Utah Tech University recently welcomed three new members to the institution’s Board of Trustees.
On Sept. 22, during the first board meeting of the 2023-24 academic year, Washington County School District Superintendent Richard Holmes and Women’s Leadership Institute CEO Patricia Jones were sworn in as the newest members of the institution’s governing body. Additionally, Utah Tech Student Body President Jose Toral-Martinez was added to the board over the summer. The new members replaced trustees whose terms of service have ended.
Board members’ responsibilities include approving the university’s mission, strategic plan, policies, budgets, new degree programs, degree recipients and honorary degree recipients. Eight of the board’s 10 members are appointed by the Utah governor with consent of the Utah Senate. The president of the Utah Tech Alumni Association and the president of the UT Student Association serve as ex officio members.
Holmes, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in special education from Utah State University, has worked in the Washington County School District his entire career. First, he served as a special education teacher at Pine View Middle School and then as an administrator in many elementary and secondary schools. Prior to being named the district’s superintendent this spring, Holmes worked at the district level for 15 years as an executive director and assistant superintendent.
With a background in both business and politics, Jones leads Women’s Leadership Institute to elevate women and build a pipeline of women in leadership. Jones also was co-founder and former president of Dan Jones & Associates, a public opinion and market research firm, for 35 years. Additionally, she was a member of the Utah House of Representatives from 2000 to 2006 and the Utah Senate from 2006 to 2014, serving as the first female leader in either branch for 12 of those years.
Toral-Martinez, a senior at Utah Tech, began his involvement in student leadership as an assistant director of the Utah Tech Alumni Ambassadors and later as the Alumni Ambassadors’ vice president of advancement. He later joined the UT Student Association’s Service Branch and served as the director of entertainment, planning events like carnivals, college kickback and casino night.
The new members join the board’s returning members: Chair Tiffany Wilson, Vice Chair Colleen Kvetko, Second Vice Chair Deven Macdonald, Alumni Association President Betty Barnum, Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs Ginger Chinn, President of Intermountain Health’s Desert Region Mitch Cloward and XANT Founder David Elkington. To learn more about the Utah Tech University Board of Trustees, visit trustees.utahtech.edu.