Christopher Patrick Miller (Ph.D., UC Berkeley) is a poet and interdisciplinary scholar in the humanities with a focus on poetry and poetics, critical theory, and urbanism. His first book of poems, ARCH (Tuumba, 2019), is a writing-through of Vitruvius’s Roman manual for architects for the contemporary Americas. Recently published scholarly work in Poetics Today, Twentieth-Century Literature, and Modernism/Modernity has focused on transient culture, democracy and its limitations, literatures of war, and the intersections between politics and language philosophy. He is excited to be a part of the Honors community here at the University of Utah.

Born in Brazil, culturally raised in Bolivia, and having lived for nearly a decade in the United States, Gabriel Guzmán Camacho is an Assistant Professor (Lecturer) at the Honors College of the University of Utah, where he also directs the Integrated Minor in Human Rights and Resources. His path began in Bolivia with a degree in communications, specializing in literature. It led him to The Ohio State University, where he earned both his MA and PhD in Latin American Literary and Cultural Studies. His master's work turned to comics and the ways visual expression captures violence, social inequality, and identity formation. His doctoral research followed his growing pull toward the archive into Bolivia's dictatorship years (1979-1982), tracing how memory and hope take shape as cultural-political forces. His work lives at the interdisciplinary practice where he encounters anthropology, history, cultural studies, sociology, and literature. He teaches courses in Latin American Studies, Cultural Studies, and Memory Studies, and in his classroom, stories are never just stories. Students dig into texts, images, and sounds together, connect ideas across disciplines, and have real, honest conversations about today's world, because learning should be alive, thoughtful, and meaningful.

Gabriel is a questioner of narratives, a collector of stories, and a cross-cultural scholar who processes the world through literature, short stories, poems, and philosophy. Having navigated cultural shifts and academia at the same time, he knows how challenging (and exciting) college can be. His goal in the classroom and at the university? To shed light on intellectual curiosity, sharpen critical thinking, and help students see their own agency in shaping the world around them.

Away from campus, Gabriel enjoys playing soccer, dancing, and exploring the outdoors. His office door welcomes everyone, so whether you want to talk about life, the Honors College, or anything in between, feel free to drop by.

Melissa Watt has a joint faculty appointment in the School of Medicine (Department of Population Health Sciences) and the Honors College. This dual appointment allows her to be a bridge for Honors students who are interested in health-related careers. Dr. Watt is an accomplished population health researcher, with a strong track record of funding from the National Institutes of Health and over 160 publications in peer-reviewed journals. She currently has active research projects in Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Mali, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the United States. Prior to joining the University of Utah in 2020, she was faculty at Duke University’s Global Health Institute, where she directed a Masters of Science in Global Health. As the inaugural director of the Honors Integrated Minor in Health, Dr. Watt is delighted to be creating opportunities for Honors  students to explore health from an inter-disciplinary perspective and outside of the confines of the clinical setting. In the Utah track of the minor, she supports students to get hands-on experience through community engaged learning at the Fourth Street Clinic. In the Global track of minor, she directs a 5-week Learning Abroad program in South Africa where students explore the intersection of health and ecology across the unique landscapes of South Africa. Dr. Watt says of the minor: “This program not only enhances individual academic and personal development, but also cultivates a community where students support each other's growth. Together, students are empowered to drive positive change in society, laying the foundation for lasting impact beyond their time in the Honors College.