The Chattanooga State Faculty Fellows program recognizes and supports innovative faculty who develop and implement academic projects that support scholarship and promote student success. Chattanooga State Faculty Fellowships are named for former faculty members and/or administrators who demonstrated outstanding scholarship and dedication to teaching and learning.

Chattanooga State faculty must apply for a fellowship with an innovative project that promotes the highest levels of scholarship. Based upon these applications, Faculty Fellows are selected each October by the Chattanooga State Faculty Senate Fellows Selection Committee.

Chattanooga State Faculty Fellows for 2017-2018 are:

The Dr. Gladys Crates Mathematics and Sciences Fellows: Dr. Evelyn Mobley, Dr. Michael Waterson, and David Wollert are creating a Special Topics Undergraduate Research course targeting the life sciences. This course will provide an opportunity for students to conduct supervised original laboratory research on concepts related to molecular genetics. Students will first identify a bacterial DNA promoter sequence that they wish to investigate. Using laboratory techniques, students will then clone the promoter sequence into a DNA plasmid and then evaluate the promoter’s ability to initiate RNA transcription under different conditions. The results of the students’ research will be uploaded into a public database and students will present their findings during the Chattanooga State Research Symposium.

The Amanda Wynn Humanities and Fine Arts Fellows: Dr. Ken Cardillo and Dr. Joel Henderson are developing a new course entitled “Popular Music in the American Tradition.” The course builds on the most successful elements of existing courses within the Humanities and Fine Arts Departments to offer students a unique interdisciplinary experience. The course with a genre-based approach focuses on a variety of popular music styles (rock, blues, rap, country, etc.), with a historical examination of the cultural milieu and social issues from which each genre arose. Students’ complete a critical analysis of both music and lyrics as texts. Dr. Cardillo and Dr. Henderson will create an active learning space that incorporates student research and collaborative assignments in a writing-intensive approach to the exploration of music.

The Dr. Howard Yarbourgh Nursing and Allied Health Fellow: Leesa Ross, associate professor and director of nuclear medicine, is developing a high impact practice course that promotes global awareness. Students will journey to international locations to explore innovative approaches to nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, such as radiopharmaceuticals procedures and technology not performed in the United States. Students will visit hospitals and clinics in other countries to not only experience how nuclear medicine and molecular imaging is performed but also gain an understanding of health care in the host countries compared to the United States. Student experiences will be documented through ePortfolios. The course requires a team approach and students will create learning communities within the course to collaborate on assignments with students from other colleges. The culminating student learning outcome will be a project and presentation during the Chattanooga State Research Symposium of their shared group experiences and obtained nuclear medicine knowledge.

The goal of the Faculty Fellowship program is to engage faculty in a learning environment that supports teaching and learning scholarships in order to promote student mastery and engagement. The program awards each Faculty Fellow $2,000 to support their work and $1,000 in travel funds to a professional conference or event where they can present their work or become inspired for their next innovation in teaching and learning.

For more information about the Faculty Fellow program, contact Dr. Donna Seagle at 423-697-3361 or email at donna.seagle@chattanoogastate.edu.