Utah Valley University will close its Provo campus on Sept. 10, the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, as the school’s new president says he will continue to make the university a place for open debate.
Dr. Jon Anderson, who took over as UVU president just before the fall 2026 semester began, was serving as president of Pennsylvania Western University when Kirk was shot and killed in UVU’s central courtyard on Sept. 10, 2025. But Anderson told Fox News Digital his family has deep roots in Utah, and his own daughters and a son-in-law were near the scene when the shooting happened.
“I had two daughters and a son-in-law, they were about 10 yards from the assassination when it happened,” Anderson said. “And so I knew that our future would be tied to it in one way or the other.”
Anderson said his wife called him with the news, and that the pull to return home eventually led him to UVU.
“When the opportunity came up to come home — this is the place that I’m from — and help this institution move forward and heal, it’s something I leaned into immediately,” he said. “I wanted to be here to help in any way that I could, and I have found since coming here, this place is so resilient. Its people are gritty, they’re ready to move forward, and they’re to learn from everything that we can learn from that day.”
Because students, faculty and staff are processing the tragedy differently, Anderson said the university decided to close the entire campus on the anniversary rather than hold a single official event.
“I think one thing all of us at UVU have learned is that traumatic events, sometimes there’s an initial reaction and sometimes there is a delayed reaction, and it’s important for us to be very empathetic with each other as everyone goes through the healing process in their own way,” he said.
Turning Point USA, the group Kirk founded, will hold its own memorial that evening at UVU’s UCCU Center at 6:30 p.m. MT. Kirk was speaking at an event hosted by the university’s TPUSA chapter when he was killed.
“We want people to have their own space to heal in their own way,” Anderson said. “TPUSA is using some space on campus to hold their event here, and we are supportive and reflective of that.”
A separate group that includes board members and students is discussing whether to build a permanent memorial, drawing on how other universities have handled similar tragedies, Anderson said.
“They’re sorting through lots of voices, getting people to the table to talk through what that might look like, looking at other institutions, what they have done,” he said. “I can’t guarantee that it’s going to be anytime soon, but I can tell you if and when that happens, it will be thoughtfully done and well placed.”
A neutral campus that still hosts debate
Anderson described UVU, a public university, as “politically neutral and apolitical,” but said that doesn’t mean shutting out difficult conversations.
“We don’t jump in the fray, but we host the frays,” he said. “We allow people to come in and focus on civil dialogue, engaging in new and good ideas, and that’s where we hope to excel. A place that anyone can come with any idea, have a place for open, honest, violence-free debate, and that’s what our future is, and that is what institutions of higher education are, when they are at their best.”
The case against Kirk’s accused killer, 23-year-old Tyler Robinson, is moving through Utah County’s court system. Robinson pleaded not guilty to all charges through his attorneys at an arraignment on Sept. 1, nearly a year after his arrest. He is due back in court on Oct. 23, when Judge Tony Graf Jr. could set a trial date. Robinson could face the death penalty if convicted of the top charge of aggravated murder.
Kirk was 31 and married with two children.
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