Teaching-track faculty in Arts & Sciences have a new opportunity to secure funding for professional development to support cutting-edge pedagogy and educational innovation.
The Teaching Innovation Awards will provide full-time teaching and practice faculty with an opportunity to seek project funding to advance their pedagogical work. The competitive awards, which aim to cultivate pioneering approaches to teaching, will support projects with budgets up to $5,000. Applications — due Feb. 15, 2024 — will be evaluated by a committee comprising three vice deans and two appointed teaching professors. Recipients will be notified by March 15, 2024.
“Our teaching track faculty are amazing and make varied and valuable contributions to the mission of Arts & Sciences,” said Andrew Brown, vice dean of faculty affairs. “I’m looking forward to helping support the creative and exciting proposals that will help advance our teaching even further.”
Another new funding opportunity for teaching-track faculty was introduced earlier this year. The A&S Summer Online Teaching Innovation Grants solicited proposals from faculty for online Summer Session courses to be taught in 2024 and 2025. The selected faculty members will be paid per course and receive grants of $2,500 for course development.
A third grant program that supports the development of new Ampersand courses just completed its second call for proposals. Last year, two of the three initial grants supported teaching-track instructors. The Ampersand grants provide up to $7,500 for faculty to develop a small, multi-semester class for first-year students.
These grants are part of a growing suite of resources and opportunities for Arts & Sciences’ teaching-track faculty. Last year, teaching-track instructors collaborated with school leadership on several new initiatives, including expanding representation on key committees and adding transparency in the promotion process.
Feng Sheng Hu, the Richard G. Engelsmann Dean of Arts & Sciences, said he is committed to providing teaching-track faculty with the support and resources they need to deliver a world-class education for WashU students and to achieve their professional goals.
“Arts & Sciences’ teaching-track instructors consistently provide students with unparalleled instruction,” Hu said. “It's of utmost importance to me that we continue to forge resources and opportunities that encourage their professional growth and pave the way for their success.”
