Price donation to launch UofU computing center

The College of Engineering at the University of Utah has received a $15 million lead gift from philanthropists and benefactors John and Marcia Price to build a new home for computing education. Pending approval of the UofU Board of Trustees, the building will be named in their honor.

“We are pleased to lend our support to this effort that is so crucial to Utah’s expanding economy,” said John Price. “The University of Utah has an international reputation for innovation in computer science, and Marcia and I want to help ensure that opportunity for this generation and all future generations of Utah students.”

The Price’s contribution toward the new 209,000-square-foot, six-story building will support future growth for the School of Computing. The UofU produces 46 percent of the state system’s bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral computer science and computer engineering graduates, with 1,929 enrolled students.

John Price is an American diplomat and former U.S. Ambassador to Mauritius, Comoros and the Seychelles. He moved to Utah as a teenager and earned a bachelor’s degree in geological engineering at the UofU in 1956. Price started his career as the founder of a construction company, which developed into JP Realty Inc. and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1994. He has also served on numerous local, state and national boards, including the UofU’s Board of Trustees from 1992 to 1999.

Marcia Price is a leader in the arts community, with a lifelong passion for the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) where she serves as board chair. She has devoted herself to advancing the arts in Utah, serving as chair of the Utah Arts Council and later helping to establish Salt Lake County’s Zoo, Arts and Parks program. Price received an honorary doctorate of fine arts from the UofU in 2006. The UMFA building as well as the new theater arts building and amphitheater are named in honor of the Price’s contributions to the arts. Marcia Price also sits on the National Committee for the Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and serves as board member emeritus on the boards of the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera.

The Prices’ gift launches a $30 million private campaign for the $120 million new building that will be located on the “tech corridor” of the UofU campus, between the Warnock Engineering Building and Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Building. The University of Utah will make the new computing building its top priority request for state funding at the 2022 legislative session, officials said. A campaign committee has been organized led by College of Engineering alumni John Warnock, Ed Catmull and Shane Robison.