Housing & Residential Education Student Affairs

Impact and Prosperity Epicenter

The Impact & Prosperity Epicenter is home to students and professionals driven by a shared mission to leave our communities and planet better than we found them. It’s a place dedicated to inspiring students to live, learn, and collaborate with purpose. Considered the “soul” of campus, the Epicenter is an ecosystem that prepares students to become thoughtful global citizens committed to enriching the lives of others.

Programming at the Epicenter is driven by two flagship teams coming together to create curriculum to help you find your community and your passions to solve the world’s great challenges.

1. The Center for Business, Health, and Prosperity focuses on integrating innovation and entrepreneurship with health enabling practices in pursuit of economic, social, and political well-being. Led by Professor Stephen Alder, Ph.D., MBA and supported by a team of full time professionals, the Center for Business, Health is dedicated to promoting prosperity - discovering what makes this type of progress happen and ways to expand it.
2. The Sorenson Impact Institute believes capital can be a major force for good. Led by Katie Macc and supported by a team of expert practitioners, the Sorenson Impact Institute’s mission is to expand the market for impact, accelerating toward a future where impact principles are fully integrated across sectors worldwide. Join us as we work to connect capital to measurable social, environmental, and financial outcomes.
   The Center for Business, Health and Prosperity and the Sorenson Impact Institute are both headquartered at the Epicenter and eager to engage with students passionate about these fields of study.

The Epicenter offers four areas of in-depth programming for students wanting to connect with others with a shared passion. Known as our themed communities, these communities allow students with a shared passion to live together and connect. These residents are housed exclusively in specially designated end-cap communities and enjoy deeper connections with other community members and exclusive access to additional thematic programming. Students who are accepted into the Impact Capital Community, Global Health Community, Health Innovation, or Interfaith Community receive a $500 scholarship each semester as part of their active participation in their community. Limited spots are available.

Impact Capital Community

The Impact Capital Community is designed to explore how capital can be a force for good. Want to save the Great Salt Lake? Improve food systems? Reduce economic disparities? All of these are much needed solutions and all require funding – a lot of it. The Impact Capital Community invites students to live among peers interested to learn methods that utilize capital to create lasting impact. More information can be found here.

Global Health Community
Students passionate about engaging in approaches for elevating health are invited to be part of the Global Health Community. Students will be able to join activities centered around exploring and solving complex health issues and their solutions. This community will draw on the vast health and medical expertise of the University of Utah and its partners worldwide. More information can be found here.

Interfaith Community
The Impact & Prosperity Epicenter invites students from all faiths, spiritual practices, worldviews, and philosophies to join the Epicenter Interfaith Community—a welcoming space to gather, learn, and celebrate diversity in an inclusive, respectful setting. This community fosters positive relationships and mutual understanding across various beliefs and practices. Members can engage meaningfully with different faiths, promoting educational and spiritual growth. No formal religion or belief system is required; all who wish to participate respectfully are welcome. More information can be found here.

Health Innovation Community
The Impact & Prosperity Epicenter announces a new themed community for AY 25-26! In partnership with the Center for Medical Innovation (CMI), the Health Innovation Community will focus on creating new solutions and technologies that can transform healthcare delivery and treatment. These tools and technologies are often tailored to the unique challenges of underserved communities. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the Health Innovation Community! More information can be found here.

Scholarship/Sponsorship opportunities

The Epicenter provides a wide range of internship opportunities through the Sorenson Impact Institute and Center for Business Health and Prosperity. Both internship tracks give preferential access to Epicenter residents.

The Sorenson Impact Institute internship program guides students to be impact leaders in their chosen fields. We believe social impact is a growing field of study that affects every industry. Whether you are a graphic design student interested to apply your design talents to raise awareness of social causes or a finance major interested to apply capital to scale impact-centric organizations – a Sorenson Impact Internship will equip you with hands-on experience and connections with a wide network of impact professionals to prepare you for a career in impact.

The Center for Business, Health, and Prosperity’s internship and global programs offer a unique opportunity for students to develop real-life skills to support their future career and educational goals.

Prosperity U Interns work with sponsoring organizations (government organizations, non-profits, or entrepreneurs) to help them improve prosperity while earning university credit. Stand out from the crowd with an internship in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Prosperity U Global Experiences gives students the opportunity to participate and focus on building prosperity as a means of addressing global poverty. Students study how value creation through innovation and entrepreneurial approaches that improve health and well-being across impoverished communities. Find out more about the Prosperity U Global Spring Experience here and the Prosperity U Global Summer Experience here.

Internships are also available to residents to support the operations of the building itself. These range from supporting the social media/marketing for the Epicenter to working as part of the Hospitality team supporting front-desk operations.