Dear colleagues,

I'd like to extend a sincere "thank you" to those who attended our convocation and commencement festivities. The energy and joy at these events are truly unmatched. 

Read on for announcements and news about your colleagues' success—and, as always, don't forget to submit news of your own. 

Warmly,

Frankie Santos Laanan
Dean

Congratulations to the CoEdu development team, Safia Keller and Kate Rockefeller, who were honored with the U Belong Award for their innovative and inclusive approach to this year’s Giving Day video!

Keller and Rockefeller chose to feature John Kim, one of our recent Ph.D. graduates in Special Education.

Kim, a member of the Deaf & Hard of Hearing community, signed a thank-you message to donors accompanied by an ASL interpreter voiceover. This effort required additional planning and close coordination with UMC to ensure accessibility. The Giving Day team commented on the CoEdu's commitment to representation and commended Safia and Kate for highlighting that everyone has a place in Giving Day.

Matt Jameson, professor and outgoing department chair of Special Education, has been elected as a “Member at Large” for the Higher Education Consortium for Special Education (HECSE) board.

HECSE supports its members in engaging with federal policymakers, agencies, and advocacy groups to advance research, training, and services in special education.

Congratulations, Professor Jameson!

CoEdu alum Seyyed Sharifi, recipient of Outstanding Public School Teacher of the Year award, has now earned national recognition as one of Discovery Education’s Educators of the Year.

A dedicated special education teacher at Hartvigsen School in the Granite School District, Sharifi works with post-high school students with disabilities, helping them build essential life and workforce skills. He is one of only five high school teachers in the nation to receive this prestigious honor.

Paul Rubin’s research on how policy decisions influence student debt and access to higher education is featured in the latest Research Groundbreakers spotlight by the Office of the Vice President for Research. Rubin is an assistant professor of Educational Leadership & Policy.

This news item highlights the timely and practical impact of his work, especially in today’s shifting educational landscape.

Read the full feature here.

On April 25, the Utah State Board of Education honored the first cohort of future educators in the Utah Registered Apprenticeship Program for Teachers (U-RAPT) at Itineris Early College High School. The CoEdu was in attendance. 

U-RAPT is a new, competency-based pathway for individuals without a bachelor's degree to become licensed teachers. The program includes paid apprenticeships, mentorship, and tuition support.

With 18 pre-apprentices and six apprentices currently enrolled, State Superintendent Sydnee Dickson praised the group for “stepping into the classroom to not only change their career, but also shape the future of education in our state.”

Dean Laanan hooded honorary doctorate recipient Dr. King Jordan along with Trustee Randy Shumway at the recent University Commencement ceremony.

The Department of Educational Psychology came together for a good-bye lunch honoring outgoing chair Robert Zheng. 

Jim supports the entire College of Education with a focus on IT. He was born in Montana and raised mostly in Casper, Wyoming. Jim brought his brilliance to the college after holding positions at the University of Utah Law Library, a tech-focused ad agency in San Francisco, and the University of Wyoming’s Casper campus. He holds a Bachelor’s in Music from the University of Utah and an MBA in IT Management from Western Governors University. 

Outside of work, he enjoys cooking (especially Sunday dinners for friends and family), gardening, watching sports, dabbling in music composition, and pretending to know wine. With a strong background in academic computing and a family full of educators, working in education was a natural fit!

Sharlene Kiuhara and Chenglu Li are pleased to be editing a special series on Special Education and AI research for the open-access journal, Research in Special Education (RiSE). This series will highlight AI's potential impact in special education, with a focus on understanding its role in creating inclusive and effective learning environments for students with special needs.

Their aim is to:

- Bridge the gap between technology and education by curating and featuring empirical research

- Foster scholarly dialogue

- Provide practical insights for educators, researchers, and policymakers.

Deadline for abstracts or study synopses: July 31, 2025

RiSE Author Guidelines

RiSE Submission Portal 

The Marketing and Communications team at the College of Education supports a wide range of creative, media, digital, and brand related projects that amplify and advance the college’s mission, vision and values.

Now, we have a new way for you to request support:

CoEdu Marketing & Communications Request form

Let us help you celebrate your successes and bring your vision to life! 

In addition to our new request form, you can also find resources like:

Logos
Letterhead
and Powerpoint slides

on our new CoEdu Marketing & Communications webpage. Check it out! 

Do you need to make a web update request? 

Please email: coedu-websupport@utah.edu. 

Are you a faculty or staff member with questions about HR, finance, or administration? 

Please email:  CoEdu.Support@utah.edu. 

By newly centralizing these services, the dean's office aims to ensure that faculty and staff won’t have to navigate institutional systems on their own when in need of assistance.

We are collecting feedback on our social media channels from CoEdu students.

Please consider sharing this survey with your undergraduate and graduate summer classes: 

CoEdu Student Social Media Survey.

Did you know you can access the latest editions of EDU Magazine online? 

Read all issues here. 

The College of Education values open communication with you. We invite you to take advantage of this simple and anonymous way to share success stories, suggestions, and informal feedback that do not require a direct or immediate response.

All entries will be routed to the email address coe-feedback@utah.edu.

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