Kem Gardner
Gardner Properties L.C.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dean’s Convocation – Wednesday, October 18, 2006
We give scholarship money because we believe strongly in education and we give money to United Way because a community is judged by the way it takes care of the less fortunate.
Kem Gardner was the co-founder and president of the Boyer Company L.C., a firm that has developed more that 20 million square feet of real estate projects in the Intermountain West and other areas of the U.S.
Boyer Company L.C. developed The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City in 2001. The $375 million mixed-use development was the largest redevelopment project in the history of Utah. The Boyer Company also manages 14 million square feet of commercial space. Mr. Gardner, who said he likes to think of himself as a "community builder," is now chair of Gardner Properties L.C., where he placed his assets in 2004.
Mr. Gardner has served on the Executive Committee of the United Way of Salt Lake since 1998, including two terms as chair. Mr. Gardner was named "Compassionate Leader of the Year" in 2004 by the United Way of Salt Lake for his philanthropic efforts. During the highly successful 2002 Olympic Winter Games, he served as chair of the 2002 Olympic Ambassadors and chair of the Salt Lake Board for Olympic Aid.
Mr. Gardner has served as chair of The Salt Lake Chamber and currently chairs the Capitol Advisory Committee, responsible for developing a 25-year master plan for Salt Lake City. He also has been active in education, serving as chair of the Utah State Board of Regents and on the national advisory committees of Weber State University and Southern Utah University.
He also is a member of the Intermountain Health Care Board of Trustees, where he chairs the Finance Committee. He is a member of Intermountain Health Care Insurance, Inc., Board of Directors and chairs the campaign for the new Intermountain Medical Center.
He received his bachelor of arts in 1967 and a juris doctorate in 1970 from the University of Utah. He and his wife, Carolyn, are the parents of six children, and they have 10 grandchildren.