Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year 2009
Regional Campuses and Distance Education

Though it is Dr. Christopher Johnson’s first year at Utah State University, he is already involved as a research mentor for several distance education students. Working with undergraduate students from Salt Lake, Brigham City, Vernal, and Castle Dale, Dr. Johnson is primarily involved in conducting research and analyzing data concerning how mindfulness works to increase a person’s well-being. Currently they are seeking dissemination outlets, and have just been accepted to present at the Society of Behavioral Medicine International Conference

As part of the partnership between Snow College and Utah State, Dr. Johnson is able to provide valuable research opportunities to both Snow and Utah State students as participants in gathering research and as research assistants in his lab.

“We collected our data here in Ephraim on a very cold, windy, snowy day,” Dr. Johnson said. “It is great to see the support of the community in providing students with these educational research opportunities.”

Dr. Johnson is also enthusiastic about his unique opportunity to serve as a mentor to distance education students. 

“The great thing about my involvement with distance education is the chance to provide students throughout the state with the same kind of research experience they would get at the Logan campus,” Dr. Johnson said. “They get to work with a doctoral-level mentor and submit work to a professional conference.”

The research opportunities are particularly valuable to students interested in pursuing graduate or professional degrees. Two of Dr. Johnson’s students plan to pursue a master’s degree in psychology through Utah State University distance education programs, and one plans to attend medical school upon completion of an undergraduate degree.

Dr. Johnson first began a relationship with Utah State during his graduate work in El Paso, where he collaborated with a professor from Utah State in gathering data for a project. “This project was the beginning of a path that led me to where I am now—teaching for Utah State,” Dr. Johnson said.