The Office of Undergraduate Studies is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Natasha Seegert as the assistant dean for The Utah Experience. Dr. Seegert is an associate professor in the Department of Communication where she most recently served as director of Undergraduate Studies. In 2022, Dr. Seegert received the University Early Career Teaching Award. Seegert's research and teaching focus on visual rhetoric with an emphasis on environmental communication. In her courses, she cultivates dialogue, community, and connection—qualities integral to The Utah Experience. 

Through The Utah Experience initiative, students will make meaningful connections between their academic coursework and the world beyond the classroom. What excites her most about her new role is creating opportunities for all students that connect learning, community, and direct engagement in a complex world that is frequently marked by cultural disconnection. 

Dr. Andy Eisen has worked in the field of higher education in prison for the past decade, starting as a graduate student at the University of Illinois where he earned a Ph.D. in History. His first experience teaching incarcerated learners with the Education Justice Project transformed his understanding of the power of higher education to enrich the lives of students, instructors, volunteers, and our communities as a whole. In 2015, after moving to Florida, Dr. Eisen co-founded the Community Education Project (CEP), a college-in-prison program at Stetson University, where incarcerated students take credit-bearing courses, conduct and publish research, and have recently built an expansive community garden on the compound. Under Dr. Eisen’s guidance, incarcerated scholars created an award-winning traveling exhibit documenting histories of slavery and Indian Removal in East Florida. 
 
CEP is currently supported by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Laughing Gull Foundation. In total, Dr. Eisen helped raise more than a million dollars for the program. Dr. Eisen is excited to bring his passion for working with incarcerated learners to the University of Utah.

Dr. Paul Fisk joins the Office of Undergraduate Studies as the program manager for Transfer Student Success. He completed his bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida in Liberal/Interdisciplinary Studies. He received both his master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Utah’s Department of Education, Culture, and Society. He has previously held several positions at the U—in the Center for Equity and Student Belonging (CESB), as a transfer program coordinator in the Asian American Student Association (AASA), and in the Office of Orientation and Transition. Fisk is passionate about helping transfer students make a smooth and successful transition to the University of Utah.

Melissa Stock recently joined the Undergraduate Studies team as a curriculum assistant. In this role, Melissa will support the General Education Curriculum Committee, the Special Fee Review Committee, the Curriculum Alum Policy Review Board, and the Undergraduate Council. She will also offer administrative support by scheduling courses, maintaining and updating websites, organizing data and reports, and more. Melissa recently moved to Salt Lake City from Logan, where she worked as a staff assistant at Utah State University. She is looking forward to being closer to family and being a part of the U. 

The newest intern in Undergraduate Studies is Maya Bourland. Maya is currently an undergraduate at the U and a LEAP scholar. She has a parrticular interest in STEM subjects, but is still exploring her options when it comes to choosing a major.