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Utah Tech president touts enrollment growth, asks for targeted faculty and adjunct funding
Summary
President Smead told the Higher Education Subcommittee Utah Tech has nearly doubled headcount over the past decade, met 2025 performance metrics, and is seeking FY27 support including roughly $500,000 for hiring five full-time faculty and continued adjunct compensation increases.
President Smead of Utah Tech University told the Higher Education Subcommittee that Utah Tech has grown rapidly — to about 13,000 students by 2025 — and emphasized the university’s polytechnic, workforce-aligned mission and efforts to rebuild community trust.
Smead said Utah Tech met both timely-completion and high-yield performance metrics in 2025 and highlighted retention gains since 2020 (a 4 percentage-point increase overall). He described targeted operational changes — redesigned advising, expanded orientation and implementation of degree-planning software — that administrators say are supporting on-time completion and reduced unnecessary credits.
Smead outlined 2026 investments the university has used, including $288,400 in ongoing performance funding that helped increase adjunct compensation to $925 per credit hour and a one-time $200,000 appropriation for the Higher Education Incarcerated Youth program. He said the campus distributed more than $45 million in scholarships and Pell grants last year, supporting about 7,200 students.
Looking to fiscal year 2027, Smead requested ongoing funding aimed at maintaining competitive instructional compensation. He said roughly one-third of requested funds would support faculty review and rank advancements and about two-thirds would continue steps to raise adjunct pay. Separately, Utah Tech is requesting $500,000 in ongoing funding to hire approximately five full-time faculty to increase sustained instructional capacity in lower-division courses and improve retention and time-to-degree.
Smead also described partnerships that extend clinical and professional programming into Southern Utah, including University of Utah physician assistant and doctor of physical therapy programs and a shared dental clinic hosted in Utah Tech facilities. He said space constraints make a new health sciences building necessary and that Utah Tech will seek authorization to use dedicated funds for planning and design.
"Utah Tech is a home away from home," Smead said, describing the university’s role as a regional anchor and workforce partner. He closed by noting a $7 million philanthropic gift — the second-largest in the university’s history — and a planned comprehensive fundraising campaign to support students and program growth.
