Mission of the Faculty Fellows Program

The Faculty Fellows program will contribute to the mission of a sponsoring unit through research and service. Fellows contribute to the mission of their sponsoring unit by: 

  • Creating opportunities for the development of faculty leaders in related topic areas.
  • Providing opportunities to develop and implement best practices associated with leadership, research, and faculty development.
  • Disseminating and engaging with the UIS community on topics and issues of importance to the sponsoring unit.

Project Ideas

If selected as an Faculty Fellow, the faculty member will coordinate, lead, and facilitate discussions, research collaborations, or a project in an area related to the mission of their sponsoring unit.

OPEL/COLRS Fellow Projects

OPEL/COLRS Fellow projects center around online teaching, faculty development, digital accessibility, multimedia learning, or experiential learning.

  1. Stimulate and support research in an area related to the mission of OPEL. 
  2. Propose a topic for a faculty learning community (e.g., research methods, DEI, open educational resources, universal design for learning) and lead the planning and discussion of the faculty learning community with support from OPEL.
  3. Foster internal professional development opportunities by organizing a series of workshops for the UIS faculty community on a topic of interest to OPEL.
  4. Organize a mini-conference at UIS on a topic related to the mission of OPEL.

Chancellor Fellow Projects

Chancellor Fellow projects focus on issues of importance to the Chancellor's Office.

  1. University leadership initiatives that pertain to innovation, artificial intelligence, strategic planning and/or data-informed decision making 
  2. Student belonging and retention initiatives

Faculty Fellows Expectations

Faculty Fellows will be expected to meet at least twice each fall and spring semester as a group. Fellows may have additional meetings with their sponsoring unit's project mentor or project advisory team. Fellows will be asked to provide a brief description of their project and their picture for use on the Faculty Fellows website. Fellows will be expected to provide an annual report of progress.

Depending on the scope of the project, Fellows may be asked to present their findings to the Cabinet, Campus Senate, APAC, and CSAC.

Benefits of the Faculty Fellows Program

Depending on the type of project proposed, benefits could include:

  • Engagement in a community of practice focused on your project idea.
  • Mentorship with encouragement toward publication, presentation, or project idea implementation.
  • Exposure to new technologies and approaches that may enhance your teaching.
  • Understanding the complexity of data and its impact on the University (for Enrollment Management Fellow)
  • Recognized service to the UIS community
  • Support of up to $1,500 to fund the proposal plan (e.g., conference travel, research, community needs) depending on the focus of the proposal. 
  • Use of the Faculty Fellow title

Faculty Fellow Application Process

Eligibility: Full-time UIS faculty (tenured, tenure-track, and non tenure-track)

Appointment: Two-year term

Application Materials

Interested applicants will need to submit the following items via the Faculty Fellow Application webform.

  1. Current vita.
  2. Application document answering the following questions:
    • To which fellowship are you applying? (Options: OPEL Fellow, Chancellor Fellow)
    • Describe the project or research idea you would like to propose for your fellowship.
    • What support and resources (financial and non-financial) would help your project or research idea be successful?
    • Provide a two-year proposed timeline for your project.
    • What deliverables do you expect to complete during your term as a Faculty Fellow (i.e., research output, workshop series, community group)?

Selection of Faculty Fellows

A Call for Applications will occur during the Spring semester with appointments beginning the following fall.  The anticipated schedule for 2025 is as follows:

Call for Applications Distributed to UIS:  Monday, March 31, 2025

Deadline for Application:  Friday, April 18, 2025

Announcement of Selected Faculty Fellows:  Friday, May 2, 2025

Faculty Fellow Term Begins: Friday, August 22, 2025

Criteria for Selection

Faculty Fellows will be selected based on the fit of the proposed work with the mission of the sponsoring unit and their potential for significant contribution, as shown by the quality of their application. Fellows will be selected by the sponsoring unit.