Travel is considered part of the job for public university and college presidents.

But Utah’s higher education leaders vary significantly on how much they leave, where they go, how much they spend and where those funds come from (a mix of taxpayer money, donations and general university funds).

Here’s a breakdown by school, based on the most recent annual travel audits.

University of Utah

• Number of trips: 21.

• Money spent: $87,807.

U. President Taylor Randall has taken the most trips of any Utah public university or college president. He’s also visited the most international locations.

The university has said travel is key to his many roles, including CEO, chief donor relations officer and top ambassador for the $9 billion institution with a global research mission. The U. is an R1 school, a classification that means doctorate production and research spending — more than $700 million a year — is “very high.” It’s one of two public R1 schools in the state, along with Utah State University, which spends roughly $400 million a year on research.

Randall’s average cost per trip — at $4,181 — was also the highest for the year.

Unlike other Utah presidents, Randall frequently brings his wife, Janet Randall. She has joined roughly half of his business trips since he took office in August 2021, accruing more than $35,000 in university travel expenses in the last two years alone, paid for with a mix of taxpayer money, donations and other university funds.

The U. has said Janet Randall is an “official ambassador for the institution” and travels with the president “as much as she can,” including to athletics competitions, alumni gatherings and donor visits.

Meetings with donors during the Randalls’ travels, the U. said, led to finalizing a $25 million donation from the Lassonde family and another $25 million donation from the Marriott family.

The Utah Board of Higher Education recently introduced more oversight when it comes to spousal travel, aiming to bridge what Utah System of Higher Education commissioner Geoff Landward called a “policy gap.”

For fiscal 2025, Randall’s international trips included visits to Ireland and Mexico, plus a combined tour to Mongolia and South Korea, where the U. has a campus. That latter trip was the most expensive, ringing in at $23,149 total.

Within the U.S., during fiscal 2025, Randall also flew to Arizona twice and Washington, D.C., four times.

Four of his trips, overall, were to attend U. football games in other states.

Utah State University

• Number of trips: 20.

• Money spent: $41,484.

Utah State’s leader had the next highest average, at $2,074 per trip.

That travel during fiscal 2025 was split over two people — Elizabeth “Betsy” Cantwell, who left after a brief tenure, and Al Smith, who served in the interim.

Cantwell also went to Ireland as part of a trip led by the University of Utah.

Like Randall, she frequently went to the nation’s capital, flying to Washington, D.C., three times. Smith went there twice.

Cantwell also attended several national conferences, including the Council on Competitiveness Forum. That trip cost $4,165.

The former president separately came under fire for excessive purchases during her brief time leading the northern Utah school, including spending more than $660,000 in public funds on cars, travel and an apartment in Salt Lake City.

The school’s trustees have vowed to more closely monitor all spending and future trips of the new president.

Weber State University

• Number of trips: 17.

• Money spent: $16,783.

Before he took the helm at USU, Brad Mortensen was the president of Weber State.

The school reports its annual presidential travel report by calendar year instead of fiscal year. So while he, too, attended the Ireland trip, it’s not included in the school’s 2025 report because it occurred in October 2024.

During 2025, Mortensen attended five football games; much of those costs, though, were covered by the school’s athletics department. Similarly, he went to eight national conferences, but often received reimbursements from the hosting organizations, such as the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities’ annual gathering in July 2025 in Seattle, Washington.

His most expensive trip was to Washington, D.C., in February 2025 to meet with members of Utah’s federal congressional delegation and attend the American Council on Education’s annual conference; that trip cost $3,248. He visited D.C. twice more after that.

Utah Valley University

• Number of trips: 18.

• Money spent: $11,989.

Utah Valley University President Astrid Tuminez, who stepped down this month, notably did not use any public funds for her travel in fiscal 2025. The school’s annual report notes all expenses were covered by the university’s foundation.

She still requested, though, that “all her travel be reported to the Audit Committee” in order “to maximize accountability for, and transparency of, her travel.” Her accounting also includes in-state trips (two to Park City for retreats), which isn’t required in the annual report.

Tuminez’s report notes that she used donated hours on a private jet to get around. The Tribune has requested more information on that.

She canceled a trip to China, which cost the foundation $550 in nonrefundable fees. She also canceled a trip to attend Trump’s 2025 inauguration, which cost the foundation $3,174 in nonrefundable hotel costs.

Tuminez went out of the country once, to her native Philippines, where she attended a meeting of the Trilateral Commission, a group of leaders across the world who meet to talk about better diplomacy.

She visited New York five times.

Utah Tech University

• Number of trips: 4.

• Money spent: $4,964.

There were two Utah Tech leaders during this time: interim President Courtney White and recently installed President Shane Smeed.

Overall, White took two trips. One was to attend a football game in Las Vegas in September 2024; he spent a total of $56, only on transportation — no lodging or meals. He went to Nevada again in March 2025 to attend meetings for the Western Athletic Conference.

Smeed also took two trips total: One, to Utah Tech’s St. George campus, when he was still a presidential candidate, followed by a return in April and May, to attend the school’s graduation ceremonies after he was named Utah Tech’s next leader.

His wife, Angela Smeed, joined both visits, and the university covered those costs.

Southern Utah University

• Number of trips: 1.

• Money spent: $221.

SUU President Mindy Benson spent the least and traveled the least of all public school leaders in the state.

She took one trip, to Las Vegas, to attend meetings for the Western Athletic Conference, which also coincided with the annual basketball tournament.

Salt Lake Community College

• Number of trips: 8.

• Money spent: $12,939.

Greg Peterson, the president of SLCC, had a higher overall average of cost per trip at $1,617.

He went to Washington, D.C., three times but never traveled internationally. His most expensive visit was to Tennessee for an annual conference for community college administrators.

Snow College

• Number of trips: 6.

• Money spent: $4,065.

Snow College President Stacee McIff spent an average of $677 per trip.

Of her six out-of-state visits, three were for football games and one was for a basketball game.

Using her own personal funds, her report notes, McIff purchased a booster package through the school’s athletics department, which covered many of the expenses that might have otherwise come from public funds.

She went out of the country once for a six-day seminar in Mexico to teach business students about hospitality, something she also did before becoming president. She did not accept the faculty stipend for that travel.