Robert O. Brems, currently campus president and chief executive of UCAT's Mountainland Campus in Orem, was named UCAT president Monday. He assumes his new job on July 1 and will oversee the nine applied technology schools located across the state from Logan to St. George.

"Most of Utah's citizens benefit from work-force training and education provided through UCAT," said Brems, who was joined by his wife Laurie Thalman Brems for the official announcement at regents headquarters in Salt Lake City. "I will preserve UCAT's mission and maintain [its] work-force niche and its relation to adult education, public ed and higher ed."

Brems, 50, was selected from four finalists. He will earn a yearly salary between $131,000 and $134,000. He replaces Darrell White, a longtime Utah educator, who has served as UCAT interim boss since January 2005.

Regent Marlon Snow said the board liked the direction in which Brems steered his regional campus and the leadership he provided in adhering to UCAT's core mission. "UCAT is not a college in the traditional sense . . . We want to make sure a new president is committed to its unique work-force training role," he said.

Other higher education officials share Snow's impression. They say Brems brings experience to the new post. He has been an instructor, assistant principal, associate state schools superintendent and the director of applied technology education services division for the Utah State Office of Education.

Brems has a master's degree in industrial education from Utah State University and did doctoral work at the University of Utah.

He and his staff of two full-time and one part-time employee will maintain an office at the regents building. He doesn't see any immediate changes in UCAT's overall structure. At the top of his "to-do" list, he said, is making sure UCAT is producing graduates with good technical skills to meet changing work-force needs.

"UCAT has a an important role in the state," Berms said. "We will continue to make a significant impact in economic development and education."

sykes@sltrib.com