“In my job, part of what I do is think about strategies around recruitment for the Graduate School and begin to connect and partner with various departments throughout the university—deans, department chairs and faculty—to really think about how we conduct outreach, recruitment and engagement. We want students both on campus and externally to consider the University of Utah for their graduate studies.

The focus is primarily on master’s, professional master’s and doctorate programs, of which we have over 240 graduate degree choices with about 8,800 or so graduate students participating in those various programs.

That is some of what I do. I also connect intimately with a lot of our pathway programs that bring students to campus in the summer to do research and internships. I help to conduct outreach and maintain relationships with many institutions that send students to us. It’s a range of institutions, for example, Big 12 schools and HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).

We have a nice, wide variety that comes in the summer, and we find that when students visit, many of the students from outside have never been to Utah before. But we also found that overwhelmingly, it was a positive experience for them. As a result, when these students get here from various parts of the country, they have a very enriching experience. And, in many cases, students choose to come back for a second and third summer.

Several of them end up considering Utah for their master’s, doctorate, law or med school. These are kids who never would have even considered the University of Utah previously; that’s something that’s very positive and very rewarding. I enjoy spreading the message about the opportunities here at the institution.

Having lived in so many different places and worked at a number of institution types, I knew I would be able to parlay the excellence of an institution into opportunities for young people. When I got here and became integrated in the university community with a lot of good folks, great faculty and research possibilities, I knew this would be a great opportunity.

Part of that had to do with the long-lasting connections and relationships I have garnered with institutions around the country. When I pick up the phone or send an email or visit these individuals, be it mentors, faculty or even parents of students, they know I’m bringing them into a trusted environment where they’re going to get a worthwhile experience.

In fact, I just had this conversation with some parents the other day about school choice. I said don’t get caught up in the U.S. News & World Report ranking. What you want to do is think about ‘What is a good quality education? What is a good quality school? And what is a good fit for your student?’

There is no perfect institution, and I’ve been to enough institutions to realize that a lot of them bring a lot of good things to the table. There are environments where there are challenges, but you have to figure out what is the best fit for yourself and how you can maximize the opportunity where you choose to attend.”

—Rodney Cohen, assistant dean, Graduate School