Faculty awarded Provost Teaching Fellowship

Five distinguished faculty members have been named Provost Teaching Fellows for the 2025-2026 academic year, recognizing their commitment to innovative teaching and academic excellence across Troy University.  

Each selected fellow will lead an initiative that supports student success, enhances learning environments and reimagines the approach to learning in various ways.  

“The Provost Teaching Fellowship came about as part of our new Teaching Excellence Collaborative,” said Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Dr. Kerry Palmer. “All of this is part of an effort to improve teaching and learning across the university. 

“The purpose of this fellowship is to allow some of our exemplary professors to share insights about quality instructional and assessment methods so that we can better meet our students where they are and help them successfully navigate their academic journey.”  

An introductory meeting to establish meaningful relationships and planning for the upcoming year between the fellows took place in August.  

The selected fellows include Dr. John Dove of the Sorrell College of Business, Dr. Tammy Esteves of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Karen Ross of the College of Arts and Humanities, Dr. Adam Rutkowski of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and Dr. Robert Vilardi of the College of Science and Engineering. 

The fellowship initiative is new to Troy, and the logistics are currently underway with each fellow bringing their individual expertise to the program.  

“I was thrilled for the opportunity,” said Dr. John Dove, an economics professor and newly appointed Provost Teaching Fellow. “I’m able to work with a group of top-notch instructors and academics from across the university.  

“Collaborating on something as meaningful as we are is exciting and will result in some really good programming in the future.” 

When asked about specific goals and projects that will result from this new program, Dr. Dove said to stay tuned.  

With support from the Teaching Excellence Collaborative (TEC,) fellows will begin collaborating and brainstorming ways to innovate and elevate faculty and student experiences at Troy.  

“The Provost Fellows and Teaching Excellence Collaborative are developing assessment tools to track the success of the programs we plan to implement,” said Dr. Adam Rutkowski, an associate professor of political science, pre-law advisor and newly appointed Provost Teaching Fellow. “Assessments will center around student retention, course evaluations and overall course quality.” 

Dr. Rutkowski also said the Provost Teaching Fellowship aims to provide programming to assist in bridging the gap between juggling research and teaching.  

“I enjoy every aspect of my job, but I became a professor because of my passion for teaching students,” Rutkowski said.  

While the fellowship is still in its infancy, the collaborative effort is set to try and make teaching and learning more strategic and creative while still upholding professional and academic development in education.