June 18, 2014 – Michele Mattsson has been elected chair of the University of Utah’s Board of Trustees, effective immediately. Mattsson, the first woman to hold the position, has served as vice-chair since 2009.

“Michele possesses a deep understanding of the institution and an unwavering commitment to our students,” said David W. Pershing, president of the University of Utah. “The entire U community will benefit from her insight, judgment and leadership.”

Since 2001 Mattsson has been chief appellate mediator at the Utah Court of Appeals, having mediated over 1,300 cases, helping people resolve their disputes instead of continuing to litigate. Mattsson holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a juris doctor from the University of Utah. She has also served in many volunteer positions at the U since 2005, including the president of the Alumni Association, and on the boards of Red Butte Garden, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and KUED. Mattsson’s daughter is currently a student at the U, representing the fourth generation of her family to attend the U.

“I am honored to serve the state’s flagship university, which has meant so much to me and my family,” says Mattsson. “I am committed to ensuring that as the U gains wider prominence for excellence in research and teaching, it will continue to offer students one of the nation’s greatest values in higher education.”

Mattsson takes the reins from Clark Ivory who announced in January that he would resign to serve as a mission president in Romania and Moldova for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Trustee Phillip W. Clinger was elected as vice-chair. Clinger is retired from Merrill Lynch Capital Markets and has served the U through the National Advisory Council, on the boards of the Crimson Club, University Hospital, Bennion Center and Alumni Association.