State lawmakers vote against recommending University of Utah trustee, a Latina who’s championed inclusion

Republican state lawmakers took a rare step to vote against recommending a University of Utah trustee for reappointment to the school’s board — a move that came after they counted and questioned how many times she used the word “equity” when describing her work.

Maria Garciaz, a prominent Latina in the Salt Lake Valley community who has served on the U.’s board of trustees for the past four years, was nominated by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to serve a second term. But that is now in limbo.

The Senate Education Confirmation Committee voted down supporting her as a nominee on Sept. 12, with three conservative members of the group calling out Garciaz for her comments supporting inclusion in higher education.

“You used ‘equity’ and ‘inclusion’,” said Sen. Chris Wilson, R-Logan, referring to Garciaz’s opening remarks to the committee about why she believes she should be reappointed.

Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, similarly added, “I did hear you mention ‘equity’ twice in the presentation.”

Garciaz was the only of 17 trustee candidates from schools across the state who didn’t move forward last month with the committee’s favorable recommendation.

She was also the only one asked about her position on equity when it comes to race and gender, as well as past posts on social media about recent protests.

Garciaz was the only woman of color among those candidates. And she’s one of only two women of color currently serving among the more than 70 trustees across the state’s eight traditional public universities and colleges, according to The Salt Lake Tribune’s counts.

The decision not to recommend her isn’t a definitive end to her chances. She will still go before the full Utah Senate for reappointment consideration on Oct. 15. But it’s an unusual signal of disapproval that could sway other Republicans, who hold the majority in the state.

It comes in the continued fallout of the state Legislature’s 2024 vote, along party lines, to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion — or DEI — efforts in public higher education, as well as K-12 schools and government offices in the state.

Under HB261, public colleges, specifically, have been required to remove the words “diversity, equity and inclusion” from their program names and open any specific race- or gender-based efforts, including scholarships, to all individuals. To abide, most schools in the state shuttered their cultural centers for Black, female and LGBTQ+ students.

Three conservative lawmakers on the confirmation committee — all who voted for HB261 — appeared to pick apart Garciaz’s comments as support for DEI, though Garciaz never explicitly said she favored those efforts and repeated several times she wanted to improve access for all.

McKell and Sen. Heidi Balderree, R-Saratoga Springs, also said they took the unusual step to look through Garciaz’s social media, with Balderree saying she found some posts “concerning,” without specifying which.

Garciaz responded to The Tribune with a statement that defended her efforts at the U.

“It is a bit perplexing given I’ve served a first term, so I can’t speak to the motivation behind their decision or any bias — that is for them to explain,” she wrote in an email. “What I can say is that I am proud of the work I’ve done as a trustee. … I appreciate that university leadership understands and values that diverse voices in leadership strengthen our institution.”

She added: “I’ll admit I was caught off guard by a few of the questions. If I had known what to expect, I could have been better prepared.”

In a brief statement, the U. said Garciaz has been a “very effective” trustee for the university.

She will continue to serve as a trustee through the end of the year, when her term expires.

If the full Senate chooses not to confirm her for reappointment this month, Gov. Cox will have to name another nominee. His office did not respond to questions from The Tribune for this story.

None of the three lawmakers who voted against recommending Garciaz — Wilson, McKell and Balderree — returned The Tribune’s phone call and email requests for comment.

Questioning Garciaz’s support for equity

The trustee hearings held Sept. 12 lasted about two hours total. Some candidates were approved by the confirmation committee without any conversation or questions. Others were asked only about their priorities for their school.

The committee lingered on Garciaz.

Like the other nominees, Garciaz started with an introduction about herself. She said she’s a proud graduate of East High School and got a degree in political science at the U. in 1981 before attending Utah State University for a master’s in education and Harvard University for an executive program. Both of her kids also graduated from the U.

When she was a student there, she said, she was also working full-time.

“That experience gave me a very unique perspective on the challenges students face balancing work, education and family responsibilities,” she said. “It also instilled in me a lifelong empathy for students who need extra support.”

Her calling, she said, was also shaped when she later worked as a juvenile probation officer, where she saw “the struggles of young people written off.”

From there, Garciaz said she shifted to community-focused work on building stronger neighborhoods. For the past nearly four decades, she worked as CEO of NeighborWorks Salt Lake, a nonprofit that focuses on empowering local kids and revitalizing communities, particularly on the capital’s more diverse west side.

She also co-founded University Neighborhood Partners — an organization aimed at addressing disparities by building partnerships between U. staff and west-side residents. The group had long lobbied around the lack of health care access and is credited for helping lay the groundwork for the U. to start constructing a new hospital in West Valley City, an initiative that university President Taylor Randall has frequently championed. (As a trustee, Garciaz served on the committee that ultimately selected Randall to lead the school.)

“For me, that work represents the true spirit of higher education — building bridges, expanding opportunity and lifting up voices that might otherwise go unheard,” Garciaz told the confirmation committee.

Garciaz then mentioned the need to expand opportunities so all students can access higher education — not noting any specific race or gender. She said, if reappointed, she’d want to bolster equity and student success: “My focus will remain on ensuring the university remains strong, inclusive and forward-looking for the students, faculty and the people of Utah.”

Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, an alumnus of the U. and the only person of color on the confirmation committee, responded to Garciaz’s introduction by calling her “one of the biggest forces of leadership” in the state.

“I couldn’t think of a better person to get reappointed to the University of Utah board,” Escamilla said.

She asked Garciaz where she would like to see the university grow in the next four years. That’s the only time Garciaz mentioned equity for different student backgrounds.

“Student success and access, affordability, mental health, equity — supporting first-gen and working students. The community connection, I think, is critical," she said. “I worked most of my life connecting the west side with different resources. But also the rural area is so critical; I think because we’re so urban, we sometimes forget.”

She also said she wanted the school to focus more on research innovation.

Sen. Wilson homed in on Garciaz’s mention of equity, though, and asked her: “What do you feel should be the role race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation play in the admissions process?”

She responded by saying when she was in school, in the 1970s, federal affirmative action policies created opportunities for her.

“It’s a challenge as a student of color … often, at least when I was growing up in Utah, I didn’t feel like I belonged in many of those spaces,” she said.

That was, Garciaz added, until she got to the U. and found a place she felt comfortable.

“I think we’re in very different times,” she continued. “I think given post-DEI, the universities across the state have focused very much on equity and really allowing students that apply to look at their ability to succeed and trying to not look at those very things you mentioned. … What I’ve seen with the University of Utah is to make sure that, despite race and gender, that all students feel like they belong and they have equal opportunity.”

Sen. McKell noted then that she’d said “equity” twice and questioned how she could make sure all students feel included on campus.

“That’s a million-dollar question,” Garciaz said. “I think the easy answer is just access. Access in making sure we’re reaching out to whomever is interested in pursuing higher education, that they have that opportunity, whatever their means are.”

Scrutiny of her social media

Sen. Balderree said she “took a look” at Garciaz’s social media accounts and found “some things that were concerning to me in light of recent events this week,” referring to the shooting death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

Balderree didn’t specify what posts she found concerning or why.

The Tribune could see no public posts on Garciaz’s pages on Facebook, X or Instagram that specifically mentioned Kirk or the shooting, though it’s possible posts may have since been removed. In her comment to The Tribune, Garciaz didn’t address the committee’s social media questions.

Most posts The Tribune reviewed were about her work for NeighborWorks Salt Lake, which she stepped down as CEO of earlier this summer, and Mestizo Coffeehouse, which she helped open on Salt Lake City’s west side before it closed last month.

After Kirk was killed, Balderree said she talked with a conservative U. student who confided in the legislator that she’s felt unwelcome on campus because of her political beliefs.

“She reached out to me this week and has said that she has been afraid to go to school, walk in the halls, hearing comments of people celebrating the death of Mr. Kirk,” Balderee said.

The senator said she and her colleagues feel Garciaz might be “elevating one group or minority above one another.” So Balderee asked: How would Garciaz support conservative students at the U., who she said are “the minority in their political party and affiliation on campus”?

Garciaz said she supports a student, faculty and staff task force formed by U. President Randall to look at viewpoint diversity and make recommendations. She also said she’s talked with conservative students directly and asked what would make them feel more welcome.

McKell pressed further. He said he also looked at Garciaz’s social media and “can see on some reels” that she has attended rallies at the Utah Capitol with students — including during the legislative session, he said, pointing to one on Feb. 8.

“Can you just tell me about some of those rallies that you’ve been involved with in the past?” he said.

Garciaz said she couldn’t immediately remember off the top of her head but noted her organization is rooted in community advocacy. “Part of what we try to teach [people] is how to be peaceful in rallies and how to listen and how to participate,” she said.

She also noted her kids are involved in activism, and she could’ve been there supporting them. “Senator, I suspect that’s what that’s about,” Garciaz said.

A Tribune review of her public social media after the hearing showed two posts about rallies, both related to the same Feb. 8 pro-immigration event in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s focus on deportation.

Her first post shared the details of a Utah rally, with a comment by Garciaz that said, “An opportunity to speak out. We cannot accept this subtle terrorism.”

The second was a video from the event, with a note from Garciaz adding, “Shout out to the young organizer for speaking up for those who can’t!”

She told the committee members about generally attending rallies: “It’s a way for me to show up and listen. … I want to hear the different voices.”

Other candidates mention ‘vulnerable populations’

Sen. Escamilla said she was surprised by the committee’s line of questioning. Then, Escamilla was shocked when she moved to recommend Garciaz for reappointment — like the other candidates — and the motion was voted down.

That same day, nine other nominees were moved forward with full recommendations to the Senate. One did not attend due to a conflict with her schedule and sent a letter instead; she received unanimous support from the committee.

Another, like Garciaz, also talked about expanding rural access. And one mentioned supporting nontraditional working students. None faced the questions Garciaz did.

The previous day, the committee reviewed and supported all seven higher education candidates on the agenda. That included a nominee — who is white — for Utah Valley University’s board of trustees who spoke extensively about supporting refugee and underserved students.

“One of my goals is make more refugees, more vulnerable populations aware of the opportunity and access,” said Kristin Andrus.

McKell applauded her for putting students first.

For the U.’s board of trustees, the committee also supported a second term for Bassam Salem, who is from Egypt.

Salem, the previous chair of the Utah Technology Council, did not directly mention “equity” in his introduction. But he shared about how his family came to the Utah with student visas nearly 40 years ago and how studying at the U. “changed the trajectory of my life.”

Salem told the confirmation committee that he has a “desire to help others.” Like Garciaz, he said he wants to focus on access, fiscal responsibility and research innovation.

McKell moved to “highly” recommend Salem for reappointment.

Escamilla said she doesn’t understand how those nominees differed from Garciaz. “I think they were misreading her resume,” Escamilla said.

The committee is typically made up of seven lawmakers; two were absent for the vote on Garciaz, including the second of the two Democrats.

Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden, the committee chair and former president of Weber State University, voted along with Escamilla to support Garciaz’s recommendation, but they were outnumbered on the 3-2 tally.

“Thank you very much for your willingness to serve in the past, and we really appreciate that, but we will not be making a favorable recommendation to the full Senate,” Millner told Garciaz after the vote.

What’s next

Across all of the public college and university boards in the state, there appears to only be seven trustees of color, according to The Tribune’s counts. Two are student board members.

Of the boards overall, four are comprised entirely of white trustees. The U.’s is the most diverse with three members of color out of 10 total.

Under state law, trustees in Utah are responsible for working with university presidents and providing school budget oversight. Members are typically donors to the school and prominent in the state’s business community.

Garciaz, in her statement to The Tribune, said she stands by her comments to the confirmation committee. She said she brings “a community perspective and a voice for underrepresented groups to the board ... helping broaden conversations about equity, access, and student success.”

What happens next is up to the state, she said, noting, “I’ll continue to serve faithfully until then.”

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