Special Collections Libraries Fellows - UGA Center for Teaching and Learning

Program Overview

In 2015, UGA Libraries and the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) established this opportunity for all full-time instructional faculty at UGA. The goal of this program is to provide opportunities for supported exploration of archives-based learning as a high-impact learning practice. Inspired by the comprehensive work of TeachArchives.org, Special Collections Libraries Faculty Fellows collaborate with archivists in the University’s three special collections libraries in order to include an archives-focused approach to the pedagogy and course design of a new or existing course.

Archives-Based Learning

The curriculum developed for the Special Collections Libraries Fellows program encourages instructors to teach students how to read closely, analyze critically, observe and summarize information that is new both in format and content. These skills are transdisciplinary and essential for drawing inferences, contextualizing information, and designing rigorous research questions.

Effective archives-based learning has been shown to enhance student engagement, performance, and retention across all disciplines. Students who engage with primary sources in an archival setting learn to work collaboratively to analyze information, solve problems, and develop iterative research skills that draw upon many resources, approaches, and viewpoints to generate rigorous scholarship. The goal of archive-based learning is not to train future librarians or archivists, but rather to develop critical thinking and literacy skills that will enable them to be engaged and well-informed citizens.

More information about archives-based learning can be found here.

Program Goals

The goals of the Special Collections Libraries Fellows Program are to provide instructional faculty with:

the opportunity to focus on archives-centered learning at both the undergraduate and graduate levels;
support for developing innovative archives – centered pedagogical approaches in their courses;
opportunities for building partnerships and collaborations with UGA Special Collections archivists and librarians;
funding for an instructional project rooted in the unique collections and resources of the UGA Special Collections Libraries, and grounded in archives-based pedagogy.

In addition, our goal is to cultivate an innovative instructional environment that honors and recognizes dedicated teaching scholars, values a synergistic relationship between teaching, archives-based research and service, and promotes a learning-community spirit here at UGA.

Activities

Special Collections Libraries Fellows participate in workshops, events, and collaborations designed to support their work developing archives-based instructional materials. The program typically involves the following events and opportunities:

Kick-Off Event: Orientation workshop (including a visit to the high density vault!) followed by a reception where new fellows are joined by program leaders and former fellows.
Foundational Workshops: These sessions are designed to provide fellows with a strong foundation in the established best practices for archives-based teaching.
Individual Conferences: Fellows meet with instructional team members for individual consultation supporting their work.
Special Collections Libraries Fellows Institute: A multi-day institute during which fellows present their course and assignment plans to each other for feedback and engage with program leadership in a final celebration.
Continuing Support and Collaboration: Each fellow has a designated liaison in the Special Collections Libraries to provide support and assistance duringthe final development of the fellow’s course. The program’s CTL liaison is also available for continued consultation and instructional support.
Stipend: Each Special Collections Libraries Fellow receives a $2,000 stipend to enhance their knowledge about archives, archival theory and practice, or archives-based pedagogy and/or subsidize research, preparation, and development of the archives-focused course materials.

Special Collections Libraries Faculty Fellows Stipend

The SCL Fellows program provides instructional support and a $3000 stipend. These funds may be used to enhance a fellow’s knowledge about archives, archival theory and practice, or archives-based pedagogy through participation in/or attendance at professional workshops or conferences. The funds may also be used for research, preparation, and development of the archives-focused course (including hiring a University of Georgia student to perform work and support these activities), and/or to buy supplies or equipment in direct support of their course. Fellows may also apply funds toward course buyout during the period in which they are developing their archives-centered course or in the same semester when they are teaching their archives-centered course (subject to any and all rules that govern such arrangements in a Fellow’s home department or unit.) This stipend may not be applied to a Fellow’s salary. Fellows have 24 months from disbursement to expend stipend funds and to report how they have made use of the funds.

2025 Schedule Information

The 2025 SCL Faculty Fellows Program will unfold over a four-week period during Maymester.

Key Dates:

Program Kickoff: Tuesday, April 29, 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Workshop Series: Tuesday-Friday, May 13-16 and 20 – 23, 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
One-on-one Conferences & Independent Work: Tuesday – Friday, May 27 – May 30,
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Special Collections Libraries Institute: Monday – Thursday, June 2 – 5,
8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

All events are scheduled to take place in the Richard B. Russell Special Collections Libraries Building, University of Georgia, 300 South Hull Street, Athens, Georgia.

Eligibility

The SCL Fellows program is open to all full-time UGA faculty (both tenure and non-tenure track) who will be instructor of record for their archives-centered course. Participants must teach their new or revamped archives-centered course within 18 months of completing the program.

Application and Selection Process

Applications for this program are typically accepted through the beginning of the spring semester and are reviewed by the program’s instructional team. Applicants participate in an interview process with the instructional team before the cohort is constructed and decisions are communicated.

Up to twelve faculty members are selected each year. Demonstrated passion for and commitment to excellence in teaching is a key factor in selection.

Applications for the 2025 program are due by Tuesday, January 14, 2025, and interviews will take place through February 2025. Final decisions will be communicated on or before March 3, 2025. Visit the SCL Fellows Application form to apply.

2024 Special Collections Libraries Teaching Fellows

Elizabeth Browne, Art History and Women’s Studies
Barry Croom, Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication
Michael Ford, English
Robert Kaminski, Economics
Joseph Peragine, Art
Marni Shindelman, Art
Andrew Walgren, History
Rebecca Wells, Public Health and Social Work
Caroline Young, English

See previous Special Collections Libraries Faculty Teaching Fellows and their courses.

Instructional Team and Program Leadership

Steve Armour University Archivist , Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Mazie Bowen, Public Service Coordinator, University Libraries, Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries
Kathleen Carter, News Archivist, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection
Anne Meyers DeVine, Rare Books Outreach Coordinator, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Mary Miller, Peabody Awards Collection Archivist, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection
Jill Severn, Head of Access and Outreach, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
Jennifer Eimers, Assistant Director for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning, Center for Teaching and Learning

Questions?

For more information about Special Collections Libraries Fellows, contact Program Coordinator Jill Severn.