Dr. Michael Christensen is the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute Scholar in Residence. Dr. Christensen has spent over 35 years in the public policy arena. He served as Governor Norm Bangerter’s deputy director of the Office of Planning and Budget and State Planning Coordinator. He then directed the Utah Foundation, a private-public policy think tank, for nine years authoring over 100 papers. He was an editor and/or co-author of two books: “State and Local Government in Utah” and “Financing Government in Utah.” From 2000 until his retirement in 2017, he worked for the Utah Legislature as director of the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.

In 2021, the Gardner Institute published Dr. Christensen’s latest book, “Utah Public Finance: A History of Utah’s Tax Structure.”

Dr. Christensen holds bachelors and masters degrees from Utah State University and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Utah.