During the 2012 Utah State Legislative session, $2.5 million was appropriated in new ongoing funds for the Engineering Initiative. This statewide initiative has been amazingly successful and the increased funding will help the U of U to recruit faculty and increase the number of engineering and computer science graduates.

The Legislature also appropriated $6 million in new funding for the USTAR initiative, including $3 million in ongoing and $3 million in one-time funds. Over the past six years, the USTAR initiative has attracted world-class researchers to the state and has brought in over $175 million in direct and indirect research funds. This initiative has been critical to the mission of the University of Utah. USTAR is Utah’s effort to facilitate research and technology commercialization in an effort to strengthen Utah’s “knowledge economy” and generate high-paying jobs.