Taylor R. Randall

Taylor R. Randall, Ph.D. was selected as the 17th president of the University of Utah by the Utah Board of Higher Education on August 5, 2021. Prior to his appointment as president, Randall led the nationally ranked David Eccles School of Business for 12 years. Under his innovative and dynamic leadership as dean, the Eccles School grew five-fold, creating significantly greater opportunity for students, faculty, and the community.

Significant milestones during his time as dean include serving as Utah’s economic lead on the Unified Command for the COVID-19 recovery; increasing scholarship funding for students from $800,000 to over $15 million; forming the Ascent Program for first-generation students from underrepresented populations; achieving a top-three ranking among state schools nationally for the percentage of tenured and tenure-track women faculty; and creating five outstanding centers that serve students and the broader community locally, nationally, and globally. These centers, among others, include the acclaimed Lassonde Entrepreneurship Institute, locally prominent Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, difference-making Sorenson Impact Center, and nationally focused Marriner S. Eccles Institute for Economics and Quantitative Analysis.

In keeping with the Eccles school’s substantial upward trajectory and Randall’s growth mindset, over the past decade, he has overseen the funding, design, and construction of three major buildings on campus and is executing on the design phase of a fourth building dedicated to student experiences and housing. In addition, under his guidance, the University of Utah Venture Fund became the largest student-run venture fund in the country.

Before assuming the role of dean, Randall served as a professor of accounting for 11 years, earning accolades throughout his teaching career for his relentless focus on students. He graduated from the University of Utah with honors in accounting and then earned an MBA and Ph.D. in operations and information management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Randall is a third-generation professor with a long and deep commitment to the University of Utah.