Utah Legislature approves funding and salary increases for USU

Utah State University announced it is reviewing House and Senate appropriations and bills from the close of the 2026 General Legislative Session (March 6) that directly affect the university, employees, and students.

• Main action: The Legislature approved a 2.5% discretionary salary increase for higher education employees (to go into effect July 1); funding is appropriated at a 75/25 match rate (state covers 75%, institutions cover 25%) and USU is determining the internal breakdown between cost-of-living and flex funding with faculty/staff leadership.
• Funding and program details: The Legislature allocated multiple one-time and ongoing funds to USU and the Utah Board of Higher Education, including $1.8M for performance in access/completion, ~$29M for a re-scoped Animal Science Building renovation plus $165,000 ongoing for operations, $15M (one-time) for a dedicated artificial intelligence research data center, $50M (one-time) for a higher-education research grant pilot, and other targeted allocations (see list for amounts and purposes).