Ruth V. Watkins will bring her extensive experience as an educator and administrator to the University of Utah as the new senior vice president for academic affairs. Currently the dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois and professor of speech and hearing science, psychology and linguistics, Watkins was selected after a national search. David Pershing held the position for 14 years before becoming president in 2012.

University Neighborhood Partners a department of the University of Utah (the U), celebrates the grand opening of the new 10,000 square foot Hartland Partnership Center on April 16 followed by an open house reception. Located at 1578 West 1700 South, UNP's Hartland Partnership Center brings together University faculty and students, non-profit organizations and residents of west Salt Lake City to address economic, linguistic and social barriers. The Hartland Partnership Center has space for faculty, students, community organizations and residents to work together to address issues such as English language acquisition, family financial literacy, citizenship, after-school programs, employment skills, health care education and life skills training. These offerings help residents to more fully participate in the broader Salt Lake community and allow students and faculty to gain valuable experience working with diverse cultures and communities.

Mauna Kea Technologies announced that it has entered into a research agreement through a collaboration negotiated by Edinburgh BioQuarter and the University of Edinburgh to develop a novel molecular imaging device for use in conjunction with Cellvizio. If successful, the combined technology could dramatically change the way physicians diagnose and monitor patients with lung disease. Mauna Kea Technologies will be working with a multidisciplinary team of scientists and physicians from the Medical Research Council Centre for Inflammation Research (CIR) in the Queen's Medical Research Institute (QMRI) and the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. The collaboration will enable the development of a device to be used with QMRI's clinical-grade novel molecular imaging Smartprobes which selectively generate fluorescent signals that can then be imaged with Cellvizio. Mauna Kea Technologies will also collaborate on this project with the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. University of Utah researchers have been utilizing the Cellvizio Lab system since 2009 and will leverage their significant experience to expedite the device development process.