Faculty Fellow Working Groups

Call for Proposals
WCTL Faculty Fellow Working Groups
Academic Year:  2025-2026

The Walker Center for Teaching and Learning (WCTL) is seeking proposals for 1-2 Faculty Fellow Working Groups to be implemented during the 2025-2026 academic year. This is a stipend-based program.

These working groups will bring together a Lead Faculty Fellow Facilitator (the proposal author) and up to eight WCTL Faculty Fellows, drawn from across the UTC campus community. 

Application Form Link: You will find the link at the end of these Guidelines. 

Scope of the Working Groups 

The twofold aim of each working group is to construct wide-ranging conversations regarding pedagogy and to produce concrete deliverables in light of these conversations. 

Preference will be given to working groups that tackle issues of major importance in higher education today, cultivate campus leadership regarding best practices in teaching and learning, and seek to impact teaching and learning in a robust way at UTC. 

Past working groups have considered such topics as: 

• Educational Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Innovative Lecturing
• Race, Science, and Technology
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL)
• Science Lab Innovation: Inquiry
• Site Visit Activities: Exploring the Local Community
• Transparency In Learning and Teaching (TILT)
• Alternative Assesssment and Ungrading

Preference will also be given to working groups that engage and develop deliverables for a variety of teaching modes (in-person, online, hybrid, etc.) rather than one mode, such as only in-person instruction.

Proposal Elements

Using the online application form, the proposal will address the following:

• Identification of Lead Facilitator
• Title of the Working Group
• Identification Faculty Fellow Participants
• Period and Tentative Meeting Schedule of the Group’s Operation
• Aims of the Working Group
• Tasks of the Working Group
• Deliverables of the Group
• Plan for Dissemination of Results
• Letters of Department Head Support

Timeline

Normally, these working groups should meet at least four times during the particular semester (fall or spring) in which they function.
If a group proposes to work throughout the academic year, we are open to exploring this option and will entertain proposals that spread meetings logically throughout the entire academic year. 

Bear in mind that the stipends will remain as indicated below whether the group meets for one semester or throughout the academic year.
The Walker Center will fund food and beverages for these groups. Normally, Faculty Fellow groups meet over lunch. The lunches are to be held on campus. Catering will be coordinated through the Walker Center. 

It is expected that a tentative meeting schedule will be set in place as part of the proposal.

Deliverables

Beyond regular meetings, the working groups should produce tangible products. These can take the form of new pedagogical activities, a campus presentation reporting on the group’s innovations, the development of plans for a future symposium, and the like. The program prefers proposals that have a solid mix of concrete deliverables. 

Composition of the Working Group

The Lead Faculty Fellow Facilitator is responsible for identifying up to eight UTC faculty members to participate in the group, supported by their Department Heads. The individual Faculty Fellows should secure a brief letter of support from their Department Head indicating support for this participation and act of service to the campus community. The Lead Facilitator will gather the files for uploading to the application form. 

Preference will be given to proposals that bring together faculty members from the different Colleges at UTC. The program prizes proposals that construct conversations across the usual disciplinary boundaries. 

The program prefers the involvement of faculty who have not previously participated in WCTL Faculty Fellow Programs. The Lead Faculty Fellow Facilitator may be a previous WCTL Faculty Fellow. The group’s members should be predominantly faculty who have not served as WCTL Faculty Fellows.

Stipends

• The Lead Faculty Fellow Facilitator submits the proposal, identifies the group’s members, organizes the meetings, and serves as the main contact with the Walker Center for updates and the final report. The Lead Faculty Fellow Facilitator will receive $1,500 for the time period of the group’s operation (Fall 2025 and/or Spring 2026). The Lead Faculty Fellow Facilitator’s stipend will normally be paid out in three equal installments during a single semester (or be allocated proportionately if the group functions during both semesters).
• Each Faculty Fellow in Teaching Innovation participating in the working group will receive $1,000 for the semester(s) proposed for the group. These stipends will normally be dispersed at the end of a semester (or be spread proportionately if the group functions during both semesters) and will be tied to the successful completion of the tasks proposed by the group (e.g., meeting attendance, development of deliverables, participation in a campus presentation, etc.).
• Only UTC faculty members teaching during the time period of the working group (whether tenured, tenure-track, lecturers, adjuncts) are eligible to participate in the working group and receive stipends from the Walker Center. 

Application Form and Deadline for Online Application Submission 

Form: WCTL Faculty Working Groups Application Form

• Deadline: July 1, 2025 @ 5:00 pm (late applications will not be accepted)
• Awards: The committee will announce the awards on July 15, 2025.
• Contact [email protected] for further information and to discuss possible submissions.