Faculty Development Fellowship Opportunity
January 14, 2026
Do you have some pedagogical ideas that you would like to try out in your classroom? Would you like to work collegially with other faculty to learn more and to hone your ideas? Then consider applying for CITAL’s Faculty Development Fellowship (deadline: Friday, February 20).
This yearly Fellowship provides:
- A $2,500 stipend for one Fellow
- $500 in faculty development funds. The Fellow can choose to buy books, pay for meals, memberships, etc.
- $1,000 for the Fellow and others to attend the annual Midwest SoTL Conference in South Bend, IN.
Here is what past Fellows have to say about the program:
Natalie Krivas, English
Project: Responding to Controversy with Classroom Strategies
I am so pleased with the support I received from the fellowship. Over the span of the academic year, I presented at seven conferences–including the SoTL Conference at IU South Bend– which offered me unprecedented learning opportunities and experience in sharing my research. Because of the fellowship, I was able to put my research ideas into practice by engaging students and colleagues in collaborative spaces. Overall, the fellowship has been a useful tool to learn about and deeply understand student, faculty, and staff experiences as they navigate tough topics in the classroom, practice building community, and develop more meaningful learning experiences.
Lauren & Jesse Sestito (sharing one fellowship), Mechanical Engineering & Bioengineering
Project: The Hidden Curriculum: Making Courses & Policies More Equitable
Our FDF project gave us an opportunity to learn more about the hidden curriculum, its impacts on students, and how faculty policies can reduce its impacts. We were able to work on a pedagogical study investigating how engineering students experienced different late work policies. Additionally, the FDF helped us connect to faculty from across campus through a faculty learning community in which we explored strategies for teaching underprepared students and equitable course policies. We presented our research at the Midwest SoTL Conference, which helped our findings reach a broader audience and inspire further discussion.
Kristi Bugajski, Biology
Project: Fundraising as Service Learning
The FDF was an important part of developing a service learning component to one of my courses. The discussions with other faculty, and with students in the course helped to shape the future of these projects. I was able to tailor the project to better fit the needs of the students and the community, as well as to meet the learning objectives of the course.
Alberto Lopez Martin, World Languages & Cultures
Project: Eco-Pedagogy
The FDF had a very positive impact on my teaching, providing me with resources and opportunities to advance my knowledge and application of ecopedagogy. Through a faculty learning community and subsequent workshop, I worked interdisciplinarily with like-minded colleagues on materials and activities that incorporated environmental and sustainability issues into my classes, ranging from microplastic pollution to regenerative agriculture. The fellowship also helped me co-edit a special issue on ecopedagogy and Hispanic studies, to which I contributed an article on the use of case studies focused on environmental issues in the field of Spanish for business.
As you can see, the Fellows’ chosen projects vary greatly. Yet each Fellow found their fellowship year to be valuable for their teaching.
If you would like to learn more about the Faculty Development Fellowship, click here: https://intra.valpo.edu/cital/faculty-development/collaborate-with-cital/faculty-development-fellows/
Applications are being accepted for the program now through Friday, February 20th. Click here to apply: https://forms.valpo.edu/machform/view.php?id=36002