Introduction

The Lilly Teaching Fellows Program began in 1991 and served as “an opportunity to engage in a year-long exploration of the robust scholarship on effective practices in University teaching. The Lilly Fellows Program is designed to support Fellows who will become future faculty leaders and models for their peers as well as to inspire a broad range of faculty at all ranks to pursue excellence in teaching.”

This program is valuable to the campus community. Prospective participants will apply with regard to a primary focus on professionalization centered on the scholarship of teaching and learning.

The Lilly Fellowship Program

The Lilly Fellows Program invites applicants for its 2019-2020 cohort. The program is intended to advance the University’s continuing efforts to support excellence in teaching and learning through scholarship. The program supports a cohort of six faculty or academic specialists with at least five years of service to the institution, with an opportunity to engage in a year-long exploration of robust scholarship on effective practices in university teaching. The Lilly Fellows Program is designed to support fellows who will become future leaders and models for their peers as well as to inspire a broad range of faculty at all ranks to pursue excellence in teaching through scholarship. Fellows participate in monthly facilitated seminars to produce a publishable individual research project on their teaching with support from a faculty mentor. The program is supported by matching grants from AAN and the Fellows’ departments.

A hallmark of the program is the pairing of Lilly Fellows with experienced faculty mentors, chosen by the Fellows either from within their departments or schools or outside their disciplinary areas. Lilly Fellows will participate in monthly cohort meetings and attend other relevant events designed to enhance scholarship around teaching and learning at MSU. Each Fellow will be responsible for an individual teaching and/or Scholarship of Teaching and Learning development project during the Fellowship year.

To facilitate the participation of academics selected as Lilly Fellows, the Provost’s Office will provide $8,000 to each Fellow in the first year of their Lilly participation. Each Fellow’s home unit is asked to provide either $8,000 or one course release. Resource allocation should be designed to best facilitate the work of the Fellowship.

Program Activities and Expectations

Monthly discussions on scholarly teaching, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and Discipline-Based Educational Research. Lilly Fellows are expected to attend monthly, facilitated cohort seminars (September-April) that focus on development and production of a timely, relevant research project.

Presentation to the MSU community:  Lilly Fellows will be expected to present their completed project to a community audience at the annual MSU Teaching and Learning Spring Conference in early May 2020. Fellows are encouraged to publish their work in relevant publications and present at teaching and learning events and/or disciplinary conferences. Guidance will be offered by the Lilly Fellows organizers in finding appropriate journals and publication/presentation opportunities. A portion of the stipend could be used to support expenses in these pursuits.

Application Process

All tenure system and fixed-term faculty, academic specialists, and librarians who will have instructional responsibility as part of their appointments in 2019-2020 are invited to apply for the Lilly Teaching Fellows Program. As of the application date, all applicants must be in at least the fifth year of their appointment or have worked for MSU for at least five years as a faculty member, academic specialist, or librarian with teaching as a significant part of their responsibilities.

Required Application Documents

  • Completed application form, with appropriate signatures.
  • Two letters of support.
    • The primary letter of support must be from the applicant’s lead chair, director, or dean.
    • The additional letter of support may come from an MSU faculty member, student, administrator or academic staff member.
  • A personal statement clarifying why you wish to participate in the Lilly Fellows Program and how participation will benefit you, and/or your unit, department, college, and institution. The personal statement should be no more than one page (approximately 250-300 words).
  • A current curriculum vitae.
  • A project proposal for a scholarly project that focuses on an aspect of teaching and learning.
  • A complete budget proposal for the project.

Please return all documents in paper form to Dr. Patti Stewart, Hannah Administration Building, Room 308.

2019-20 application deadline has passed. The 2020-21 application process will begin in February 2020.

Criteria for Selection of Lilly Teaching Fellows

  1. Quality of proposed scholarship of teaching and learning project.
  2. Quality of endorsements from unit supervisor and additional reference in letters of support.
  3. Evidence of interest in and commitment to improving student learning.
  4. Evidence of the potential for instructional excellence.
  5. Willingness to advocate for excellent teaching among peers.
  6. Willingness to commit the time needed to fully benefit from Lilly Fellows membership, including participating in ALL monthly meetings, additional opportunities as approved by facilitators, and completion of proposed project.