Pictured above, L-R: Lauren Barth-Cohen, Brett Clark, Brian Codding, Kenneth Golden

At the close of the 2022-2023 academic year, the University recognized the contributions of outstanding faculty who affiliate with the GCSC:

• Kenneth M. Golden, distinguished professor, Department of Mathematics, received the Calvin S. and JeNeal N. Hatch prize in teaching.
  • “Having more than 40 years of classroom experience to perfect the art of teaching, 80-plus publications in academic and scientific journals, more than 500 invited lectures and having presented three times in front of the United States Congress, Dr. Golden has amplified what it means to be a teacher by not only being at the top of his field but also by creating a safe and inclusive environment where students can be challenged to reach their full potential.”
• Brett Clark, professor, Department of Sociology, received a Distinguished Research award.
  • “Brett Clark’s research broadly examines the human dimensions of environmental change. This includes analyzing the social drivers of greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and industrial pollution; studying the political-economic, historical and environmental conditions that influence the emergence of ecological problems; and assessing how the structure and organization of militarism contributes to unique forms of environmental degradation. He is one of the leading scholars developing and employing social metabolic analysis as a means to investigate environmental issues such as climate change and overfishing.”
• Brian Codding, professor, Department of Anthropology, was recognized for Distinguished Teaching.
  • “Brian is outspoken about his desire to increase opportunities for students from many backgrounds. He takes students seriously and is able to encourage discussion and ideas from a multitude of students from different life and educational experiences. Beyond actively seeking out diverse opinions and opportunities for students to work with him, Brian regularly works to facilitate a supportive environment within the department. He repeatedly advocates at faculty, departmental and college levels for educational opportunities, programs and resources that support student success both inside and outside of the classroom.”
• Lauren Barth-Cohen, assistant professor, Department of Educational Psychology, was honored with an Early Career Teaching award.
  • “Dr. Barth-Cohen has been a leader in the College of Education in developing high-quality science education curriculum for her individual courses and in advancing college initiatives in STEM offerings. She has led multiple efforts to help solidify and grow the College of Education’s relationship with the university’s Center for Science and Math Education (CSME) and currently serves as a CSME faculty associate. She has been an exemplary faculty member who is dedicated and has made significant contributions to the undergraduate and graduate education at the department, college and university levels.”

Outstanding undergraduate research mentors:

• Dr. Sara Grineski is a prominent scholar of environmental justice and asks questions about how environmental issues affect the health of individuals and communities. She is also a scholar of “mentorship” and has developed best practices for mentorship. She has mentored countless Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program Scholars and Summer Program for Undergraduate Research Scholars and utilized NSF and NIH funding to support research experiences to underserved undergraduate students, emphasizing their pathways toward graduate school and research-intensive careers. Her mentor structures have resulted in a number of publications and presentations that feature student co-authors.
• Dr. Gannett Hallar has been successfully mentoring undergraduate researchers at the University of Utah since 2016. Her mentees participate in the Hallar Aerosol Research Team (HART) making connections between the atmosphere, biosphere, and climate. Her mentees have successfully received awards such as the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program and Wilkes Scholars. Her commitment to mentoring includes her role as a faculty fellow with Utah Pathways to STEM Initiative (UPSTEM), training in inclusive teaching and mentoring strategies. As stated by Dean Darryl Butt, “Dr. Hallar is a world-class mentor. Her dedication to our undergraduate students comes naturally, but she is also very deliberate in creating a structure of experiential learning that is inherently unforgettable.”
• Dr. Sarah Hinners works with undergraduate researchers in various contexts (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program Scholars–UROP, honors program, independent study, SCIF, research assistants, and Campus as a Living Lab). She encourages undergraduate involvement in research-oriented SCIF projects. In addition to direct mentoring of undergraduate student researchers, Dr. Hinners has dedicated considerable effort to cultivating opportunities for student research via Campus as a Living Lab. Department Chair Stacy Harwood states, “Undergraduate students enjoy working with Dr. Hinners because she creates opportunities for impactful hands-on research experiences.”

Quoted from original articles in At The U: Exceptional Faculty; Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentors