Academy for Academic Program Renovation

The Office of Academic Affairs and the Graduate School invite proposals to participate in an Academy for Academic Program Renovation. The Academy is intended to support a comprehensive update and modernization of undergraduate and graduate program offerings while reducing barriers and maintaining rigorous standards. The Academy addresses the fundamental need to reimagine curricula in an information-rich society where the goal of a course of study must go beyond the transmission of content and strongly focus on the development of skills to critically analyze, assess, and apply information in a rapidly changing world. In addition, a renovated curriculum should include the voices of those historically excluded from academic discourse, and effectively prepare all graduates for the dynamic job market. For doctoral students, that job market increasingly lies outside academia.

Proposal Templates

Graduate School Faculty Fellows

OSU’s Graduate School is soliciting proposals from faculty members who are interested in serving as Graduate School Faculty Fellows during winter or  spring quarter 2025. Each Graduate School Faculty Fellow will be responsible for providing leadership for a special initiative area (see focus areas listed below) related to graduate education and creating appropriate deliverables for future faculty, student, or administrative use. Faculty Fellows may include academic or professional faculty with significant professional and/or institutional experience. If selected, Graduate School Faculty Fellows will be eligible for compensation commensurate with the accompanying duties. The duration and level of each GS Faculty Fellow appointment will vary depending on the special initiative area, workload, and capacity but will not exceed the .25FTE or extend beyond June 30, 2025.

Special Initiative Focus Areas

The Graduate School has prioritized the following three graduate education initiative areas. A brief description for each is provided. These descriptions provide a starting point for proposals and should not be viewed as restrictive.

  1. Graduate program redesign
    This faculty fellow will work with PhD programs selected through a competitive process in Fall 2024. Starting in January 2025, these programs will undertake a comprehensive overhaul to their programs, redesigning some combination of (a) reducing required coursework and other aspects that may slow progress, (b) creating and promoting opportunities to acquire transferable skills such as teamwork, (c) intellectual inclusion to re-center the field for modern views and problems, and (d) the rapid pace of technological development, including artificial intelligence. The faculty fellow will serve as a thought partner for the effort and will help lead monthly workshops and discussions, ideally bringing domain knowledge in one or more of these areas.
  2. DEI recruitment and retention
    Faculty Fellows with an emphasis in this area will work closely with the Graduate School’s Director of Recruitment and Admissions and the Director of Graduate Student Success to support and expand current efforts aimed at diversifying the recruitment, enrollment, and support for graduate students (e.g., holistic admissions, competitive awards, Graduate Summer Step). The Graduate School is seeking a Faculty Fellow to consider and develop new approaches to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion such as strengthening relationships within OSU (e.g., Educational Opportunities Program, Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, College Assistance Migrant Program, student organizations, cultural centers) where alignment seems appropriate and promising, establishing new institutional pipeline partnerships, and developing innovative efforts aimed at retaining graduate students from historically marginalized or excluded communities.
  3. Graduate Writing
    Faculty Fellows focusing on this area will work closely with the Graduate School’s Director of the Graduate Writing Center to provide support for graduate student writing. Work in this focus area may include activities consistent with the Graduate Writing Center’s current offerings such as conducting 1:1 graduate student writing consultations, facilitating graduate student writing groups, and delivering writing workshops for graduate students and graduate faculty advisors. A Faculty Fellow will also be expected to broaden current offerings, for example, by developing new resources and materials, providing graduate writing support tailored to specific disciplines or circumstances (e.g., STEM writing, international graduate students), and writing grants.

RFP for Faculty Fellows