Dr. Jayme Walters

2024 USU Presidential Award for Civic and Community Engagement Recipient

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Social Work

Dr. Jayme Walters is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Transforming Communities Institute (TCI) in the Department of Social Work at Utah State University. She was awarded her PhD from the University of Tennessee, College of Social Work. She earned her MSW and a Nonprofit Development and Management certificate from the University of Georgia. At USU, Dr. Walters works to illuminate and address Utah's social problems, such as homelessness, domestic violence, and access to justice, through research, teaching, and service. Focusing on rural community wellbeing and nonprofit capacity, her research has been published in the Journal of Rural Studies, Journal of Public and Nonprofit Affairs, and Administrative Sciences, among others. In partnership with collaborators, Dr. Walters recently founded the USU Community-Engaged Scholar Network and an open-access journal, Transforming Communities, aimed at community leaders, providers, and residents seeking evidence-informed knowledge and solutions. Additionally, she has mentored dozens of undergraduate and graduate students in community-engaged research through course-based and independent research projects. Dr. Walters also serves on the USU Institutional Review Board. In service of the local community, she is a founding board member for the William A. Burnard Warming Center in Logan and serves as the President of the Board of Directors. In 2023, Dr. Walters was awarded the USU Presidential Award for Community-Engaged Faculty and named one of 2023’s 50 Influential Aggies by The Utah Statesman. Originally from southern Illinois, Dr. Walters is married to her husband, Jonathon, and they have one daughter, Kate, and two dogs, Roxy and Carly.