Education

Utah’s Gender Wage Gap

Written by: Christopher Collard

Last October there was some buzz created by 24/7 Wall St ranking Utah as the number one worst state for women. The gender wage gap, or the difference in pay between an equally skilled, equally experienced man and woman was one factor used in the ranking. Estimating the pay gap is somewhat difficult. Numerous factors determine wages such as, skills, education, experience, and others. Using U.S. Census data we attempt to deconstruct the gender wage … Continued

Does Student Debt Slow Utah Millennials Down?

Written by: Christopher Collard

Does Student Debt Slow Utah Millennials Down? The ballooning amount of student debt is startling. Across the country, it adds up to almost 1.3 trillion dollars in total. As a comparison, that is almost how much US currency is in circulation today. Moreover, the majority of that debt is carried by a demographic (22-26 year olds) that needs its borrowing power. A lot of research has shown that a high level of student debt slows … Continued

Colorado Education Report Gets Attention from Media, Legislature

Written by: Dan Bammes

Utah Foundation’s report Lessons from Our Neighbor: Learning from Colorado’s Educational Success drew substantial coverage in Utah news media after its release July 7th. It was featured on the front page of the Salt Lake Tribune and on the KSL-TV broadcast PrimeTime along with several other news outlets. Utah Foundation Research Director Shawn Teigen discusses the Colorado education report with KSL-TV news anchor Deanie Wimmer   In the report, Research Director Shawn Teigen and Research … Continued

How do you Define a Generation?

Written by: Christopher Collard

This month Utah Foundation will release the fourth part of its report looking at generational differences among Utahns and their national counterparts. The first problem encountered when writing this report is defining the generations themselves. Each organization has a different generational definitions, but the table below outlines some of the more common generations as well as a few alternatives.   Most Common Generations Generation Alternate Names General Birth Cohort Greatest Generation GI Generation, Traditionalists 1910-1928 … Continued

Turning Education Funding Around

Written by: Dan Bammes

Governor Gary R. Herbert was asked about the recent Utah Foundation report on growth in Utah’s public school population during his monthly news conference at KUED on Thursday, May 14th. The report Reaching Toward 2050: Education in the Midst of Population Growth urges the creation of a long-term, statewide plan for Utah’s public schools and includes an explanation of how past policy changes have limited the funding base for the expected growth of Utah’s K-12 … Continued

Public schools shoulder the burden of tax cuts

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

For many years, Utah Foundation has written about the decline in Utah’s investment in K-12 education. In the 1990s, it was common to hear about Utah’s “education paradox” – a term Utah Foundation coined to describe how a very high funding effort could yield a small amount per pupil. In 1995, for example, the proportion of income that Utahns paid for public schools ranked seventh highest in the nation, yet per-pupil funding was last in … Continued

“Made in Utah” Collaboration Grows from Utah Breakfast Club

Written by: Dan Bammes

At the first meeting of the Utah Breakfast Club on Thursday, January 15th, leaders in the digital media and movie production industries talked about the need for a place where new startups and established businesses could connect with colleagues and with potential financial backers. One outgrowth of that conversation is the new Made in Utah page on Facebook. It was created by a member of the panel invited to discuss the film and digital media … Continued

Top Research Findings of 2014: Part II

Written by: Shawn Teigen

There is only one tie in the top-ten research findings of 2014, and it happens to be a three-way for 5th place… 5 (three-way tie): “…the difference between the projected 2030 and 2060 65+ dependency ratio is more significant in Utah (24.2 to 33.7) than in the nation (35 to 37)…” and there will be a lower percentage of kids.   While the Baby Boomer boom is already happening elsewhere in the nation, there is … Continued

Top Research Findings of 2014: Part I

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Each December, top-10 lists start popping up to reflect the events and highlights of the past year. We encourage you to add our Top Research Findings of 2014 to your year-end reading list. Selected by Utah Foundation staff, the Foundation’s board of directors voted on these findings last week to determine their order of importance. This posting includes the first three from that list (10 through 8), with the remaining seven to be announced within … Continued

Get a job! Now hiring at Utah Foundation

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Two great opportunities are available at Utah Foundation. If you enjoy our balanced, nonpartisan research on the major issues facing our state and you think you could add to our strength, please apply. Thanks to wonderful board members helping with fundraising, we are expanding our staff to bring more of this great work to the public and policymakers in 2015. We are recruiting for a research analyst and a communications specialist. Both are full-time, salaried … Continued