The University of Utah is going back to its history—launching a unified School of Economics.

As part of the university’s strategic effort to boost student success and workforce readiness, advance research prowess and better serve the community, the Department of Economics in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (CSBS) and the Quantitative Analysis of Markets & Organizations (QAMO) Division in the David Eccles School of Business (DESB) will start an internal search for a common department chair this summer. Once that leader is selected, they will guide the transition of the two units to reintegrate academic economics at the U.

“This shift is a strategic decision to align our academic mission with the resources available to us, enabling us to invest in what matters most: student success, research excellence and societal impact,” Provost Mitzi Montoya and the deans of the impacted colleges wrote in a letter sent to economics faculty on April 17. “A unified school will give us a clearer path to connect curriculum, funding and faculty expertise in support of those goals.”

In December 2023, the university’s Board of Trustees asked for a comprehensive review of economics research at the U. Based on that analysis, as well as a survey of economics faculty from across campus, university leaders decided to start a process of reintegration, reversing the segmented evolution of economic specializations that started decades ago.

“The strategic combination of our two economic departments will dramatically improve the value we provide students while simultaneously accelerating the positive, sustained impact the university has both socially and economically on our state,” said Randy Shumway, member of the Board of Trustees. “This collaboration unlocks new avenues for scholarship and research, enabling our valued faculty to have more broad-reaching, meaningful consequences. This is a pivotal improvement that demonstrates the university’s commitment to deliver excellence in education, opportunity and innovation.”

Montoya noted distribution of resources between the two departments is currently inequitable, with more faculty and students in the social sciences, and more resources available to business school faculty. Combining the two departments is an opportunity to minimize overhead, streamline operations, enhance collaboration and direct more resources toward teaching and research, she told economics faculty gathered at a town hall this week.

Economics has a long and storied history on the University of Utah’s campus. In 1896, business education was originally part of the Economics and Sociology Department. In 1917, the School of Commerce and Finance was established and renamed the College of Business 10 years later. In the 1960s, a plurality of economics faculty moved to the new College of Social and Behavioral Science. Many labor economists moved back to the business school’s Management Department several years later. And in 2017, the business school’s QAMO major launched with $10 million in funding from the Charles Koch Foundation and $10 million from the Eccles family. Those QAMO faculty remain at the business school, but the Koch funding has ended.

The university has combined similar and adjacent academic departments and colleges in recent years to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. In 2022, the College of Mines and Earth Sciences was merged into the College of Science. And last year, the U combined leadership and services across the liberal arts and sciences, including the colleges of Humanities, Science, Social and Behavioral Sciences and the School for Cultural and Social Transformation.

Peter Trapa, vice provost and senior dean for Liberal Arts and Sciences, will facilitate the transition to a unified School of Economics.

Once a shared chair is named, that person will work closely with faculty from both departments to determine the steps toward integration. During the transition, existing faculty governance, retention, promotion and tenure structures, curriculum decision-making and departmental operations will remain in place. The timeline for launching a fully integrated School of Economics will depend on the outcomes of a faculty-driven process. 

Faculty from both economics and QAMO will be able to advise on the list of qualifications for a shared chair. Applications will be open from mid-May to mid-June, with the new chair expected to be in place by Oct. 1.

That new leader will report jointly to the deans of CSBS and DESB and will be responsible for working with faculty to guide a phased transition toward a fully integrated school.