develop a modern university with effective and efficient systems, better tools and reliable data that will allow us to make informed decisions, support faculty and staff and serve our students while moving the institution forward,” McArthur said. “Every dollar and every hour we can redirect from unnecessary complexity is capacity we can put back into our mission of creating impact.”

The comprehensive approach to change management will be tailored to the unique needs of each university department, simplifying day-to-day work for staff while supporting managers as they implement strategic priorities.

University leaders acknowledge these changes represent a departure from how the U, and higher education more broadly, has operated for much of its history. But to remain strong and continue advancing its mission, the institution cannot stand still.

What employees can expect next

University leaders recognize that employees will have questions that cannot all be answered today. More detailed information will be shared as decisions are made, with affected employees and their supervisors receiving direct communication about changes to their positions, timing, transition resources and next steps.

Leaders also are committed to equipping managers with information and resources they can use to support their teams throughout the process. More information will be provided regarding upcoming campus community forums where updates on the modernization work will be provided. In the meantime, specific questions about modernization projects should be sent to coordinatedservices@utah.edu.

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