April 25—The University of Washington Board of Regents has offered the presidency of the University of Washington to Michael Young, currently the president of the University of Utah, according to announcements made today by the University of Washington and the University of Utah.
During his seven-year tenure as the 14th president of the U, Young raised the University of Utah’s profile, emphasizing internationalization and cross-training opportunities, and focusing on incubating new businesses that arose on campus. He also succeeded at attracting venture capitalists to the university’s research and embarked on a major capital campaign to construct new facilities on campus, according to published reports.
“Notwithstanding his departure from the U, President Young’s legacy of university leadership in global education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and service education will continue to serve us into the future,” said Dean Hiram Chodosh. “Both as one of our distinguished professors and as our president, Mike Young’s strong support for the College of Law has been critically important to so many recent accomplishments—from the Stegner 100 to the Global Justice Project: Iraq, from new ventures to the new criminal justice academy, from the recruitment and retention of world-class faculty to the sharp rise in national rankings.”
Young’s selection has been the subject of intense media interest and speculation. Both The Salt Lake Tribune and the Seattle Times have run lengthy articles on the subject. According to The Tribune, Lorris Betz, senior vice president for health sciences, will serve as the U’s interim president while a national search is underway for a permanent successor.