The University of Utah is one of the newest members of the prestigious Association of American Universities, which for more than 100 years has recognized the most outstanding academic institutions in the nation.

Mary Sue Coleman, president of the Association of American Universities (AAU), announced Wednesday that University of Utah President Ruth V. Watkins has accepted an invitation to join the association, along with the University of California, Santa Cruz and Dartmouth College. The three new members bring the number of AAU institutions to 65.

“AAU’s membership is limited to institutions at the forefront of scientific inquiry and educational excellence,” said Coleman. “These world-class institutions are a welcome addition, and we look forward to working with them as we continue to shape policy for higher education, science, and innovation.”

AAU invitations are infrequent; this year’s invitations are the first since 2012.

“We are delighted to be invited to join the Association of American Universities, the most prestigious association in higher education,” said Watkins. “AAU requires its member institutions to be engaged at the highest levels of research, scholarship and education. Our selection as one of AAU’s newest members reflects the excellence the University of Utah has achieved in each of these areas.”

“It also is a confirmation of the quality and caliber of our faculty and the innovative work they are doing to advance knowledge and address grand societal challenges,” Watkins said. “This will open new paths for our researchers and our institution to be at the forefront of higher education research, education, programs and policies.

“Our students and our community will be the ultimate beneficiaries of these endeavors. I want to thank the association for recognizing the tremendous progress of the University of Utah in achieving comprehensive excellence and filling its role as our state’s flagship research institution,” Watkins said.

About the AAU

The AAU formed in 1900 to promote and raise standards for university research and education. Today its mission is to “provide a forum for the development and implementation of institutional and national policies promoting strong programs of academic research and scholarship and undergraduate, graduate and professional education.”

A current list of member institutions can be found here. The membership criteria are based on a university’s research funding (the U reached a milestone of $547 million in research funding in FY2019); the proportion of faculty elected to the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine; the impact of research and scholarship; and student outcomes. The U has 21 National Academies members, with some elected to more than one academy.

An AAU committee periodically reviews universities and recommends them to the full association for membership, where a three-fourths vote is required to confirm the invitation.

Leaders of AAU member universities meet to discuss common challenges and future directions in higher education. The U’s leaders will now join those meetings, which include the leaders of all the top 10 and 56 of the top 100 universities in the United States.

“This is a marvelous achievement for the University of Utah and for our state,” said Harris Simmons, chair of the Utah Board of Regents. “It is well-deserved recognition of the outstanding quality of the U’s faculty and academic programs. It also is an incredible accomplishment for President Watkins, whose leadership is guiding our flagship institution to national prominence and proving influential within our entire system of higher education. It is a big win for us all.”

U on the rise

In FY2019, the U celebrated a historic high of $547 million in sponsored project funding, covering a wide range of research activities. These prestigious awards from organizations such as the U.S. Department of Energy, National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation are supporting work in geothermal energy, cross-cutting, interdisciplinary approaches to research that challenge existing paradigms and effects of cannabinoids on pain management.

They also are funding educational research programs with significant community engagement, such as the U’s STEM Ambassador Program and the Genetic Science Learning Center’s participation in the All of Us Research Program.

On Nov. 4, 2019, the U announced a $150 million gift, the largest single-project donation in its history, to establish the Huntsman Mental Health Institute. These gifts and awards are in addition to the ongoing support of the U from the Utah State Legislature.

This fall, the university welcomed its most academically prepared class of first-year students. The freshman cohort includes 4,249 students boasting an impressive 3.66 average high school GPA and an average ACT composite score of 25.8. The incoming class also brings more diversity to campus with both a 54% increase in international students and more bilingual students than the previous year’s freshman class. Among our freshmen who are U.S. citizens, 30% are students of color.

The U’s focus on student success has led to an increased six-year graduation rate, which now sits at 70%—well above the national average for four-year schools. The rate has jumped 19 percentage points over the past decade, making it one of only two public higher education research institutions to achieve this success.

“The invitation from the AAU is the result of the investment the citizens of Utah make in their flagship institution, the University of Utah,” said H. David Burton, chair of the University of Utah Board of Trustees. “We already knew that the U was one of the jewels of Utah and of the Intermountain West. This invitation shows that we are one of the jewels of the entire nation.”