Dr. Thibert is the Director of the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE). He joined the CUSE team in July 2013 and became Director in August 2017. CUSE helps Notre Dame undergraduates identify and pursue scholarly engagement opportunities, such as research and applications for national fellowships. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, he served as a national fellowships program coordinator in the University of Arizona Honors College for two years. Over the years, Jeff has worked with numerous students and alumni on their applications for the Rhodes Scholarship, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, and other major national and international opportunities that support postgraduate study and research. As Director of CUSE, Jeff continues to work with students while also overseeing CUSE operations—budgeting, personnel, donor stewardship, and so forth—and serving as a member of the Office of Undergraduate Education leadership team. In this role as a member of the UE leadership team, Jeff also oversees the staff that operates the Notre Dame Scholars' Program. Alongside this work, Jeff serves as a facilitator for Steve Reifenberg's LifeDesign course, and he has taught courses including Introduction to World Religions (at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), the Good Life (at the University of Arizona), and a College Seminar course on the Problem of Pluralism (at Notre Dame).
After earning the B.S. in Cognitive Science at Carnegie Mellon University at the dawn of the 21st century, he earned the M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of South Florida and the Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies with a specialization in Religious Educational Policy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. When not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife, son, daughter, and dog.