Departmental Honors Advisors &
Faculty Advisory Board Members

Departmental Honors Advisors (DHAs) and members of the Honors Faculty Advisory Board members work together to support students and faculty in their departments and colleges.

DHAs are faculty who work as liaisons between the Honors Program and their home departments or statewide campuses. DHAs are a source of Honors information for all faculty and students in their department/area. They actively recruit new Honors students and mentors, and they help existing Honors students to complete outstanding work in both Honors and the discipline. Faculty can approach DHAs with questions about recruiting or mentoring Honors students; students can ask their DHAs for advice about how Honors works with and enhances their work in the discipline. DHAs approve both proposals and completion documentation for Honors Mentoring Agreements, and they work with faculty mentors to help students complete and earn approval for their Honors Capstone Projects.

The Honors Faculty Advisory Board (HFAB) includes one representative from each college, as well as representatives of statewide campuses, the Office of Research, and USU Libraries. HFAB works with the Honors Student Advisory Board (HSAB) and with DHAs to increase student and faculty engagement with Honors across USU departments, colleges, and campuses.

Caine College of the Arts

HFAB Representative: Dr. Laura Gelfand (laura.gelfand@usu.edu)

College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences

HFAB Representative: Dr. Katie Kraus (katie.kraus@usu.edu) 
  • Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences: Dr. Kara Thornton-Kurth (kara.thornton@usu.edu; 435-797-7696 or AGRS 241)
  • Applied Economics: Dr. Ryan Bosworth (ryan.bosworth@usu.edu; 435-797-0594 or AGRS 220B)
  • Applied Sciences, Technology, and Education: Dr. Rose Judd-Murray (rose.juddmurray@usu.edu; 435-216-0180 or VSB 327)
  • Aviation and Technical Education: Professor Matt Bunnell (matt.bunnell@usu.edu; 435-797-5787 or TECH 106)
  • Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning: Dr. Ole Sleipness (ole.sleipness@usu.edu; 435-797-0510 or FAV 260) 
  • Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science: Professor Rebecca Charlton (rebecca.charlton@usu.edu; 435-797-2173 or NFS 108)
  • Plants, Soils, and Climate: Dr. Jeanette Norton (jeanette.norton@usu.edu; 435-797-2166 or AGRS 340)
  • Technology, Design, and Technical Education: Professor Mark Koven (mark.lee.koven@usu.edu; 435-797-3410 or IS 108)

College of Engineering

HFAB Representative: Dr. Elizabeth Vargis (vargis@usu.edu)
  • Biological Engineering: Dr. Elizabeth Vargis (vargis@usu.edu; 435-797-0618 or ENGR 402M)
  • Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dr. John Rice (john.rice@usu.edu; 435-797-8611 or EL 272)
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dr. Todd Moon (todd.moon@usu.edu; 435-797-2970 or EL 154)
  • Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: Dr. Joel Ellsworth (joel.ellsworth@usu.edu; 435-797-0250 or EL 292)

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

College of Science

HFAB Representative: Dr. David Brown (david.e.brown@usu.edu)
  • Biochemistry and Chemistry: Dr. Steve Scheiner (steve.scheiner@usu.edu; 435-797-7419 or ML 273)
  • Biology and Public Health: This department has two DHAs because of the large number of students. Students are assigned a DHA based on the first letter of their last name:
    • Last names beginning with A-J: Contact Jennifer Burbank (jen.burbank@usu.edu or BNR 133)
    • Last names beginning with K-Z: Contact Dr. Sara Freeman  (sara.freeman@usu.edu; 435-797-0670 or BNR 239)
  • Computer Science: Dr. Dan Watson (dan.watson@usu.edu; 435-797-2440 or OM 402B)
  • Geosciences: Dr. Benjamin Burger (benjamin.burger@usu.edu; 435-722-1778 or 320 N. Aggie Blvd., Vernal, USU Uintah Basin campus)
  • Mathematics and Statistics: Dr. David Brown (david.e.brown@usu.edu; 435-797-3224 or ANSC 109)
  • Physics: Dr. TC Shen (tc.shen@usu.edu) ; 435-797-7852 or SER 222A)

Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and
Human Services

HFAB Representative: Dr. Scott Bates (scott.bates@usu.edu)

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

HFAB Representative: Dr. Vijay Kannan (vijay.kannan@usu.edu)

S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources

HFAB Representative: Dr. Eugene Schupp (eugene.schupp@usu.edu)

Statewide Honors Campuses

HFAB Representative: Dr. Jeffrey Spears (jeff.spears@usu.edu)
  • Brigham City: Nikole Eyre (nikole.eyre@usu.edu; 435-919-1305 or BCBCCR 118F, USU Brigham City campus) 
  • Price: Dr. Jeffrey Spears (jeff.spears@usu.edu; 435-613-5011 CIB 204, USU Price campus)
  • Uintah Basin: Dr. Benjamin Burger (benjamin.burger@usu.edu; 435-722-1778 or 320 N. Aggie Blvd., Vernal, USU Uintah Basin campus)

Office of Research

HFAB Representative: Dr. Alexa Sand (alexa.sand@usu.edu)

USU Libraries

HFAB Representative: Niki Fullmer (niki.fullmer@usu.edu)

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