UW board of regents picks new president

SEATTLE – University of Utah President Michael Young said Monday that he was thrilled to be asked to lead the University of Washington.

Young said that UW has “all the pieces in place to be a leader in what the future is going to look like.”

The 61-year-old Young has been president of the University of Utah since 2004. He was selected by the UW board of regents to replace previous president Mark Emmert, who left Washington in September to take a job as president of the NCAA.

“We have selected one of the most outstanding university administrators in the country,” said Costco CEO Jeff Brotman, who is a member of the UW regents.

Young said the details of his contract were still being negotiated but he expected to start his new job sometime this summer.

Young said his first job at Washington will involve dealing with the university budget and declining state support for higher education. He said longer-term goals include focusing on keeping the university on “the extraordinary trajectory it’s on,” expanding research, enhancing learning, doing more international work and translating research into the lives of real people.

Brotman added that Young has done a great job of balancing the diverse interests in Utah.

“He does not have what I call ‘big shot-itis’ even though he is a big shot,” Brotman said. “Running the University of Utah is, I expect, like standing on a razor blade. He did a masterful job of navigating very dangerous waters down there,” he said.

Before his job in Utah, Young – a direct descendant of Brigham Young – was dean of the George Washington University Law School.