The University of Utah’s research enterprise is already internationally recognized and acclaimed. But now the school wants to take it even further — and go for the gold.
The U. last week revealed its plans to open a research center on campus to study the Olympic Games.
Projects there would examine the environmental and economic impacts for countries that host the Olympics or other large sporting events. And it would help set the stage for Utah to host the Winter Games again in 2034, said Natalie Gochnour, director of the U.’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.
“This would give us the best entry that I know of to have relevance on the international stage as a university,” she said.
Gochnour, also the associate dean of the business school, said the hope is to submit for and win the coveted approval of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), putting the U. on the podium as an officially sponsored research center for the Games.
The effort got the initial nod April 6 from the school’s Academic Senate and moves forward this week to the Board of Trustees for a vote.
Read Courtney Tanner's full story at sltrib.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.