[5] In March 2012, Pershing was named president of the University of Utah,[5][6] where he also holds an appointment as a distinguished professor of chemical engineering.
[7] In April 2017, he was involved in the controversial firing of Mary Beckerle, CEO and director of the university's Huntsman Cancer Institute.
On 28 April, the university's senior vice president for Health Sciences, Vivian Lee, announced her resignation in the wake of the Beckerle incident.
During a meeting of the university's Academic Senate on May 1, Pershing announced his own resignation, stating that it was in part "so that the person picking the new VP [of Health Sciences] is the new president.
Ruth V. Watkins was selected, and succeeded Pershing on 2 April 2018, at which time he rejoined the faculty of engineering.