Wolverine Nation welcomes its next president: Utah native Jon Anderson

Utah Valley University has been a higher education success story — rising in recent decades from a regional technical college to the state’s largest public university.

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Now more than 46,000 students are part of Wolverine Nation.

But while UVU’s newly appointed president Jon Anderson is eager to optimize that continuing growth, he’s quick to add that the school can never become larger than a single student’s experience.

“For UVU to be its best, we need every person to bring their best to UVU and work together,” said Anderson on Friday minutes after being formally hired by the Utah Board of Higher Education as the school’s eighth president.

“So today — whether you’re a student, member of the faculty or staff, board member, community leader, donor, elected official, or any other member of the community — UVU needs you.

“The best days at UVU are ahead, and we will create them together.”

Anderson replaces Astrid Tuminez, who retired in May after serving for almost eight years at UVU’s helm.

“My family and I look forward to calling Utah home again,” said Anderson, a Utah native who grew up on the Bluffdale/Riverton border and currently serves as president of Pennsylvania Western University.

“I’ve been fortunate to spend a lot of time on this campus over many years, and I look forward to being back and working with you.”

Anderson begins his UVU role on Aug. 10.

“Dr. Anderson brings extensive experience in multicampus leadership with a strong focus on student success, budget optimization, enrollment strategies, and a shared institutional culture,” said Amanda Covington, chair of the UBHE, after the board approved the selection on Friday.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox added his congratulations for UVU’s next president.

“UVU plays a vital role in expanding opportunities for students and strengthening Utah’s workforce, and I’m confident Dr. Anderson’s experience in higher education and the private sector will help build on the success,” said Cox in a statement to the Deseret News.

“I look forward to working with him as UVU continues to prepare students for meaningful careers and serves the growing needs of Utah Valley and our state.”

A Bingham High graduate who spent his K-12 years in public Jordan School District schools, Anderson holds a Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Kentucky, an M.Ed. in business dducation from the University of West Georgia, a B.S. in sociology from Utah State University, and an associate’s degree from Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho).

Prior to serving as PennWest president, Anderson served as the provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at both Southern Utah University and Middle Georgia State University.

He spent more than a decade at the University of West Georgia as a member of the business faculty and in administrative positions. Anderson’s professional duties have also included teaching undergraduate and graduate business courses.

“Jon Anderson possesses the exact combination of operational acumen and collaborative leadership required for this role,” said Commissioner of Higher Education Geoff Landward in a UBHE release.

“He understands the complexities of navigating a system model while maintaining a fierce dedication to student success and workforce alignment.“

A decades-long connection to UVU

In an interview with the Deseret News following Friday’s announcement, Anderson said his love for higher education began at UVU.

For more than 20 years, his father was a Latter-day Saint Institute of Religion teacher at the Orem institute that serves UVU’s large Latter-day Saint community.

“I spent all my teenage years running around campus trying not to get in trouble and seeing how a higher education institution helps elevate lives,” he said.

“And that’s where my desire to participate in higher education began. So to be able to come back and bring experiences from working in systems of higher education in Kentucky, Georgia and Pennsylvania — and to do all we can to help students here — was a welcome opportunity and something I couldn’t pass up.”

Anderson hails from a family of educators, scientists and engineers who also operated a family farm in Bluffdale.

“Bingham High was a transformational experience,” said Anderson, who remains a proud “Miner.” “There were a group of leaders and teachers there, some of whom I’m still in contact with today, who really saw their role not as educators alone, but also building people.”

Besides serving as a captain on the Miner football team and performing in school plays, Anderson served as the Latter-day Saint seminary president and led an a cappella choir.

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“You get experiences like that when you get a chance to engage and to lead,” said Anderson. “That’s what the K-12 system in Utah is designed to do. And to benefit from that now, and to have those early lessons about what strengths you have as a leader and the weaknesses you need to overcome, have really been transformational for me.”

Growing a sprawling campus — while cultivating individuals

So how does UVU grow big — and stay small?

Anderson responded saying every administrative decision made by a university president is essentially the same: “How is this decision going to affect a student who may be well-prepared. Or a student who may be underprepared. Or a single mother or father who’s coming back to finish a degree they once started.

“That is my frame of reference. That’s the lens through what I call administrative decisions.”

Anderson said UVU is ready to connect graduates to the state’s industry needs. And since its beginnings in 1941, the institution has prioritized working with the community to ensure education-industry alignment.

When asked about meeting higher education’s challenges regarding AI and other emerging technologies, Anderson said today’s college students have access to infinite information.

“So the limiting factor is not access to information, it’s a person or a student’s ability to assimilate and decide what’s important,” he said.

In the coming years, he added, UVU will continually be asking how its students can be both AI-enabled — and well-prepared to be successful in an AI and technology driven-world.

Anderson is taking the reins at one of Utah’s major higher educational institutions at a time when many Americans are questioning the value of higher education.

It’s vital, he said, to listen to such questions and concerns.

“UVU has been in a place where they are incredibly forward-thinking and very responsive to those criticisms,” said Anderson.

The national data, he added, confirms that higher education is valuable if a student is able to use their license, their skills and their training to leverage into a career that would have been closed to them otherwise.

“And that’s the place we’re going to lean into: How can we help students prepare for something for which higher education is the right tool?”

Anderson: Learn from campus tragedies — don’t allow them to define

Anderson said every higher education institution faces challenges, but UVU has recently faced setbacks it could not have been anticipated.

In early 2025, President Astrid Tuminez’s husband, Jeffrey Tolk, died unexpectedly. Tolk was a beloved campus presence, and his death was deeply felt.

Then came Charlie Kirk’s shooting death at UVU last September.

Two of Anderson’s daughters and a son-in-law were standing just a few yards away from Kirk when he was shot.

“I remember the calls. I remember the pain. I still have conversations with those children about that event,” said Anderson.

“It’s tragic that we’re in a place where a father has to talk to their 18- or 19- or 20-year-old daughter about why someone was shot right in front of them.

“And so there’s healing that will have to happen not only at this moment and this year, but it’ll last for a while.”

Now it’s essential for UVU to learn, become stronger and progress, he said.

“We have to make sure that that is an event that we learn from, we take seriously — and we teach people that history and what we learn from it.

“But we also make sure that it’s one page in our history — not the defining moment for the future.”

When asked about the UVU legacy he hopes to be a part of, Anderson said he wants to accelerate momentum already in motion.

“I hope that at the end of my tenure, we can look back and count the number of students who had the chance to attend here, receive credentials, and have different lives because of the experience.”

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