On Feb. 19, 2025, the University of Utah dedicated one of its most innovative building projects—the Impact & Prosperity Center.

Housing in the landmark, curvilinear building on central campus opened last fall to students while construction crews finished a “Changemaker Pavillion”—home to two teams, the Center for Business Health and Prosperity and the Sorenson Impact Institute. The U community members celebrated a ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the Impact & Prosperity Epicenter.

“We’re engaged in important work, but this facility allows us to accelerate, expand and think much more audaciously about our role in the world,” said Stephen Alder, executive director of the Impact & Prosperity Epicenter. “We have the opportunity with projects, along with focused investment, to make a lasting difference. What we’re being charged with now is to think bigger and bolder—not just how to change communities or countries, but how do we change the world?”

The epicenter was envisioned as a collaborative creation space and home for students from academic programs across campus to share ideas and innovations that will benefit people around the globe far into the future.

President Taylor Randall expects the project to play an important role in helping the U in its ongoing efforts to become a worldwide leader in innovation.

“It’s an amazing day, because this is a facility that will inspire students to find their passions and then find ways to execute those passions in the world,” he said.

Second-year marketing student Mya Oetinger said the Epicenter is a place where everyone in any field of study can go to work with other like-minded students and find inspiration for new ideas.

“There’s an abundance of majors here—about 60 of them,” Oetinger said. “I feel like that makes it even better because there’s just so much diversity here academically. Everyone has one thing in common with their goal of trying to make the world a better place. That’s kind of what the Epicenter is focused around—benefiting humans and the planet.”

Alder noted that for truly audacious ideas to take shape and come to fruition, one cannot be afraid to extend the boundaries of what was previously thought possible.

“President Randall has always said that if your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough,” he said. “Well, it’s time to start dreaming up big, scary inspiring ideas that we can make into reality.”