Copyright Salt Lake Tribune
Just three months into her tenure as an administrator at Weber State University, Leslie Durham has been selected to serve as the school’s interim president. The appointment comes after the announcement last week that Weber State’s longtime President Brad Mortensen would be leaving his post and moving north to take the helm of Utah State University in Logan. That change starts Monday. “One of my favorite things I think we’ve done as a board is appointing a sitting president as president of another university,” said Amanda Covington, chair of the Utah Board of Higher Education, during a Thursday discussion. “Brad is a great choice, but it leaves a vacancy.” To address the leadership swap, the board’s executive committee voted for Durham to temporarily take the job at Weber, also beginning next week. Durham came to Weber State in August to serve as provost and senior vice president of academic affairs after 24 years at Boise State University in Idaho — part of a recent leadership exodus there, as reported by Idaho Ed News. Most recently at Boise State, Durham was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences — the largest academic unit there — a position she’d held since January 2022. She also previously served as interim dean, associate dean and an interim department chair. During her nearly decade in leadership at Boise State, Durham says on her LinkedIn page, she faced challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on enrollment, budget cuts and “a fractious statewide political climate.” Those experiences align with the environment around higher education in Utah, where the state Legislature cut $60.5 million this year from the overall budget of all eight public colleges and universities. Weber State’s share of that was $6.7 million. Lawmakers here have said they want to see more from higher education, including more of a focus on job placement — including higher paying jobs — and degree completion. There has been some concern about the impact of that on liberal arts degrees, which some professors early on said they were afraid would be targeted and which ended up taking the brunt of the program cuts. On her LinkedIn page, Durham defends the arts and humanities. “Higher education is in a prolonged period of profound disruption. …,” she says. “I’ve never been more convinced that the liberal arts are uniquely suited to respond to today’s daunting challenges.” The liberal arts, she adds, “prepare students to think critically about the world around them, develop empathy and cultural understanding, and move into a lifetime of meaningful work and creative engagement.” Durham had been a professor of theater — alongside her leadership roles — at Boise State starting in 2001. She earned a Ph.D. in theater at the University of Kansas that same year. And she has published three books on the subject, according to her academic resume. In a statement Thursday, she said she is honored to take on the interim position at Weber State. “Weber State is a remarkable institution, and I look forward to working closely with the students and campus community to ensure continuity, stability and continued progress in the months ahead,” Durham said. The Utah Board of Higher Education similarly said she is a good fit for the post. Covington, the board chair, said Durham takes a collaborate approach to leadership. Durham met with Covington and board Vice Chair Jon Cox last week. Both said she impressed them. Cox said Thursday that Durham has “just the right temperament for this particular position.” In a Q&A with Weber State when she was selected as provost this summer, Durham said: “I’m a good listener and I like to make space for other people’s great ideas. One of my administrative superpowers is elevating people’s work, helping them take it to the next level.” She’d also recently applied to and was a finalist for a provost position at Wichita State University. It’s unclear at this point if Durham would be allowed to also apply to be the next permanent president of Weber State. There’s been a continued shuffle of leadership across Utah’s higher education system for the past several years. That included the previous president of Utah State University, Elizabeth “Betsy” Cantwell,” surprisingly stepping down after a short 18-month tenure. Cantwell was dogged by concerns of a toxic football program and, later, unchecked spending that has now prompted a statewide audit. Before Mortensen was named to lead last week, USU administrator Alan L. Smith had been serving as the northern Utah school’s interim president. But his contract with the state specifically said he could not apply to be the next permanent USU leader. Mortensen was the first candidate selected to take on the job under the state’s newly secret hiring process for university presidents. He quickly announced that Jessica Oyler, Weber State’s vice president for student access and success, will join him at USU as his chief of staff.
