Segment 1: In his 35 years at the University of Utah, Dr. David Pershing has published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles, earned five patents and received the Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence which honors “excellence in teaching research and administrative efforts.” Now he faces his biggest academic challenge: leading the state’s flagship university. Wednesday, he joins [...]

Getting students more help with their college and career plans is the focus of one Democratic state lawmaker. A bill proposed by Representative Patrice Arent creates a pilot program that would put 18 interns in Utah schools to specifically help students with college admissions and scholarships. Arent says while high school guidance counselors normally do this type of work, they simply have too many other things to get done, having to serve more than 360 students per counselor.

Dr. David Pershing is the new president of the University of Utah. In a unanimous vote this afternoon, the State Board of Regents selected Pershing, who was previously the university’s Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, as its 15th president. In a brief speech at Rice Eccles stadium, he began by praising the faculty, but then turned his attention to students.

Utah residents say education should be the state’s number one priority during the 2012 legislative session, according to an annual statewide poll released this morning at the Legislative Policy Summit at Zions Bank. And as KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, the majority of respondents also want to change Utah’s political caucus system.

New companies in Utah are developing faster than ever before. For the second consecutive year, the University of Utah was named first in the nation for starting companies based on university research. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on how these businesses get started and how the entire state is benefitting.

A new audit calls on Utah’s higher education system to increase graduation rates, discourage students from taking excess courses and increase college preparedness. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, the numbers presented to state lawmakers this morning on Utah’s Capitol Hill show there’s a lot of room for improvement.

The Utah Board of Regents has approved policy changes to strengthen post-tenure review for professors at Utah’s colleges and universities. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, the changes tighten current requirements and clarify language regarding academic freedom, professional responsibility, tenure and termination.

The economic downturn has certainly taken its toll on higher education in Utah. Utah Valley University says it could have taken thousands more students this fall if it had been able to offer more classes. But State Senator Steve Urquhart has been on a listening tour, hearing from students and faculty across the state about how to improve Utah’s colleges and universities.

A neurobiologist at the University of Utah is being hailed as one of the nation’s most promising early career scientists by the New York Stem Cell Foundation. Dr. Christopher Gregg is hoping to gain new insights into obesity, bulimia, anorexia and other disorders by studying the brain.

Some Utah students planning to attend college in the near future may have to wait. While the Utah System of Higher Education reports public colleges and universities are still experiencing rapid growth, they can’t offer all the classes they should be able to. KCPW’s Jessica Gail explains how many students are being turned away, and what schools are planning to do about the problem.