Faculty Fellows

The Faculty Fellows Grant Cycle is now open! Apply February 1-March 24, 2024

The goal of the VT Engage Faculty Fellows program is to increase the prevalence of and quality of community engagement in the curriculum at Virginia Tech through curricular, faculty-led experiences in the areas of service learning, leadership education, and civic engagement. Selected Fellows will join other scholar-educators dedicated to integrating high-impact, ethical community-based learning experiences in their academic courses and programs. Fellows will receive financial resources and technical support from VT Engage during the one-year program (May to June).

Background

Virginia Tech is committed to providing transformational experiential learning opportunities for students. Community engagement holds great potential to enhance pedagogical practice in a wide range of disciplines. Well-designed courses contribute to the development of students as future leaders in their disciplines and their communities by integrating informal communal and guided experiential learning. Through the coupling of community engagement and problem-based learning, these pedagogies present dynamic environments where students can innovate while gaining new perspectives and deepening their understanding of complex systems. Integrative learning initiatives can be strengthened by employing community engagement strategies at formative stages of course, sequence, and program development.

Program Overview

This program is an opportunity for new and experienced community engagement practitioners to participate in the collaborative design of intentional, learning-focused opportunities. The program includes support for faculty who are developing or significantly revising courses or curricular programs utilizing these pedagogies. Faculty Fellows will collaborate with community organizations to create or enhance mutually beneficial partnerships, build assessment strategies for student learning and community outcomes, and serve as community engagement ambassadors to the campus community. Fellows will present the development of their course and their findings to peers and will engage with broader scholarly and practitioner audiences.

Eligibility

This program is open to any full-time, instructional, or Administrative/Professional faculty member at Virginia Tech. Proposed courses may be at the undergraduate or graduate level. Graduate students are not eligible.

Benefits of being a VT Engage Faculty Fellow

• Focused Investment: Grant opportunities are available for designing a new course, facilitating that course, hiring student leaders, assessment support, ideation support, and on-going program support.
• Partnership Development: Fellows will have designated time to invest in local, regional, or global partnerships with nonprofits and/or government entities to create mutually beneficial community-based learning programs. Fellows will have access to VT Engage networks of community partners and/or they can use their own connections to develop new relationships or enhance existing relationships with partners.
• Learning Community: Fellows will have opportunities to seek feedback and support from a growing body of faculty with expertise in experiential learning, community engagement, leadership education, civic engagement, and service programs. This diverse community can assist the Fellows as they strengthen courses, test innovative pedagogies, and collaborate on projects to advance the scholarship of engagement, teaching, and learning.
• Increased Visibility: VT Engage will showcase the community-based work of each fellow or team at key points during the project lifecycle. Additionally, Fellows have access to mini grants that may be used for assessment, professional development, conference registration, and travel.

Application Process and Deadline

Applicants should submit the requested materials in a single electronic document VT Engage at engage@vt.edu by the end of the day on March 24, 2024.

There will be a grant information session held virtually Friday, March 8 from 10–11 a.m. Contact jbatymcmillan@vt.edu for more information.

Applicants will be notified of the status of their application in April 2024.

Questions and Accommodations Requests

All questions about the Fellowship or the application process can be directed to Jessica Baty-McMillan at jbatymcmillan@vt.edu or 540-231-1113. If you are an individual with a disability and need an accommodation for any part of the application process, please reach out to VT Engage with any requests.