Provost Fellows Program

The Provost Fellows Program is an integral component of the Office of the Provost’s faculty development programming. It provides a significant professional development opportunity for mid-career faculty interested in learning more about academic leadership and contributing to university-level decision making and initiatives. 

The 2023-24 fellowships are in the areas of teaching, leadership, and mentorship. Each fellow will help shape a high-priority university initiative: 

  • Teaching fellows help UO think strategically about ways that newer teaching modalities can support student access and success across degree programs. 
  • Mentorship fellows help UO develop a rich, culturally responsive and network-based mentorship culture across campus
  • Leadership fellows work to strengthen the culture of leadership at UO and provide support to local leaders and unit heads

Each fellowship involves engagement in a specific project which falls under one of the faculty success pillars of Teaching, Mentorship, and Leadership. Fellows will work directly with members of the Academic Affairs team, under the direction of the Provost, with opportunities to interact with additional campus leadership.  

Project planning, management, and implementation will be at the core of the fellowship, but personal and professional development are an equally important focus. The fellowship will result in a final report and presentations for senior leadership (i.e., Provost, President, other Vice Presidents as appropriate).   

At the conclusion of the fellowship, the Provost’s Fellows will have a concrete set of accomplishments, a network of mentors, familiarity with university-level decision-making, and confidence to assume leadership positions of significant responsibility across campus.

Teaching Fellow Project

The 2023-24 Teaching Fellow will work with Lee Rumbarger, Associate Vice Provost for Teaching Engagement and Carol Gering, Associate Vice Provost for Online Education, to research and refine guidance for teaching across emerging modalities and, particularly, for considering a unit’s full curriculum with modalities in mind. 

Expanding on research completed by the 2022-23 Teaching Fellow, the 2023-24 Teaching Fellow will interview academic unit leaders and will use UO enrollment data, student success data, and case studies from recent years to focus on the impacts of various modalities. The culminating product will be a suite of tools to support purposeful decision-making and modality scheduling at the unit level. The Fellow will also work to document and spotlight local unit practices for sharing and coordinating use of online assets across modalities. 

The Fellow selected will be an engaged teacher, from the tenure track or career faculty ranks (post-promotion) with practical experience in various teaching modalities, who is interested in their own personal and professional growth while learning more about university-wide leadership and decision making. This yearlong fellowship begins summer 2023 through spring 2024, and includes compensation of either two course releases or equivalent release of duties to ensure there is time to spend on the project and professional development.  

 

Mentorship Fellow Project

The overarching goal of this fellowship series is to unify what can be a sporadic, uneven, and highly localized culture of mentorship across campus and to help shape mentoring into a responsive, robust, and clear set of skills that all faculty can use to act as mentors. Ultimately, the goal is to define, develop, evaluate and reward culturally responsive and network-based mentorship at UO.  

To support this goal, the 2023-24 Mentorship Fellow will work with Sierra Dawson, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty & Leadership Development and others on programming for the Provost’s 2023-24 Year of Mentorship. After onboarding related to UO’s principles of mentorship, the Fellow will co-design and facilitate workshops, outreach and consultation for units across campus to support mentorship for undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty and staff.   

The Fellow selected will be from the tenure track or career faculty ranks (post-promotion) who is invested in culturally responsive and network-based mentorship, and who is interested in their own personal and professional growth while learning more about university wide leadership and decision making. This yearlong fellowship begins summer 2023 through spring 2024, and includes compensation of either two course releases or equivalent release of duties to ensure there is time to spend on the project and professional development. 

 

Leadership Fellow Project

The goal of this Fellowship series is to continue to extend the UO Leadership Academy’s reach in changing the culture of leadership on our campus through initiatives that increase capacity for inclusive transformational leadership from any position.   

The 2023-24 Leadership Fellow's work with Sierra Dawson, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty & Leadership Development, will act on a finding from the 2022 UO Leadership Culture Study, that department heads want more support as they navigate their leadership roles. The work will include listening sessions, peer coaching, and developing resources or programs requested by department heads. 

The Fellow selected will be from the tenure track or career faculty ranks (post-promotion) with interests in peer coaching and supporting local leaders, as well as interest in their own personal and professional growth while learning more about university wide leadership and decision making. This yearlong fellowship begins summer 2023 through spring 2024, and includes compensation of either two course releases or equivalent release of duties to ensure there is time to spend on the project and professional development.