Congratulations to Edén Cortés-López (ELP), Tracy Dobie (EDPS), Shamby Polychronis (SPED), and Claire Son (EDPS), who have been selected as the inaugural College of Education Dean’s Fellows for the 2025–2026 academic year.

This appointment recognizes outstanding scholarly contributions and leadership within the College. We look forward to their continued impact in the year ahead!

Congratulations to Professor Udita Gupta, who has been selected as a Martha Bradley Evans Teaching Fellow at the University of Utah for the 2025–2026 academic year.

Professor Gupta's project brings together technology, global awareness, and compassion to prepare future educators for today’s connected world.

By weaving in UN Sustainable Development Goals, digital tools, and innovative teaching strategies, she aims to help pre-service teachers build the skills and empathy needed to lead inclusive and informed classrooms.

Professor Aaron Fischer recently joined The Mountain Life podcast on KPCW to chat about youth mental health and the importance of supporting the whole child.

Listen to the full episode here: Youth Mental Health and Caring for the Whole Kid.

Congratulations to Brendan Schuetze, who  was recognized at the recent American Psychological Association meeting as the winner  of 2024's “Outstanding Dissertation Award!”   

Congrats to Sheryl Sudakar, a first-year doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology Program, who won second place for her research poster at the 56th International Society for Psychotherapy Research Conference in Kraków, Poland.

Her presentations, Preemptive Measures: Comparing Predictors of Premature Termination among International Students Attending Psychotherapy in the United States and Social Determinants as Predictors of Treatment Response in a Public Behavioral-Health Setting, highlight important mental health challenges faced by international students in the U.S.

Sheryl’s achievement showcases the program’s commitment to impactful, culturally informed research.

Meet Jason Newnum, Academic Graduate Coordinator extraordinaire. He  joined the CoEdu's Department of Education, Culture, & Society in 2021. 

Jason's higher ed career began a small private college in his native Iowa, where he worked in college admissions advising transfer students. Although he originally planned to become a high school Spanish teacher, Jason fell for advising work. 

Life took him to Denver and then to Argentina, where Jason and his wife began to raise their family. Jason taught English in Argentina for 6.5 years. It was his family's search for mountains that finally brought them to Salt Lake; they love to camp, especially the thrill of waking up to frost on the ground after having stayed warm throughout the night.   

Jason worked in advising at Utah Valley University before joining the U. Here in the College of Education, he loves being part of students' academic journeys—applying to programs, starting classes, receiving their degrees, and all the details in between. 

Outside of work, Jason loves to cook and even considers himself an amateur chef. We are so lucky to have him on the CoEdu team! 

The College of Education Dean's Distinguished Speaker Series continues with Arthur Brooks, U of U Impact Scholar and Professor of Business and Government at Harvard University. 

Join us for his lecture titled "Leadership and Happiness" on:

Wednesday, September 24 | 3-4 p.m | SAEC Art Works for Kids Auditorium (1151) 

Tell your students! Bring your classes! 

Learn more about Brooks and his research here. 

As you may have seen in a recent collegewide email, the University of Utah announced plans to develop the Navigate Hub for Education and Social Work. 

What is the Navigate Hub for Education and Social Work? 

· The Navigate Hub will focus primarily on undergraduate advising and support in the areas of elementary and secondary, social work, educational psychology, behavioral health, and related fields

· The Hub will bring together the University’s most community-centered disciplines, Education and Social Work 

Who can I find in the Hub? 

· The Hub will house Academic Advisors, Career Coaches, Student Success Coaches, and other key partners in Education and Social Work

Where is the new Navigate Hub? 

· The Hub will be located in Suite 319 of the College of Social Work

When does the Hub officially launch? 

· The search for an Associate Director of the Navigate Hub for Education and Social Work will soon be underway. This new Director will report jointly to Dean Laanan and Dean Osteen (Social Work).

Additional information will be available ahead of the hub's planned fall semester launch. We will keep you posted!

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
· *Updated* 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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