News and Updates

More than one-thousand of graduates from the class of 2023 are first-generation college students. In Undergraduate Studies, we are working to develop new ways to better serve these students. Accordingly, the Office of First-Generation Success, in partnership with the Office of Alumni Relations, has launched the 1850 Society, an organization wherein membership provides first-generation graduates from across the U with advice, support, mentorship, and opportunities for connections with first-generation faculty, peers, alumni, and friends of the U. Signature events will include: First Generation Celebration events annually in November and a Spring First-Gen Conference, keynote, and workshops. Over twenty-five percent of students at the U are first-generation and the Office of First-Generation Success is a supportive community dedicated to their success; the 1850 Society aspires to extend the community beyond the U through our first-generation U alums, faculty, staff, and friends of the U!

From academic integrity to developing better AI tools, U leadership explores what ChatGPT means for the university experience.

The Office of Undergraduate Studies convened its inaugural class of fellows in August 2022. This talented group of five faculty will contribute to several important projects during this academic year including updating and developing policies and procedures germane to undergraduate education and shepherding those policies through the faculty governance process. All five fellows are elected representatives to the Undergraduate Council and are active contributors in their home colleges and units.

After taking a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Utah Physician Assistant Program and the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine were able to return to Fort Duchesne to help the Ute Indian Tribe Head Start program fulfill one of its important goals: ensuring that all the young children have a yearly physical.

The U.S. Department of State announced the selection of Karen Marsh Schaeffer of University of Utah for a six month virtual English Language Specialist project focusing on student motivation and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in Russia at Dostoevsky Omsk State University. Marsh Schaeffer is part of a select group, as her project is one of approximately 240 that the English Language Specialist Program supports each year.