Utah State UniversityWhen I stepped into the Chairman role at Utah State University's Board of Trustees, the institution was in crisis: a legislative audit had exposed culture and compliance failures, trust between the board and administration had eroded, and the university had no permanent president. The Governor and state legislature tasked our board with a dual mandate — rebuild leadership and reimagine the institution's future — under intense public and political scrutiny.
I took my role seriously to include all of our trustees in identifying the right job description, the right candidates, and provide feedback so the right selection could be made. I restructured board trustee committees to align to the new strategy of the President and opened up our meetings and discussions to have more transparency and close the trust gap between the board and administration. I met with legislators weekly to rebuild confidence during the very public compliance and culture audit. Once the new president was in place, I worked directly with them to identify talent gaps across the institution and provided direct input on shaping the strategic turnaround plan.
The results have been substantial and measurable. We are in the process of closing out the legislative audit with all findings addressed, and the new president is now actively driving a fresh strategic plan for the university. Board-legislature relations have been rebuilt to the point that lawmakers have publicly praised the university's turnaround. Of more than 20 change initiatives identified, 15 are now well underway or almost finished and the institution is regaining the trust and stability it had lost.
