Presidential Teaching Scholar Fellowships
The purpose of the Presidential Teaching Scholar Fellowship (TSF) program is to provide support for faculty in their commitments to teaching and learning at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Each fellow will be engaged in a teaching and learning project that will be unique and innovative, going beyond routine course preparation and revisions, and enhance both the fellow’s teaching and their students’ learning.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Full-time faculty who are tenure-track (probationary) or tenured, are eligible to apply; those on fixed-term appointments are not eligible to apply.
- Continued full-time service to the University is required during the year following the award period.
- A Fellowship may not be used to complete a terminal degree (e.g. coursework, thesis, or dissertation credits).
- The project must be completed between the last duty day of spring semester and before the first duty day of fall semester.
- Preference will be given to:
- Applicants who have not been awarded Teaching Scholar Fellows in the past five years.
How to Apply:
- Review TSF Program Guidelines.
- Gather Materials and Submit a Proposal.
Proposals must follow the outline specified in the TSF Program Guidelines. If your project will gather data from human subjects in any way other than usual educational assessment, discuss this and affirm that you will seek approval of the Institutional Review Board. Non-compliant proposals may, at the discretion of the committee, be rejected from review.- Application Cover Sheet
- TSF Program Verification of Eligibility
- Proposal (see Tips for Successful TSF Program Proposals)
Review and Award Process:
- Submit your proposal to the Office of the Provost no later than January 30, 2026. Proposals should be sent via email to Cindy Friesen, cynthia.friesen@mnsu.edu.
- The Faculty Development Sub Meet and Confer will review the proposals using the Presidential Teaching Scholar Fellowship Program Scoring Rubric (a copy of which you can download to see how the proposals are evaluated). The Committee will submit recommendations to the Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs no later than the February 28, 2026.
- The Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs will submit recommendations to the President, who will make final selections and notify the recipients of the Teaching Scholar Fellowship March 21, 2026.
- The Office of the Provost will determine payment process prior to the end of the spring semester.
- Projects are to be carried out during the summer immediately following the award.
Faculty Resources:
Current Presidential Teaching Scholar Fellowship Program Recipients:
| Jennifer Andrashko (Social Work) Imperative of Evidence-Based Public Health Journalism |
| Patricia Arnold (Elementary and Literacy Education) The Reconstruction of an Elementary Science Methods Course Using Place-Based Education and Indigenous Ways of Knowing Science |
| Susan Colvin & Michael Minicozzi (Biological Sciences)
Enhancing Student Training in Water Quality Monitoring |
|
Keenan Hartert (Biologicial Sciences) |
| Emily Stark (Psychology) Course-Based Research Experiences: Assessment and Expansion |
