The Utah Board of Higher Education has launched a statewide Artificial Intelligence Task Force to drive coordination across public colleges and universities, industry and government.
The group will work to advance Utah’s strategic priorities for AI in education.
As its first action, the task force will lead a statewide effort to advance a university-issued AI Workforce Credential. The initiative will be carried out in partnership with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s AI Pro-Human Committee, Utah System of Higher Education institutions, Talent Ready Utah and statewide employers.
Cox first announced the AI Workforce Credential during his speech at the Utah State of Innovation Conference on April 30, emphasizing the state’s efforts to prepare graduates for the rapidly evolving workforce. The credential is designed to complement students’ existing technical and durable skills by adding AI credentialing within their field of study. More than 50,000 graduates from Utah’s public colleges and universities in the classes of 2025, 2026 and 2027 will be eligible to earn the credential at no cost beginning July 1.
“Utah’s economy is strong, our workforce is strong and we work hard to keep it that way,” Cox said. “In Utah, our leaders are thinking big, solving big problems and working at the speed of industry. That’s why Talent Ready Utah, the Board of Higher Education’s AI Task Force and the AI Pro-Human Committee have created a university-issued AI Workforce Credential, designed with local employers for Utah students.”
In addition to its work on credentialling, the task force will develop actionable recommendations for Utah’s public colleges and universities to prepare students for an AI-enabled workforce, support the responsible use of AI in teaching and research, and strengthen alignment between education and industry.
The task force includes 11 statewide members representing business, education and government. Additional members may be added as the task force’s work progresses.
Cydni Tetro of the Utah Board of Higher Education will be the task force chair, with members Vic Hockett, associate commissioner of Talent Ready Utah and the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, who will lead the staff; T.J. Bliss, associate commissioner for academic affairs of the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education; someone to be named director of artificial intelligence integration, from Talent Ready Utah; Jefferson Moss, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity; and Charles Musgraves, dean of the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering at the University of Utah.
Also on the task force are Barclay Burns, chief AI officer and assistant dean of Smith College of Engineering and Technology at Utah Valley University; Tim Kapp, adjunct professor of computer science at Brigham Young University; Aaron Davis, executive director of the Atwood Innovation Plaza at Utah Tech University; Alice Schwarze, head of research at the Office for Artificial Intelligence Policy at the Utah Department of Commerce; and Jami Hughes, deputy chief information and security officer of Zions Bancorporation.
“The Utah Board of Higher Education recognizes that artificial intelligence is reshaping the world, and the board is leading efforts to ensure our students are prepared for an AI-driven economy by building on the innovative work already underway at Utah’s colleges and universities,” said Tetro. “This task force brings together higher education, industry, workforce and public-sector leaders to translate that direction into practical, actionable recommendations that help Utah lead nationally in human-centered artificial intelligence. The AI Workforce Credential is just one way the Utah System of Higher Education is preparing graduates for the future of work.”
The task force was authorized by the Board of Higher Education in a December 2025 resolution to guide the systemwide integration of AI. Its work aligns with the board’s strategic imperatives on artificial intelligence to equip every student with pro-human AI skills and workforce readiness at scale, harness AI to transform education and research, and reimagine higher education for an AI-accelerated economy, a board statement said.