Vice President for Research

Dear Research Community,

Sociologist Emile Durkheim viewed society as a system of unique but interconnected parts in which no one part can function without the other.  Our ability to communicate, grow, learn, progress, and live is deeply connected to recognizing and understanding these parts—both individually and collectively—to ensure sustainable and thriving societal conditions.

Given this context, we appreciate that our society is vast, complex, and constantly evolving. We face numerous challenges that demand long-term, holistic, multi-dimensional, and interdisciplinary solutions. These challenges span a wide range of areas, such as environment, policy, culture, community wellness, healthcare equality, food security, and more. Given their scale, pervasiveness, and integration, these challenges require solutions that go beyond any singular or individual approach.

The University of Utah meets such challenges with a three-pronged strategy: We inspire lifetime success through learning, we innovate by generating discoveries that improve lives and change the world, and we serve our state, national, and global communities. Research is central to this strategy, providing real-world, cutting-edge solutions to the challenges we face in our lifetimes and across generations to come.

To further this mission, we invite all members of our research community to join the University of Utah Societal Impact Working Group. This working group will bring together researchers from across disciplines to develop the structure and scope of a Societal Impact Research Hub. A hub focused on societal impact will facilitate exploration of resources, opportunities, and funding relevant to societal impact and shared goals across campus.

The Office of the Vice President for Research (VPR) will host a 90-minute, in-person town hall to convene campus community members interested in joining the working group, collect feedback on this concept, identify potential leadership, share potential theme areas/funding mechanisms to pursue, discuss potential strengths and barriers in pursuing a Societal Impact Hub, etc. The town hall will take place on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, from 11:00am – 12:30pm (MST).  Note: This will be the first of several events focused on societal impact and research. We anticipate conducting a mix of in-person and virtual events in the future. 

We are collecting RSVPs for this event using Luma. Please RSVP for this event HERE. After completing the RSVP form, Luma will automatically send a calendar invite with event information. Location details will only be provided to those who register. If you cannot attend but would like to receive future notifications, please complete the RSVP form with your contact information. We will retain for future events and notifications.

We encourage attendance and participation from all areas of campus. All University of Utah research faculty, staff, students, post-docs, community/partners welcome to attend this event. Please share with all interested parties.

Questions can be directed to vprgrants@utah.edu. We look forward to seeing you at the town hall. Thank you!