University of Utah Societal Impact Seminars enrich the community by sharing national thought leaders, distinguished scholars, and innovative thinkers with Utah decision-makers. The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute hosts the seminars in partnership with the Hinckley Institute of Politics and under the direction of President Taylor Randall. The seminars seek to magnify the exchange of ideas, expand viewpoint diversity, and create maximum societal impact in Utah.

November 6, 2025

Dr. Tara M. Sinclair is the chair of the George Washington University Department of Economics and is the former director of the GW Center for Economic Research. Her research models, explains, and forecasts macroeconomic fluctuations and trends. She also evaluates forecasts, particularly with respect to their role in policy and decision-making.  She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in macroeconomics and econometrics. She is regularly quoted by the press, including in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, and has appeared on CNN, C-Span, NPR, Fox Business, Bloomberg Radio and TV, and various other national and international outlets.

October 16, 2025

Mark Zandi is chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, where he directs economic research. Moody’s Analytics, a subsidiary of Moody’s Corp., is a leading provider of economic research, data, and analytical tools. Dr. Zandi co-founded Economy.com, which was purchased by Moody’s in 2005. Dr. Zandi is on the board of directors of MGIC, the nation’s largest private mortgage insurance company, is the lead director of PolicyMap, a data visualization and analytics company used by policymakers and commercial businesses, and is a director of the Coleridge Initiative, a nonprofit that facilitates the exchange of data across governments. He is a trusted adviser to policymakers and a highly influential source of economic analysis for businesses, journalists, and the general public. He is the author of Paying the Price: Ending the Great Recession and Beginning a New American Century, which assesses the monetary and fiscal policy response to the Great Recession. His other book, Financial Shock: A 360º Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis, is described by The New York Times as the “clearest guide” to the financial crisis.

March 27, 2025

Dr. Raj Chetty is the William A. Ackman Professor of Economics at Harvard University and the Director of Opportunity Insights, which uses big data to study the science of economic opportunity: how we can give children from all backgrounds better chances of succeeding?  Chetty’s work has been widely cited in academia, media outlets, and policy discussions in the United States and beyond. He has received numerous awards for his research, including a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, the John Bates Clark medal, and Harvard’s George Ledlie prize, awarded for research that made the most valuable contribution to science, or in any way for the benefit of mankind.

Learn more:

• Data Summary: Upward Mobility in Utah
• Presentation: “Sustaining Opportunity in Salt Lake City: New Insights from Big Data”

February 26, 2025

Dr. Yuval Levin is the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Dr. Levin served as a member of the White House domestic policy staff under President George W. Bush. He is the author of several books on political theory and public policy, most recently American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation – and Could Again and has published essays and articles in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Commentary. Dr. Levin will share insights about the Constitution’s remarkable power to bind together a diverse society, reassuring us that a less divided future is within our grasp.

February 18, 2025

Steven Chu is Professor of Physics, Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Energy Science and Engineering at Stanford University. He received the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for laser cooling and trapping of atoms. He is now developing and applying new methods in molecular biology and medical imaging, materials science, and batteries. Previously he was U.S. Secretary of Energy, where he began ARPA-E, the Energy Innovation Hubs, and was tasked by President Obama to help BP stop the Macondo Oil spill. Chu’s presentation will focus on recent experiments using a new method to capture CO₂ and understanding the physics of how the molecular motor dynein works.

January 21, 2025

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an award-winning journalist. Rauch has been a trenchant observer of American democracy for nearly 40 years. He is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer in The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. Rauch shared insights from his recent book, The Constitution of Knowledge and other observations about American society.

October 28, 2024

Dr. Michael Strain is the director of economic policy studies and the Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. His research and writing cover public finance macroeconomics, labor markets, and social policy. He is the author of The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It), and has contributed to several dozen academic articles and journals. Dr. Strain shared economic ideas, trends, and insights on the U.S. and Utah economies to help our state prosper.