Provost Honors Faculty Members as 2023-2024 Baylor Fellows

Contact: Lori Fogleman, Baylor University Media & Public Relations, 254-709-5959
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WACO, Texas (Aug. 30, 2023) – Ten Baylor University faculty members across the disciplines have been selected by Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., to serve as 2023-2024 Baylor Fellows for their excellence in teaching and commitment to pedagogical innovation, inspirational teaching and the cultivation of these areas among Baylor faculty.

The 2023-2024 Baylor Fellows are:

• Nadine Welch, M.S., CCC/SLP, 2023-24 Senior Fellow, clinical associate professor of speech pathology, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences
• Stephanie Boddie, Ph.D., associate professor of social work, Diana R. Garland School of Social Work
• Sam Henderson, M.F.A., assistant professor of acting in film and digital media, College of Arts & Sciences
• Lesley McAllister, D.M.A., professor and division director of keyboard studies, School of Music
• David Reid, J.D., clinical assistant professor of accounting and business law, Hankamer School of Business
• Eric Robinson, Ph.D., associate professor of educational psychology, School of Education
• Sarah Schnitker, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and neuroscience, College of Arts & Sciences
• Michele Stover, Ph.D., lecturer in chemistry and biochemistry, College of Arts & Sciences
• Lauren Weber, M.F.A, M.M., senior lecturer in theatre arts, College of Arts & Sciences
• Michael Whitenton, Ph.D., lecturer in Baylor Interdisciplinary Core, Honors College

Fostering student well-being

Baylor’s Academy for Teaching and Learning (ATL) launched the fellowship program in 2011 to recognize outstanding teachers across the disciplines and provide them the opportunity to implement new teaching approaches in Baylor courses. Selected faculty members receive an award of $1,845 in honor of the year of the University’s founding and the title of “Baylor Fellow.” This year’s theme is “Fostering Student Well-being.”

The 2023-24 Baylor Fellows will explore curricular, pedagogical and institutional opportunities to advance student well-being inside and outside of the classroom. Together, this year’s Fellows hope to expand support for students, deepen connections with students and promote practices that enable students to flourish.

“Individually and collectively, this year’s Baylor Fellows are committed to understanding and promoting well-being across the student body.” said Lenore Wright, Ph.D., ATL director and professor in the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core of the Honors College. “I am inspired by the Fellows holistic and bold thinking about well-being already, and I anticipate many valuable lessons emerging from this year’s fellowship.”

Evidence-based scholarship

Baylor Fellows choose how to implement the theme in their teaching. Each Fellow identifies one course as an “incubator” or “lab” classroom, then develops activities and assignments to address the theme. In accord with the best practices of evidence-based scholarship in teaching and learning, the Fellows also develop means to assess their projects.

A secondary program goal is to provide a forum in which Baylor Fellows can share ideas, collaborate and forge interdisciplinary networks. Cohort discussions are held monthly alongside conversational events open to the University.

“I could not be more pleased with this year’s theme and the cohort of absolutely fantastic faculty we have selected as Baylor Fellows for the 2023-24 academic year,” said J. Wesley (Wes) Null, Ph.D., vice provost for undergraduate education and academic affairs. “For almost 180 years, high-quality teaching has been at the very top of Baylor’s priorities. With the Baylor Fellows program and the selection of these 10 outstanding teachers, we are once again reaffirming the importance of high-quality teaching at Baylor.”

Establishing an environment that supports students holistically has been part of Baylor’s culture for decades. That commitment is evident in this year’s theme, part of which will include an emphasis on mental health, Null said.

“In an age when disagreements abound on a host of different topics, I find there is near universal agreement that mental health is a problem and that leaders need to take steps to address it,” Null said. “All of the great teachers in this cohort recognize that good education involves not just what happens in the classroom (although that is critically important), it also requires us to shape students in all of the ways that matter to them as complete human beings: academically, socially, morally, physically, spiritually and mentally. I look forward to learning from this outstanding group of Baylor educators.”

All full-time faculty members, regardless of rank, are eligible to serve as Baylor Fellows. Nominations are solicited from the deans of the colleges and schools, former Baylor Fellows and the Academy for Teaching and Learning’s Advisory Council. The nominations are presented to the Provost’s Office for selection of the Fellows.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.