Dear colleagues,
The Office of the Provost invites nominations for three Provost Fellow positions for the 2026–27 academic year.
The Provost Fellows Program offers a unique opportunity for tenured faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to develop campus-level leadership skills. Fellows take on leadership roles in critical strategic initiatives and projects, designed in alignment with their individual interests and long-term career goals. In addition, Fellows participate in mentoring and professional development opportunities and collaborate with colleagues in the Office of the Provost as well as with academic and administrative units across campus.
Provost Fellow for Enhancing Student Learning
The Fellow for Enhancing Student Learning will strengthen program-level student learning across campus by developing resources and leveraging institutional data to support assessment efforts. This role emphasizes aligning program-level learning outcomes with evidence from multiple sources, including annual assessment reports, faculty feedback, and campus-wide data such as the Chancellor’s Senior Survey, particularly items related to student learning outcomes.
Provost Fellow for Intellectual Freedom
The Fellow for Intellectual Freedom will play a central role in advancing a new donor-funded initiative focused on promoting intellectual freedom at Illinois. Responsibilities include developing annual programming, supporting co-curricular initiatives, and fostering campus dialogue. The Fellow will also examine the university’s role in cultivating students’ understanding of democratic engagement, civic discourse, and intellectual freedom. This includes reviewing how these competencies are currently integrated into curricula and co-curricular offerings, as well as conducting comparative analyses of promising practices at peer institutions.
Provost Fellow for Public Engagement
The Fellow for Public Engagement will advance publicly engaged scholarship across the university, with particular emphasis on the Publicly Engaged Research Option (PERO) within the promotion and tenure (P&T) process. This role involves contributing to campus-wide efforts to strengthen policies, resources, and partnerships that support public engagement in research, teaching, and service. Responsibilities include guiding policy development, supporting faculty and departmental alignment with campus standards, and fostering a culture that recognizes publicly engaged scholarship as central to academic excellence.
Provost Fellows are expected to collaborate with partners across campus, including the Faculty Senate, relevant campus units, departments, schools, and colleges.
Appointments are for one year at 50% time, with support for summer activities and the possibility of renewal for a second academic year. For this cycle, three Fellows will be selected, one for each topic area.
Eligibility
- Tenured faculty members will be considered for all three positions, with preference given to full professors.
- For the Provost Fellow for Enhancing Student Learning, specialized faculty on the professorial track will also be considered, with preference for teaching full professors.
Nomination Process
To nominate a faculty member, please submit the following materials:
- A statement from the nominee (no more than one page) outlining their interests and professional goals.
- An abbreviated curriculum vitae (maximum five pages) highlighting relevant experience and expertise related to the selected Fellowship area.
- A letter of endorsement signed by the nominee’s dean and unit executive officer.
Faculty members may also be self-nominated using the same process. The Office of the Provost will obtain the required endorsements for self-nominations.
All nomination materials must be submitted via this form by June 15, 2026.
Your assistance in identifying outstanding faculty with an interest in leadership is essential to the success of this program. For questions or additional information, please contact Bill Bernhard at bernhard@illinois.edu.
Sincerely,
Bill Bernhard
Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs