So what's University of Utah President Taylor Randall doing at the BYU Creamery?

PROVO — Friday's lunchtime crowd at Brigham Young University's iconic Creamery did a few double-takes when they spotted an unlikely guest sporting a Ute crimson red polo and enjoying a cone.

University of Utah President Taylor Randall took a quick break from a busy, three-day southern Utah tour to indulge in his favorite BYU Creamery flavor: In-Shanely Chocolate — named, aptly, for his friend/rival/counterpart, BYU President C. Shane Reese.

But there was nothing cloak-and-dagger about Randall's lunch-hour reconnaissance deep inside Utah County.

Call it "Ice Cream Diplomacy."

The University of Utah leader and several members of his team were on campus Friday at the invitation of BYU leadership to enjoy burgers and sample the sugary Creamery goods.

But it also offered leaders from the two Utah schools — one private, one public — a few moments to fortify friendships and academic cooperation at a volatile moment for higher education.

"We have a lot of collaborations that go on between our two institutions — both formal and informal," Randall told the Deseret News.

The two schools' respective claims, he added, are actually quite similar. "There's probably more research collaborations going on between these two schools than you would even imagine, right at the professorial level."

It's essential that those collaborations are accessible and maintained.

Both the University of Utah and BYU, Randall added, are entrusted with educating students in Utah. "We share common concerns about how to increase individuals coming into the overall higher education system. So it's good to talk through what each other is seeing."

Additionally, the two higher education institutions are working to solve basic societal problems.

"With BYU opening up a new medical school, and us expanding our medical school, one of our shared objectives is to solve access to health care issues in the Intermountain West — but also in the state of Utah, which ranks very, very low."

Much of the University of Utah leadership's three-day southern Utah tour focused on meeting with fellow educators and health care professionals to seek ways of improving medical care in rural communities.

BYU Administration Vice President and CFO Steve Hafen said he and his blue-clad associates were eager to host Randall and his team at a popular campus hangout.

"It's an opportunity to sit down in a casual environment and get to know them a little bit better," said Hafen. "There's so much that they experience that we can relate that to — and so that collaboration and discussion is great."

Hafen added his school continues to seek opportunities to strengthen relationships with Utah's flagship public university. "The University of Utah is an outstanding educational institution with good leadership, and we want to learn from them. And I think they want to learn from us."

"They're public. We're private. But there are a lot of synergies and a lot of things that we can collaborate on."

Randall will return to the BYU campus on Oct. 18 to watch the Utes play the Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

And Hafen assured that the University of Utah leader will have his choice of Creamery flavors on that fast-approaching football Saturday. "We'll leave the ice cream open all day long."

Touring the Camp Williams building project

Randall and his team Friday also toured the U.S. Army Reserves headquarters building project that's well underway at Camp Williams in Bluffdale.

Last August, the University of Utah and the U.S. Army Reserve announced a historic land transfer and relocation agreement.

Using more than $100 million appropriated by the Utah Legislature, the University of Utah is building a headquarters for the Army Reserve at Camp Williams , clearing the way for the military to vacate the remaining 50.9 acres it occupies just east of the university campus.

Following the relocation of the Army Reserve, the historic Fort Douglas property will be transferred to the University of Utah for future campus development.

The Utah Legislature appropriated a total of $117 million for a land purchase and to relocate the Utah Army National Guard 76th Operational Response Command's personnel and operations to Camp Williams.

Officials said Utah is the only state to fund such a military relocation.

The state of Utah will reportedly own the building and will lease it to the Army Reserve. Construction of the facility started in April of last year

Fort Douglas and the University of Utah have a shared history spanning more than 150 years.

According to a university press release, at one point, the fort stretched over 10,500 acres, from 900 South to 6th Avenue, and from 1300 East to the mouth of Emigration Canyon. Presently, the university surrounds the remaining 50 acres of fort property.

The new two-story, 215,000-square-foot Army Readiness Building at Camp Williams — which includes administrative offices, storage and a separate vehicle maintenance shop — is slated to open and begin operating in 2026.

The 50-acre Douglas Armed Forces Reserve Center at Fort Douglas has been constrained by outdated infrastructure, according to a university release.

The new site, contiguous to Camp Williams, will offer a modern, secure location with room for future expansion. It will support all current and future Army Reserve operations, providing a more efficient and accessible training environment.

The university had reportedly been working on the exchange for 14 years, annually submitting the proposal to the respective university presidents over that time as an institutional goal.

Following Friday's tour, Randall said the building projects' design and progress exceeds his "wildest expectations."

"It's exciting that two organizations could find and plot an exciting, joint future together," he said. "I give particular credit to state leaders for their vision in crafting a really unique interchange of property and buildings so that both of these great institutions could move forward."

Even while touring the Camp Williams building project, Randall was considering the future of the Fort Douglas property on the university campus.

"We will start early-scenario planning over the next year of how we'll use that property," he said. "We already know the broad uses. Some of it will be for healthcare. The other piece will be for actually expanding our 'College Town Magic' to create a remarkable place for students to thrive."

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