Teaching Fellowships

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Click here to view list of current Teaching Fellows

About the OHC Teaching Fellowship Program

Deadline for application and departmental approval for 2024-25 fellowships was Monday, October 23, 2023 at 4 p.m. PDT.

Oregon Humanities Center (OHC) Teaching Fellowships support the development of new humanistic undergraduate courses or the substantial redesign of existing courses. Teaching fellows are offered summer pay and have the option to request course enrichment funds to support course development and to enhance students’ classroom experience.

Proposed courses must be humanistic in content, but faculty may hold an appointment in any department, college, or school. The term humanities, as used here, includes literature; philosophy; history; religion; ethics; linguistics; the history, theory, and criticism of the arts; and the historical or interpretive aspects of the social and natural sciences and the professions.

Courses are listed in the fellows’ home departments. Proposed courses may be of any size, and they may be introductory or advanced. While courses developed under the OHC Teaching Fellowship program must be primarily intended for undergraduate students, they may also be open to graduate students.

It is desirable that courses developed through the OHC Teaching Fellowship program be repeated. Faculty may apply for any OHC Teaching Fellowship individually, or in collaboration with another faculty member.

Faculty from diverse backgrounds and disciplines are encouraged to apply.

Please read all guidelines, conditions, and instructions completely before beginning to work on your application.

Overview of the application process:

  1. Review all guidelines and fill out application form, attaching your narrative proposal, syllabus/syllabi, and CV.
  2. Save application as a single PDF.
  3. Submit your application via email to the OHC and to your department head(s) (and dean, if not in CAS) for their approval.
  4. Department head(s) (and dean, if not in CAS) must “reply all” to approve your application by the deadline of Monday, October 23, 2023 at 4 p.m. PDT.
  5. Applications will be reviewed by a panel of UO tenured faculty members from a variety of disciplines who serve on the OHC Faculty Advisory Board. Applicants will be notified via email in winter term, 2024.

Types of OHC Teaching Fellowships

The OHC Teaching Fellowship program offers Regular OHC Teaching Fellowships and one named teaching fellowship: the Robert F. and Evelyn Nelson Wulf Professorship.

Submitting an application for the Wulf Professorship will also guarantee consideration for a Regular OHC Teaching Fellowship. If your application for the Wulf Professorship is not granted, you will automatically be considered for a Regular OHC Teaching Fellowship.

Regular OHC Teaching Fellowships

The OHC Teaching Fellowship program was established in 1988. Regular OHC Teaching Fellowships provide:

  • $5,000 in summer salary (plus OPE)
  • Up to $1,000 in course enrichment funds

The Robert F. and Evelyn Nelson Wulf Professorship in the Humanities

The Wulf Professorship in the Humanities was established in 1993 through an endowment made to the Oregon Humanities Center by former OHC Board of Visitors member Robert F. Wulf and Evelyn Nelson Wulf.

The Wulf Professorship seeks to promote open, critical examination of differing viewpoints and sets of values in an intellectually rigorous setting. The Wulf Professorship supports the development of new or substantially revised undergraduate courses that identify, examine carefully, and respond critically to ethical issues that confront individuals and society. Such issues might include but are not limited to:

  • the structure and bases of human values
  • the moral development of individuals
  • the nature of character and integrity
  • the appreciation of individual rights
  • the nature of social responsibility

Wulf Professorships provide:

  • $5,000 in summer salary (plus OPE)
  • Up to $1,000 in course enrichment funds

Compensation

All OHC Teaching Fellowships (including the Regular OHC Teaching Fellowship and Wulf Professorship) provide $5,000 (plus OPE) in summer salary paid through standard UO Payroll to the faculty member during summer 2024. Summer salary is typically paid in one lump sum on a summer pay cycle in coordination with the home department to avoid conflicting with other summer appointments.

Course Enrichment Funds

Applicants can request up to $1,000 in course enrichment funds to support course development activities and to enhance the students’ classroom experience. Course enrichment funds may be used for visiting lectures, films, course materials, course development research, classroom activities, research assistance, and more.

The amount of course enrichment funding varies, and must be explicitly requested at the time of application. Applicants seeking these funds must provide a brief statement of purpose and include a proposed budget as part of the fellowship application. Additionally:

    • Course enrichment funds must be pre-approved by the OHC to ensure reimbursement.
    • Course enrichment funds may not be taken as salary.
    • Deadline for use: Course enrichment funds must be used by the last day of the term in which the course is taught.
    • Team-taught courses: Course enrichment funds are awarded per course (not per fellow); they are not augmented in the case of collaborative courses.

Collaborative Courses

Faculty may apply for any OHC Teaching Fellowship individually or in collaboration with another faculty member. Applicants for collaborative (“team teaching”) courses must each submit an application, some parts of which will be jointly completed. All department heads (and dean, if not in CAS) must approve the application. Each fellow must devote 4 weeks to summer curriculum development, and each fellow receives $5,000 (plus OPE) in summer salary. However, course enrichment funds are awarded per course and are not augmented in the case of team-taught courses. Faculty who are applying to team teach a course should consult with their college dean’s office, department head, and the Office of the Registrar in order to understand policies and processes related to team teaching and to determine course listing, enrollment, and core requirements. The OHC supports collaborative teaching but does not have the authority to interpret policies or approve these courses.

Please read all guidelines, conditions, and instructions completely before beginning to work on your application.

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Eligibility Guidelines

    1. Proposed courses must be humanistic in content, but faculty may hold an appointment in any department, college, or school. The term humanities as used here includes literature; philosophy; history; religion; ethics; linguistics; the history, theory, and criticism of the arts; and the historical or interpretive aspects of the social and natural sciences and the professions.
    2. All tenure-related UO faculty are eligible to apply. Career non-tenure-track faculty with an FTE of .50 or more who have been employed by the UO for at least three years at the time of application are also eligible. Visiting faculty are not eligible. Faculty who will not be employed by the University of Oregon during the 2024-25 academic year are ineligible.
    3. If for any reason a teaching fellow is unable to meet the conditions of the agreement (see below), the fellowship must be forfeited. OHC fellowships cannot be deferred.
    4. If a fellowship recipient is denied tenure or issued a terminal contract prior to the beginning of the fellowship, the fellowship must be forfeited.

Conditions

Upon notification of receipt of an OHC Teaching Fellowship, faculty members must sign an agreement outlining their commitment to the following conditions. Fellows who do not fulfill these requirements will be ineligible to apply for future OHC fellowships:

    1. Devote a minimum of 4 consecutive weeks to course development during summer 2024;
    2. Notify the OHC immediately about any additional summer UO appointments (teaching, administrative, or awards) so the OHC can coordinate payroll to ensure that your total UO appointment does not exceed 1.0 FTE at any time;
    3. Teach the proposed course in fall, winter, or spring of the 2024-25 academic year;
    4. Submit a fellowship report within two weeks of the conclusion of the teaching term;
    5. Immediately notify the OHC of any conflicts with the conditions of this fellowship program.

Instructions: Completing the fillable application form

    1. Scroll to the bottom of this page and download the application form (a fillable Word file). Save it to your computer.
    2. Complete the fillable fields. For team-taught courses, each applicant will complete their own application. Wulf applicants will be asked to include a 250 word statement describing how this course meets the objectives of the Professorship, as described above.
    3. Prepare your Narrative Proposal, Syllabus/Syllabi, and CV according to the guidelines below.
    4. Paste them into the grey fillable fields in the subsequent pages of the application document. (Note: there is a page break after each section, to preserve the formatting for our reviewers.)

Narrative Proposal

Limited to 4 single-spaced pages. Insert into the first fillable area. For team-taught courses, this must be identical to your teaching partner. Narrative proposals should address:

      1. Humanistic content, orientation, and significance of the course: Explain the significance of the course, and how the content or orientation is appropriate to an interdisciplinary humanities curriculum. Briefly describe your teaching philosophy and experience, and explain the pedagogical approach you plan to use in the proposed course. If the teaching fellowship proposal involves an existing course, explain how the proposed course will differ substantially from the existing one, including a description of any plans to change the course content and/or pedagogical approach. If applicant has a dual appointment, make clear in which department you will teach the course as part of your regular course load.
      2. Course development requirements: Describe any study or preparation you will need to undertake prior to offering the course, and include a specific schedule of the work to be done.
      3. Course enrichment funds: If course enrichment funds are requested, provide a brief statement of purpose and include a proposed budget.

Course Syllabus/Syllabi

No page limit. Insert into the second fillable area on the application form. For team-taught courses, must be identical to your teaching partner. Syllabus/syllabi should include:

      • Revisions of existing courses: Faculty should provide a copy of the current syllabus (clearly marked as such), as well as a draft of the proposed syllabus that includes the following information: subject matter; course objectives; level (introductory, intermediate, advanced); size (desired enrollment or enrollment limit); format (lecture, seminar, etc.); specific readings (or their equivalent); specific course requirements and organization (projects, papers, reports, exams, etc.); and the academic quarter for which the course is proposed.
      • New courses: It is understood that the syllabus for a new course will not be fully developed at the time of application. Therefore, a proposal for a new course should include: a draft of the syllabus with a description of the topics (as detailed as possible); the planned treatment of the topics; the proposed pedagogical tools (exercises, articles, archives, collections, books, films, slides, performances, etc.); a preliminary list of the required readings or a brief bibliography; and the goals of the course.

Abbreviated CV

Not to exceed 2 pages. Insert into the third fillable area on the application form. For team-taught courses, each applicant will paste only their own CV into their application form. Abbreviated CV should include:

      1. education
      2. employment history
      3. academic honors or awards received, including any teaching awards
      4. scholarly work (e.g.: publications and papers)

All applications must:

    • use language that is jargon-free and clear to readers outside of your discipline
    • have one-inch margins
    • be set in 12-point Times font
    • strictly adhere to specified page limits

Team-teaching applicants:

Each applicant must independently submit a complete application and gain departmental approval. Your fillable application form (the first page) and CVs will be unique. The narrative proposal and course syllabus/syllabi components must be identical to those of your co-applicant to ensure that your department heads (and dean, if not in CAS) are approving the same thing. Submit your complete applications separately. After your respective department heads (and dean, if not in CAS) have approved the applications, your files will be joined into a single application by the OHC staff. Both applications and approvals must be submitted on time, or neither will be considered.

Instructions: Submitting your application

Save the complete application document as a single PDF, using the file naming convention “Last_First_2024-25_OHC_Teaching_Fellowship” (for example, “Doe_Jane_2024-25_OHC_Teaching_Fellowship”. A complete application includes:

    • completed fillable Word form
    • narrative proposal (4 pages or less, pasted into first grey field)
    • course syllabus for proposed course and existing course, if applicable (no page limit; pasted into second grey field)
    • curriculum vitae (2 pages or less, pasted into the third grey field)

Email the PDF to ohcapplication@uoregon.edu and to your department head(s) (and dean, if not in CAS) for approval. The email subject line must read:

“Last, First: 2024-25 OHC Teaching Fellowship.” Example: “Doe, Jane: 2024-25 OHC Teaching Fellowship”

Paste this statement into your application email, addressing your department head(s) (and dean, if not in CAS):

“This email constitutes my Oregon Humanities Center (OHC) Teaching Fellowship application, which will not be complete without your approval. Please review the attached application and contact me directly with any questions or concerns. To approve my application “reply all” to include: ohcapplication@uoregon.edu and me (the applicant). Your approval email must be received by the OHC no later than 4 p.m. PDT on Monday, October 23, 2023 or my application will not be accepted. Your approval confirms that: If my application is successful, I will be awarded one of two types of OHC Teaching Fellowships. I may engage in full-time course development for four weeks during the summer. I may teach the proposed course during the academic term specified, in the department indicated and as part of my regular teaching load. For more information about the OHC Teaching Fellowship Program, see https://ohc.uoregon.edu/fellowships/teaching/.”

Faculty with a dual appointment:

Include both department heads (and dean, if not in CAS) on your email. Your submission email text should be edited to make clear which unit your proposed course will be taught in, and that the course will be taught as part of your regular teaching load in that unit. Both units’ department heads (and dean, if not in CAS) must reply with their approval of your application and its terms by Monday, October 23, 2023 at 4 p.m.

Questions and FAQs

Answers to frequently asked questions may be viewed here: Faculty Teaching Fellowship FAQs

For additional information, contact Jena Turner, Associate Director, at jenap@uoregon.edu or (541) 346-1001.

Fillable Application Form 2024–25