Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Leadership Team
View Bio
Special Assistant to the President
Senior Dean, Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Special Assistant to the President
Senior Dean, Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Peter E. Trapa serves as deputy provost, special assistant to the president and inaugural senior dean of the Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences. A distinguished mathematician and academic leader, he oversees several of the university’s largest academic units, helping shape interdisciplinary education and research across the humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
Trapa joined the University of Utah in 2001 and has held a number of leadership roles, including Chair of the Department of Mathematics (2011-17), Chair of Physics & Astronomy (2018-19), and Dean of the College of Science (2019-2025). In this latter role, he merged with the College of Mines and Earth Sciences, grew research expenditures 34% to $65M, increased science majors 68%, and launched the Science Research Initiative providing authentic research experiences to entering first-year students at scale. He also completed the 275,000 square-foot Crocker Science Complex in July 2025, home of the new Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy.
Trapa’s research focuses on the study of symmetries in mathematics and physics, particularly unitary representations of reductive Lie groups. He completed his BA in Mathematics and Integrated Science at Northwestern University, his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and held postdoctoral positions at Harvard University and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. He was named Fellow of the American Mathematical Society in 2019.
View Bio
Wanda S. Pillow, dean of the College of Humanities and University Distinguished Professor of Ethnic, Gender & Disability Studies, is a first generation student and award-winning teacher and scholar. Dean Pillow received her Ph.D. from Ohio State University in Policy, Leadership, & Administration and Gender Studies. As an interdisciplinary scholar with training in social sciences and humanities, Pillow's theoretical and methodological publications are widely read across multiple fields of study and her research has been recognized with funding by the Mellon Foundation as well as prestigious fellowships at the Huntington Library, the National Humanities Center, and the Newberry Library. Pillow’s first book, Unfit Subjects, is a socio-cultural history of Title IX and pregnant/mothering students and she is currently working on a manuscript focused on Sacajawea and York, captured and enslaved members of the 1804-1806 United States Corps of Discovery expedition. Dean Pillow held a range of distinctive leadership roles prior to joining the University of Utah and continued this trajectory at the U while remaining committed to student access and success. This work was recognized when she received the 2021 University Distinguished Mentor Award and most recently, in recognition of her support of language learning and instruction, Dean Pillow received the 2026 UFLA Friend of the Profession Award from the Utah Foreign Language Association. Dean Pillow is honored to lead the College of Humanities and is committed to humanistic inquiry, humanities student success, and faculty and staff excellence.
View Bio
Pearl Sandick is dean of the College of Science and professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Utah. She has previously served as associate chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and associate dean for Faculty and Research in the College of Science. Dr. Sandick is a theoretical particle physicist studying physics beyond the Standard Model, including possible explanations for the dark matter in the Universe. She has been recognized for her teaching and mentoring work with a University of Utah Early Career Teaching Award, a University of Utah Distinguished Mentor Award, and the Linda K. Amos Award for Distinguished Service to Women. She has also been recognized as a University of Utah Presidential Scholar.
View Bio
Social & Behavioral Science
Social & Behavioral Science
Rebecca L. Utz is interim dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Science and professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology. She is a gerontologist, focused on understanding and supporting families in the context of end-of-life health transitions, including bereavement, caregiving, and advance care planning. She is first-generation student and award-winning teacher and mentor, recognized with the University's Distinguished Teaching Award and the Distinguished Mentor Award. She has also been named as a University of Utah Presidential Scholar and was recently recognized by the American Sociological Association for her public scholarship and social impact on family caregiving.
View Bio
Michael K. Middleton is senior associate dean in the Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences and professor of communication. His research examines rhetoric, argumentation, and public discourse through the lenses of cultural studies and pedagogy, with particular emphasis on political advocacy, social movements, and civic discourse. His earlier work explored how unhoused populations enacted community and engaged in democratic participation.
With more than two decades of experience in competitive debate and public speaking, Middleton has coached and mentored students to the highest levels of national competition. He has served as a consultant for the International Debate Education Association and held leadership positions in the Western States Communication Association, the National Parliamentary Debate Association, the National Communication Association’s Committee for International Discussion and Debate, and the International Forensics Association.
Prior to his current appointment, he served as director of the John R. Park Debate Society, director of graduate studies in the Department of Communication, and associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Humanities.
