It’s not a secret that higher education in the United States is facing a major public relations problem.
Public opinion polls indicate a greater loss of confidence in higher education than any other American institution, including the military, police or Supreme Court, University of Utah President Taylor Randall noted in a recent Church News interview.
Why the loss in confidence? For one thing, individuals are consuming information in different ways outside the traditional university model. Another factor is the increasing cost as well as the political polarization hitting many college campuses. “Many, many Americans question the return on investment,” Randall said of earning a college degree.
As a college administrator, Randall is tasked with addressing many of these and other issues.
Despite the smorgasbord of obstacles facing many college campuses, including his own, Randall told the Church News that being a university president “is a fascinating job to have.”
Randall, a lifelong Latter-day Saint, is now three years into his tenure at Utah’s flagship public university, which was founded in 1850 by Church President Brigham Young.
The university — in the same city as Church headquarters and that was founded by Latter-day Saint pioneers — includes a large population of Church members, many of whom frequent the spacious institute of religion adjacent to campus or worship in student singles or married wards.
During the recent interview, Randall spoke of the impact of the Church’s institute program on campus and the role it can have in addressing some of the challenges facing higher education.
‘A positive force’
To address growing skepticism, universities today need to inspire people or imbue them with hope, Randall said. “We have to show that we’re actually helping society innovate and get better.” In regard to research, the university has the responsibility to make sure it does “user-driven research” or, in other words, “make sure what you’re trying to solve is actually relevant to people today and will lead to making life better.”
Another way to look at it is being service-oriented — something many religious institutions, such as the Church, are focused on — and one of the reasons Randall has been a great supporter of the Church’s institute.
The institute exudes a spirit of service that blesses the rest of campus, he said, and does it in an inclusive way.
“Universities should be a marketplace of ideas” where individuals from different backgrounds and opinions can have “fantastic discourse” with mutual respect and where any topic can be brought up.
One of the things he loves about his job and the University of Utah, Randall said, is that diversity of opinions, including religious opinions.
And besides being service-oriented, the Church’s institute program fosters cooperation with other faiths on campus.
Randall said it’s been spectacular for him to go to the Newman Center — the Catholic parish that serves the campus — or meet with different Jewish, Muslim or Christian groups on campus and “see the goodwill that exists between many of our religious organizations and secular organizations,” he said, adding, “Our institute is a positive force in that dialogue.”
Optimism for the future
In his own life, Randall said his faith and membership in the Church have enabled him to “take the long view of people, to be optimistic about the challenges we face in society. It gives me a predisposition for love and accepting people. It informs my leadership in almost everything I do.”
For example, Randall said he often listens to general conference talks and looks at what Church leaders have said through the lens of “how can I use that at the university and in my leadership?”
So in spite of the many challenges facing universities, Randall said, “I sleep easy at night.”
His role as university president has given him “an extraordinary hope for the future of humankind” — a feeling that is emphasized by the innovations and energy and vibrancy of the rising generation.
“Our future is so bright, and I think much of that is brought to our campus by members of our Church, and it gets accelerated with their interaction with people of other faiths. And we’re building a society that is durable, that is sustainable, that is running at the large questions of society and culture rather than away from them, and they’re going to come up with solutions, and we should all feel good,” Randall said.
