University of Utah asks Legislature for AI compute, database upgrades and expands scholar support for families under $100,000

President Randall of the University of Utah told the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee during a site visit that the research university aims to be more outward-facing and solution-driven while expanding access for Utah students.

Randall opened the presentation by framing three forces reshaping research universities — information ubiquity, changing economic mobility and constrained public resources — and said the University of Utah is positioning itself as an "impact university" that pairs research with workforce outcomes. He said last year the university's research expenditures "crested 734,000,000" and the institution is targeting $1,000,000,000 in research expenditures by 2030.

The presentation included both student-affordability measures and specific funding requests. Randall said the university is launching a scholarship program for first-time, first-year students starting fall 2026: "Any family making under a $100,000 ... if they have a 3.5 GPA and above and they're first time first year students, then, we actually have full full scholarships, that will also include mandatory fees for for 4 years," he said. Randall attributed the university's ability to lower net price in part to reconfigured scholarship programs and internal operational savings.

On research infrastructure, Randall and Vice President of Research Erin Rothwell asked lawmakers to partner on targeted capacity-building. They described a system-wide artificial intelligence computing initiative that would expand statewide capacity for research, education and startups and requested a $5,000,000 ongoing match to help leverage a planned $50,000,000 investment over five years; Randall said the University will contribute $3,000,000 and the Huntsman family has pledged $2,000,000 toward that goal. Rothwell described research funding sources and said approximately 65% of the university's research funding currently comes from federal sponsors, with NIH a major supporter.

Randall also urged modernization of the Utah Population Database — a genealogical-health records resource he described as foundational to past discoveries — saying an upgrade would allow machine learning to accelerate discoveries and that the university would contribute $12,000,000 to the effort. He said the improved database could shorten research timelines substantially, citing an example that once took eight years and might be sped by an estimated 75%.

Committee members asked for clarifying details during a question-and-answer period. Senator Kwan asked about graduate counts and professional-school waitlists; Randall said he would provide specifics on law-school waitlists. Senator Johnson and others voiced support for targeted investments in compute and translational research.

The university closed the presentation by tying the research asks to workforce and rural-health goals, noting partnerships to expand a med school seat program with Utah Tech University and to build a Utah County Cancer Center and West Valley Medical Campus to increase patient access.

The committee did not take an immediate funding vote; Randall and Rothwell left the committee with the stated requests and supporting data for lawmakers to evaluate in ongoing budget deliberations.