CEHS Announces 2023 Student, Faculty, and Staff Awards
Legacy of Utah State Award
Honoring a student who represents the heart and soul of the university
Rachael Redford, Communicative Disorders & Deaf Education
Rachael Redford is a clinical doctoral student in the Audiology program at Utah State University. She received her bachelor's degree in communicative disorders at USU and has demonstrated a consistent dedication to her education and growing leadership in her department, the university, her community, and her profession. In addition to maintaining academic excellence in her grad program while raising four children as a single mother, Redford has provided hearing screenings for refugees at Health Clinics of Utah and for students and faculty at the USU Wellness Expo. She in the process of publishing her clinical research project, which researches parents’ experiences with special education services for their children with hearing loss during COVID-19. Redford has also mentored first year graduate students, inspiring them to persevere and accomplish their goals.
Undergraduate Awards
Scholar of the Year: For excellence in scholarship and service to USU by a graduating senior
Haley Yoder, Instructional Technology & Learning Sciences
Haley Yoder will be receiving her Bachelor of Science in Human Experience Design and Interaction in May 2023. In her coursework, Yoder enjoys working on projects that promote inclusion, critical thinking, and connection. Yoder has had the opportunity to be a teacher’s assistant, Undergraduate Teaching Fellow, and undergraduate researcher during her time as a student. In these roles, she provided thoughtful, constructive, and attentive support to her peers and projects. After graduation, Yoder aspires to work as a UX designer and advocate for those with disabilities by creating accessible and inclusive products and services.
Undergraduate Student Researcher of the Year: For outstanding undergraduate research
Tess Crawford, Communicative Disorders & Deaf Education
Tess Crawford is completing her bachelor's in the Spring of 2023 and is planning to pursue a doctorate degree in Audiology. During her two years as an undergraduate researcher in the Aural Rehabilitation Lab at Utah State University, she has collaborated as a secondary author on a review of narrative medicine and storytelling and was awarded an Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities Grant to conduct her own research project. Her undergrad research and interests are centered on how person-centered care in audiology affects self-efficacy, ultimately focusing on the need for better communication between clinicians and patients in the field of audiology.
Undergraduate Teaching Fellow of the Year: For outstanding teaching fellowship
Meg Good, Communicative Disorders & Deaf Education
Meg Good worked as an Undergraduate Teaching Fellow for the “Teaching Math to Students with Mild/Moderate Disabilities” course in Fall of 2022 and is currently serving as a UTF for the related practicum course. As a UTF, Good has been incredibly successful in identifying areas in which students need support and implementing appropriate solutions to meet these identified student needs. Based on the results of a student survey she designed, Good held optional student workshops on particular topics to provide students with additional support outside of class sessions. Good's forethought and creativity in delivering effective supports to students have been invaluable to the new cohort.
Graduate Awards
Doctoral Student Researcher of the Year: For valuable contributions by a doctoral student in the area of research
Julie Petersen, Psychology
Julie Petersen is a fifth-year doctoral student in the Combined Clinical/Counseling Psychology program. She received her BS in psychology from Haverford College in 2016 and her MS from Utah State University in 2021. Her research is centralized around the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for children and adolescents with a range of mental health concerns. She aims to empower children, adolescents, and professionals who work with youth by improving the assessment and treatment of youth mental health through evidence-based care. Petersen's work has been recognized and funded by the Association of Contextual Behavioral Science and the Misophonia Research Fund.
Graduate Student Teacher of the Year: For valuable contributions by a graduate student in the area of teaching
John Barr, Psychology
John Barr is a 4th-year student in the Combined Clinical/Counseling program under the mentorship of Dr. Maria Kleinstaeuber. He is originally from Austin, Texas and received his BS from Texas A&M University. His research interests include studying psychological flexibility and other useful processes of change in psychotherapy for the treatment of various psychopathology, including somatic symptom disorders. He has instructed three undergraduate courses and plans to continue teaching in the future. Barr has also worked at Logan High School and within the Sorenson Center for Clinical Excellence as a graduate-level therapist.
Master's Student Researcher of the Year: For valuable contributions by a master's student in the area of research
Makenzy Turner, Human Development & Family Studies
Makenzy Turner is pursuing an MS in Human Development and Family Studies. Her educational background includes early childhood development, American Sign Language, deaf education, and psychology. She has been a graduate research assistant for the CCAMPIS grant for three years, where she has assessed the needs of child care providers and offered quality improvement support through coaching and curriculum development and evaluation. Turner will be pursuing a PhD beginning in the fall of 2023. Her research interests focus on cognitive and language development in early childhood, parent behavioral impacts on development, and culturally grounded intervention.
Faculty Awards
Eldon J. Gardner Teacher of the Year: For outstanding performance in the areas of teaching and learning
Sarah Tulane, Human Development & Family Studies
Sarah Tulane is a clinical associate professor of Human Development and Family Studies and the coordinator for the online Human Development and Family Studies undergraduate degree. Her teaching assignments include Human Development Across the Lifespan, Child Development, Family Life Education Methods, and Research Methods. As a Certified Family Life Educator, Dr. Tulane builds her courses to connect her students with authentic, community audiences. Dr. Tulane is dedicated to helping her students engage in coursework that is personally and professionally relevant to them. She enjoys serving at the university level on multiple Empowering Teaching Excellence committees, including serving on the editorial board for the Journal of Empowering Teaching Excellence.
Cazier Professor Lifetime Achievement Award: For more than 20 years of consistent excellence in academic career
Karl White, Psychology/National Center for Hearing Assessment & Management
Karl White is the founding director of NCHAM, a professor of Psychology, and the Emma Eccles Jones Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Education at USU. Originally trained as a statistician and research methodologist, he was the principle investigator for the first large-scale research project investigating the efficacy and efficiency of universal newborn hearing screening. Since that time, he has devoted most of his professional activities to developing more efficient early hearing detection and intervention programs through research, improving public health information systems, training and technical assistance, and information dissemination.
Faculty Researcher of the Year: For outstanding research and scholarly contributions within the last five years
Colby Tofel-Grehl, School of Teacher Education & Leadership
Colby Tofel-Grehl's scholarship interrogates the structures, systems, and practices that foster inequities across STEM. She designs teacher professional development and curricular materials to facilitate the success of historically minoritized rural youth within STEM spaces. Tofel-Grehl has received multiple national honors and awards, including the 2019 Award for Significant Contribution to Educational Measurement and Research Methodology from the American Educational Research Association. In 2021 NSF’s ITEST Program recognized her grant, ESTITCH, as one of three nationally outstanding projects broadening participation in STEM.
Faculty University Service Award: For outstanding leadership and excellent service to the university
Nate Trauntvein, Kinesiology & Health Science
Nate Trauntvein is an Associate Professor of Recreation Administration at Utah State University. He holds a PhD in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Management from Pennsylvania State University. Trauntvein's research focuses on exploring alternative funding and resource management for public parks and recreation as well as non-profit organizations. His work includes community-based and statewide studies examining topics such as volunteerism, attitudes towards corporate sponsorship, constraints to participation, and recreation needs assessments. In addition to his research, Dr. Trauntvein is dedicated to teaching both at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year: For excellence in preparing graduate students for productive careers
Travis Dorsch, Human Development & Family Studies
Travis Dorsch is an associate professor and the founding director of the Families in Sport Lab. Dorsch’s research targets the persons and contexts that have the potential to influence or be influenced by athletes’ behaviors, attitudes, experiences, and outcomes in youth sport. His research has been funded by multiple national organizations, and he has authored more than 60 articles, book chapters, and technical reports. His research findings are used by sport governing bodies within the US Olympic movement, youth sport organizations, communities, coaches, and parents to construct more developmentally appropriate sport contexts and to evaluate the role of youth sport in society.
Strong Human Services Award: For significant and sustained leadership in human services and applied research
Brian Higginbotham, Human Development & Family Studies
Brian Higginbotham is professor of Human Development and Family Studies. For the last 17 years, Higginbotham has served as a USU Family Life Extension Specialist and has directed more than a dozen large projects with direct services and research findings that improve the lives of children and adults. The research-based program he directs and the associated family-life resources he provides have impacted upwards of 300,000 people. He has led numerous state-funded programs and helps secure partnerships and funding for community organizations to make family education and support programs accessible and impactful.
Undergraduate Faculty Mentor of the Year: For faculty excellence in academic advising
Alena Johnson, Human Development & Family Studies
Alena Johnson is an Accredited Financial Counselor and a lecturer at Utah State University in the department of Human Development and Family Studies, where she teaches and mentors 700-800 students each semester. She is the author of "The Financial Checkup" and other financial materials. Alena has taught exam review courses for the Association of Financial Counseling and Planning Education and helped write the Accredited Financial Counselor designation exam. She is also the creator of the widely used “Step-Down Principle.” She loves spending time with her family, seeing new places, and growing a very large garden.
Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year: For outstanding undergraduate research mentorship
Spencer Bradshaw, Human Development & Family Studies
Spencer Bradshaw is an assistant professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy program with an impressive track record of undergraduate research mentorship. He conducts neuropsychology research on individual and family recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress and has mentored 17 poster authorships and 5 peer-reviewed
journal article authorships with undergraduate researchers. Bradshaw genuinely cares for his mentees' personal well-being, learning experiences, and future success. In 2022, one of Bradshaw's undergraduate mentees presented two posters at a national conference and is co-authoring manuscripts from these projects toward publication.
Staff Awards
Outstanding Staff of the Year: For carrying out responsibilities in an exceptional manner
Kathy Clements, College Financial Officer
Kathy Clements is the Financial Officer for the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services. Through her tireless efforts, Clements keeps the entire college running and ensures that it is not only fiscally sound, but thriving financially. Clements is proactive in her work and independently provides forecasts, analyses, and assessments of issues on the horizon in order to develop plans to mitigate them. She has single-handedly structured numerous budgetary strategies that are a major contributor to the success of the college, leading to various building projects, scholarships, positions, and other resources that will have a long-lasting impact on the college and the lives of others.