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Faculty Fellowship InitiativeTo ensure the success of our students, there is nothing more important that we can do than to support the professional and leadership development of faculty. Outside of the classroom, faculty are rewarded for their scholarly and creative work. Grants and fellowships are received for outstanding proposed research projects or artistic work, and awards are presented for the quality of creative work. However, when it comes to excellence in teaching, rewards are not as plentiful.
Albright faculty are asked to do something different; they are asked to focus on teaching, advising and mentoring students. Faculty are asked to spend significant time in the classroom with students and to spend additional time collaborating with students on research and creative work outside of the classroom. As a residential college, Albright also asks that faculty be involved in student activities, attending athletic events and other student programs. These close faculty-student relationships are a critical component of the Albright experience, which makes it ever more essential to incentivize and reward faculty for this important work. The Faculty Fellowship Establish 10 faculty fellowships that will reward our best teacher-scholars and support the professional development of a faculty member. How will each gift be used?
The faculty member will carry the fellowship name as part of their title (e.g., Jane Smith Faculty Fellow). These honorifics are important in the academic community and demonstrate the recognition of excellence. The faculty member will have discretion on how to use the funds, including, but not limited to, supporting travel and resources for faculty to learn new pedagogies, developing new courses, engaging students in scholarly and creative work, or enhancing or expanding the faculty member’s own scholarly and creative work. The faculty member will spend the entirety of the fellowship within the three-year period. Named Faculty Fellowship Through a named faculty fellowship fund, your fund will be awarded the next academic year once the first payment is received and the pledge is in place by May 31.
Endowed Faculty Fellowship Through an endowed faculty fellowship fund, your gift will be awarded two academic years after the endowment reaches full funding. The draw of the endowment will be awarded each year in perpetuity in support of faculty excellence. Commitment: Estimated Annual Support available to faculty Fellowships can be named in honor or in loving memory of someone special, for example, The John And Edith Douds Faculty Fellowship. “I fondly recall faculty members who made a difference in my life—John and Edith Douds and Bill Marlow come to mind immediately. Yet there are important names I have forgotten like my first-year English professor, who was only here for a year, but took a special interest in me and my first-year honors project. These types of faculty are the reason I chose to establish a faculty development fund.” – Joan Develin Coley ’66 |
Why now at Albright?
Faculty fellowships are an ideal way to reward and incentivize teaching excellence. Faculty fellowships are named awards that faculty members receive for three years and are awarded at the discretion of the provost.
Commitment: