Utah Foundation

Goodbye to a great intern

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Utah Foundation bids a fond farewell to Thulasi Seshan. While at Utah Foundation, Thulasi primarily worked on a research report about education funding for certain student populations. She enjoyed being able to contribute to policy writing on such an important subject. She also enjoyed being able to delve into the world of making graphs. Thulasi just finished her last exam of her junior year at the University of Utah and is reveling in post-finals bliss. She’s majoring … Continued

Now Recruiting a Research Analyst

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Research Analyst Position Announcement APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 2, 2017 JOB DESCRIPTION: Utah Foundation is seeking a Research Analyst to perform public policy analysis and outreach. This is a full-time, salaried position. Candidates must have a strong desire to perform analysis of public-sector issues in a professional, nonpartisan setting and must demonstrate an understanding of public policy topics such as healthcare, voting, demographics, and/or infrastructure. Although Utah Foundation is not an advocacy organization, this position offers … Continued

Now Recruiting our Next President

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

In January, our president, Steve Kroes, announced his departure after 16 years leading Utah Foundation. Our Executive Board is currently seeking applications from interested candidates through March 31, 2017. See the job description and process for applying below: President: Job Opening Utah Foundation is seeking an energetic, principled thought leader to serve as its next president. This is a respected position in the community, working directly with the Governor, legislators, leaders of public and higher … Continued

Looking Back at Utah Foundation Research in 2016

Written by: Dan Bammes

Maybe there’s enough time in these final days of 2016 to catch our breath. We’re looking back at Utah Foundation’s research reports as well as the Utah Priorities Project. A monumental election season has concluded, with a challenging session of Utah’s legislature just ahead. Here’s our ranking of the top ten research findings of the past year, along with links to a report or research brief on each. 1 Only half of new education funds go … Continued

Utah’s 2013 Tax Burden

Written by: Christopher Collard

Explore the state and local tax burden of residents across the United States. Hover over markers for more information about levels, rankings and year-over-year changes of the tax burden. Click and drag to move around or zoom in on states on the eastern coast for a better view. Early 2015 you might have seen news coverage from several outlets on a Utah Foundation report which showed that in 2012, Utah had its lowest tax burden … Continued

Utah Priorities Project: Explaining the Candidate Survey

Written by: Dan Bammes

Utah Foundation Research Analyst Christopher Collard joined KSL’s Doug Wright on Wednesday, April 6th to talk about the Utah Priorities Project candidate survey. This second report in the 2016 Utah Priorities Project looks at the answers given by seven candidates for governor to a set of questions about issues of concern to Utah voters. The questions are essentially the same as those posed to voters in the first report, which identified the top ten issues … Continued

Utah Foundation’s Top Ten Research Findings from 2015

Written by: Dan Bammes

The Utah Foundation Board of Trustees sets the research agenda at the beginning of each year, and responds with guidance and adjustments as the year goes along. At the end of the year, board members also look back at the Foundation’s work and evaluate the relative impact our research reports have had on the community and policy makers. We recently asked them to evaluate our efforts in 2015, with members voting on the significance of … Continued

Individual Contributions Make the Season Bright for Utah Foundation

Written by: Dan Bammes

In 1945, when Utah Foundation was created by a group of business leaders in Salt Lake City, individuals could sign up to support its work for one dollar. And what is that work? Suzanne Pierce Moore has been a supporter of Utah Foundation since her children were young. She talks about hearing a former executive director, Mike Christensen, talk about the Foundation’s work providing non-partisan, independent research to the public and policy makers in Utah. … 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

The most common question? What’s UF?

Written by: Dan Bammes

What’s the Utah Foundation? I hope you won’t mind a personal observation on the question I’ve been asked most frequently since I joined Utah Foundation a few weeks ago. It is, quite simply, “What’s that?” I’ve had to come up with short and long answers about what Utah Foundation is and what we do. The short answer: Utah Foundation is a public policy research group. We study and publish reports on a wide range of … Continued