Announcement
The Brown Center for Faculty Innovation and Excellence is seeking applications to the 2020 Brown Innovation Fellows Cohort.
Program focus
Diversity, Equity and Multiculturalism in the Curriculum
Today’s society faces numerous complex issues that require years of work, collaboration among individuals from different cultural and disciplinary backgrounds, and innovative, creative thinking to solve. Inclusion is a key to learning. Those who feel excluded struggle to learn compared to those who feel represented. How do we help Stetson’s students realize their full potential as informed citizens of local communities and the world with the capacity and desire to address societal issues? How can we design courses that prepare students to meet the challenges presented by a world that grows ever more complex, create more equitable opportunities for students from marginalized groups to more fully participate in higher education, and promote learning outcomes that employers and society seek (e.g., complex thinking skills, an ability to work across difference, a preparedness to engage in civic participation, reduced bias, and appreciation of intersectionality)?
To create an inclusive learning environment throughout the curriculum across all fields, all community members actively teaching need to consider how they are incorporating diversity into their courses and how they can be more inclusive in their teaching. Incorporating diversity, equity and multiculturalism into one’s teaching takes time and commitment. As Stetson’s student body becomes more diverse, it is imperative that faculty be enabled to design courses designed around a more equitable pedagogy centered on diversity, equity and multiculturalism.
The 2020 Brown Innovation Faculty Cohort program will provide participants the tools to design or redesign a course using a more equitable pedagogy, so that Stetson students can be better positioned to realize their full potential as informed citizens of local communities and the world with the capacity and desire to address societal issues.
Learning Goals
Upon successful completion of the program, participants will:
- have undertaken a reflective assessment of their social and disciplinary identities influence their teaching
- have expanded appreciation for diversity, inclusion, cultural competency and intersectionality
- incorporate a variety of perspectives into their teaching and offer students new ways of looking at their discipline
- have a heightened awareness of diversity through the lens of intersectionality
- be better able to create a more inclusive learning environment
- use multiple methods to convey course content and provide students with a variety of opportunities to share what they know, recognizing students learn in different ways
- Share their experiences with the campus community via a workshop at the annual Teaching and Learning Colloquium in April 2021
Award Eligibility
Any Stetson University faculty or staff person is eligible for this program if they meet the following criteria:
- Are currently employed full-time by Stetson University
- Are able to attend bimonthly face-to-face meetings on the Stetson DeLand campus or remotely during Spring 2021 and Fall 2021 semesters. (Visiting faculty are only required to commit to attending Spring 2021 meetings.)
- Will be teaching at least one course in either Spring 2021 or Fall 2021 semesters
- Commits to attending the Brown Innovation Summer Institute, May 2021
- Has received approval from their chair or direct supervisor to participate in the cohort
Benefits to Participants
The Brown Innovation Faculty Cohort will build knowledge together as a cohort and engage in diverse experiences to expand skill sets for designing courses that enhance student learning over the course of a year. Successful applicants will design (or redesign) a course through participation in a year-long cohort program. Programming will engage participants in diverse experiences to expand skill sets that foster an enhanced awareness of the importance of diversity, equity and multiculturalism in the classroom. Each Fellow will receive a stipend of $1,000 (Subject to change) to be issued upon completion of the two-day Brown Innovation Institute (May 2021) and submission of a reflective report and draft syllabus (before June 30, 2021). Additionally, each Fellow will receive a stipend of $1,000 to be issued upon completion of the Brown Innovation Institute and submission of a reflective report on their experience.
As a cohort, Brown Innovation Faculty demonstrate cutting edge innovation across diverse aspects of the teacher-scholar role to foster lifelong excellence in learning. The cohort participates in a series of hands-on experiences over the course of a calendar year designed to help innovate or refine teaching techniques and learning activities. Successful applicants participate in a multi-day course building institute in May.
Application Process
All full-time faculty or staff who teach at Stetson University are encouraged to apply. Applications are available at Brown Innovation Faculty Cohort. Please note that a copy of your application will be sent to your chair or direct supervisor to confirm their support for your participation in the program.
Program Timeline
- Application Opens: Oct. 9, 2020
- Application Deadline: Dec. 11, 2020
- Award Notification: Dec. 21, 2020
- Monthly Cohort Meetings: January – May 2021
- Presentation at Colloquium on Teaching and Learning: April 2021
- Brown Innovation Summer Institute: May 2021
- Monthly Cohort Meetings: September – December 2021
- Presentation at Colloquium on Teaching and Learning: April 2022
If you have any questions you may contact us at the Brown Center email [email protected]