UVU evaluating how to cut its budget, create reinvestment plan as required by Utah Legislature
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- A flag waves in the wind at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Orem.
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- Rep. Val Peterson speaks during a forum at Utah Valley University on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Orem.
Utah Valley University is evaluating how to best proceed after the Utah Legislature passed a pair of bills with significant implications for higher education.
Roughly 10% of the instructional budget for state universities was cut in the latest legislative session, amounting to $8.9 million UVU needs to cut from its budget, a school spokesperson confirmed.
Lawmakers also passed House Bill 265, a bill directing institutions to build a “strategic reinvestment plan.” Schools may recover cut funding and reallocate it to programs that “merit additional investment.”
Each university has to submit their plan to the state by May 1.
“Utah Valley University is collaborating with the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) to formulate a strategic reinvestment plan in accordance with the outlined policies and procedures of HB 265,” the university told the Daily Herald in a statement.
The purpose of the bill — and a glimpse into what UVU’s reinvestment plan may look like — was provided by Rep. Val Peterson, R-Orem, when he spoke at a public forum Tuesday at UVU.
Peterson, who is also the vice president of strategic relations at UVU, said the state invests $3 billion annually in higher education and gets an $11 billion return, but it is looking to improve “on the margins.”
“(We’re) trying to find what programs that we can actually make more tied to the economy and (make sure) we’re putting out graduates who can go out and fill roles that we have within the state of Utah,” he said.
One area the university is considering putting those reallocations toward is an artificial intelligence center, according to Peterson.
“It’s something that hasn’t had a role here at the institution, but, definitely, (artificial intelligence) is going to play a huge role within our communities and within the state,” he said.
He also said he was an advocate for engineering, touting the UVU engineering program for helping meet the state’s demand for engineers.
“If you look at Utah Valley University five years ago, we didn’t have an engineering program. Last year, we produced the second-most engineers within the state of Utah,” Peterson said. “If you look at the two institutions that have really been growing engineering and helping our state meet the engineering demand … it’s Utah Valley University and Weber State University.”
