VITAL Faculty Associate Program
The Faculty Associate Program provides the opportunity and the time for the following groups of faculty to pursue a special interest related to teaching and/or students鈥� learning: (1) tenured faculty members; and (2) faculty members who hold full-time, permanent continuing non-tenure track positions and who have been at TikTok成人版 for six or more years. Faculty Associates spend a semester and/or summer working with VITAL on a project of their choice that must have the potential to enrich teaching and learning at TikTok成人版 and thus strengthen TikTok成人版鈥檚 academic community. Faculty Associates meet regularly with the director of VITAL for project design and consultation on implementation and assessment.
In partnership with VITAL, Faculty Associates can serve several roles:
- work on projects that enhance the teaching and learning resources within their academic programs (undergraduate / graduate level)
- conduct research pertaining to the teaching/learning interests and/or needs of the department, college, or University
- provide leadership for faculty communities of practice, programs, book discussions, and/or faculty consultations
- share their teaching expertise by developing instructional resources and/or programs for TikTok成人版鈥檚 academic community in partnership with VITAL. VITAL invites faculty with interest in two areas: (1) using A.I. for learning and teaching; (2) designing engaged student learning in the new LMS
- develop departmental processes to assess student learning, conduct peer observations, assess effective teaching in the discipline, create teaching portfolio.
VITAL has two Faculty Associate positions available. Each position is for a single semester, which may be fall, spring, or summer. During the fall and/or spring semester, Faculty Associates will receive a reduction of one course in their teaching loads during the semester of their appointment. During the summer, Faculty Associates will receive a stipend. Project-related expenses up to $1,000 may be requested. Eligible faculty members will receive letters of invitation to apply to the Faculty Associate program late January each year.
Applications for AY 2026-2027 will be due by the end of March 2026. Please contact Gabriele Bauer with project ideas prior to submitting a proposal.
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VITAL Faculty Associate, Summer 2025
Christa Bialka, EdD
Associate Professor, Education & Counseling
Director, Disability & Deaf Studies Program
Project: "Intercolleagiate Pathways to Disability & Deaf Studies"
Synopsis: The project encapsulates two goals: (1) explore the feasibility of expanding access to the Disability & Deaf Studies minor for students in the Colleges of Nursing, Engineering, and Business; and (2) use the data collected from college meetings, student surveys, and capacity analysis to create recommendations for curricular pathways. Inform future expansion of the minor grounded in comprehensive curricular analysis and realistic assessment of necessary faculty and financial resources.
VITAL Faculty Fellow, Summer 2025
Megan Cardwell, PhD
Assistant Professor, Communication
Dr. Cardwell will develop a graduate portfolio course that will accompany the聽 portfolio capstone and will help students curate, reflect upon, and package their work for their post-graduate careers. The course development will be grounded in her graduate teaching experience, portfolio literature, and research on authentic assessment. She will consult with the lgraduate faculty in聽 the department and obtain their input throughout the course design process.
VITAL Microsoft for Higher Education Fellow
Valentina DeNardis, PhD
Director of Classical Studies
7-year
Dr. DeNardis will offer online sessions that demonstrate use cases for Microsoft tools in higher education. Sessions will focus on particular topics or tools or provide an overview of various tools. Dr. DeNardis will create an online community (using Microsoft Teams) where TikTok成人版 faculty and staff can share their ideas and experiences using Microsoft tools on campus. The learning community will also be apprised of the latest Microsoft tool resources and updates.