Hola! I was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, grew up in Texas, spent some time in the state of Washington, and have been in Utah for the last several years. I got my Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in chemistry as well as a Master's in Higher Education Student Affairs Administration from Baylor University. I am currently pursuing a doctoral degree in higher education so I can continue to positively influence college students' lives. I believe mentoring is a meaningful way to make a difference in people's lives.
As the Executive Director of Community Engagement, Alexis Bucknam leads a team of community engaged professionals from the Center for Community Engaged Learning, Office of Community Research & Evaluation, and Office of Community Development. Bucknam has worked in higher education and non-profit contexts for over two decades, with a particular focus on community engagement. She began her tenure at Weber State University in Summer 2023 after completing her Doctoral studies in Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Utah in 2002. Her research focused on Instructor Practice in Critical Service-Learning. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Management at the University of Utah and her M.A. in Counseling in Student Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Melissa Neville Norton is a Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor and a full-time faculty member in the Annie Taylor Dee School of Nursing since 2010. Dr. Melissa NeVille Norton currently serves as director of the Office of Graduate Studies and chair of the Graduate Council, leading the university's graduate studies initiatives. Melissa’s previous leadership positions included two services as director of the MSN program, during which the program gained national recognition, being ranked in FORTUNE’s Best Online Master’s in Nursing Programs and receiving Princeton Review’s 2022 Best Online Nursing School Master’s Programs. Additionally, Melissa served as Program Director for Weber State’s first doctoral program, the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). Together with experienced graduate faculty, they established two regionally accredited DNP program options, gaining regional and national attention for their efforts. Melissa also has experience in programmatic and national accreditation leadership, having served as a peer evaluator for the Accreditation Commission for Nursing Education (ACEN) and evaluation chair of the Annie Taylor Dee School of Nursing. Melissa’s leadership in nursing accreditation spans over a decade of service coordinating and leading nursing accreditation efforts at the Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral levels.
As the former two-term chair of the Appointment, Promotion, Academic Freedom, and Tenure (APAFT) committee, Melissa coordinated the implementation of a university-wide adoption of the end-of-course evaluation process and streamlined tenure document, earning her Weber State’s Faculty Governance Award. As a certified pediatric nurse practitioner (CPNP), Melissa is passionate about improving health access and outcomes, and her current clinical practice focuses on providing care to vulnerable and underserved populations in urgent and primary care since 2001. In her academic role, Melissa helped advance graduate-level nursing education through leadership and participation in developing graduate courses and programs. She has extensive experience coordinating the development of nursing graduate programs, distance learning, and curriculum design, including systems leadership, evidence-based practice, scholarly foundations for graduate students, and curriculum design for nurse educators. Her efforts included co-creating the MSN educator residency and the MSN and DNP quality improvement projects that incorporated distance learning and high-impact student learning experiences. Melissa received the Weber State Presidential Teaching Excellence Award for these efforts to advance graduate nursing education.
Additionally, Melissa has co-authored peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on leadership, curriculum mapping, faculty peer review, DNP-PhD collaboration, and quality improvement in higher education. She has presented her research and translational efforts regionally, nationally, and internationally. Current research and translational interests focus on graduate accelerated degree pathways, graduate simulation experiences, early development of graduate student scholarship competencies, graduate simulation, enhancing faculty academic experiences, and faculty belonging. She also enjoys many activities, including hiking, cycling, scuba diving, yoga, and meditative practice. She is a lifelong learner, believing learning new things is the best adventure.