Grants/Awards

The Office for Teaching and Learning offers both travel grants as well as educational development grants that can be utilized for the professional development of Wayne State Faculty.  Receiving one of these grants is an honor, and individual recipients are not the only beneficiaries, but also the student body and the University as a whole benefit when grants are awarded. 


  • Educational Development Grant

    Educational Development Grant

    An Educational Development Grant can be used for a wide variety of teaching related experiences, such as the application of new technologies in the teaching of specific courses; the development of new techniques to enhance instruction, to enrich resource materials, and to provide new learning experiences in specific courses and programs; the development of new courses to support new programs or new areas of study; the improvement of evaluation procedures within a given course or program; the development of new techniques in such areas as advising, counseling, and library usage; innovative use of our urban environment to provide a resource for certain courses or programs. 

    Faculty and academic staff as defined by the WSU/AAUP-AFT Agreement are invited to apply for awards under this provision.  Proposals will be evaluated by the Educational Development Grant Committee and judged according to their quality and the degree to which they promise to contribute to the educational mission of the University as perceived by the Committee.

    Please contact the Office for Teaching and Learning at otl@wayne.edu for inquiries regarding this program.

    Educational Development Grant awardees

    2022-23

    "Leveraging Wayne State University Expertise to Implement an Evidence-based Implicit Bias Training Curriculum for School of Medicine Students, Staff and Faculty"

    "SCE 5060 Outlooks: Preparing Secondary Science Teachers in Hybrid Learning Environments"

    "Development of the Global Health Mentorship"

    "Warrior Explore! Developing a Culturally Relevant Mentorship and Exploration Program for Junior and Senior Students"

    "Transformative Teaching: Using Autoethnography as a Teaching Tool"

    Past Educational Development Grant awardees

    2021-2022

    2020-2021

    2019-2020

    2018-2019

    • Sangeetha Gopalakrishnan, Foreign Language Laboratory
    • Alina Klin, Laura Kline, Julie Koehler, Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
    • Krysta Ryzewski, Anthropology
    • Kim Schroeder, Information Sciences
    • Mohammadreza Nasiriavanaki, Biomedical Engineering
    • John Heinrichs, Management & Information Systems
    • Takisha LaShore and Shantalea Johns, Social Work

    2017-2018

    • Jennifer Crystal and Denise Wunderlich, Counseling & Psychological Services
    • Lauren Kalman, Art & Art History
    • Vijaya Kumar, Emergency Medicine
    • Laval Duncan, English

    2016-2017

    • Karen Krisher, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
    • Mohammadreza Nasiriavanaki, College of Engineering
    • Stella Resko, School of Social Work
    • Lynn Smitherman, School of Medicine

    2015-2016

    • Dora Apel, College of Fine, Performing & Communication Arts
    • Mary Beth O'Connell, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
    • Elizabeth Stoycheff, College of Fine, Performing & Communication Arts

    2014-2015

    • Ana Djuric, College of Engineering
    • Sheri Perelli, School of Business
    • Jeffrey Ram, School of Medicine; Donna Kashian, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
    • Maha Saker, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

    2013-2014

    • Robert Akins, School of Medicine
    • Mohamed El-Sharkawi, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
    • Joseph Weertz, School of Medicine

    2012-2013

    • Cassandra Bowers & Fayetta Martin, School of Social Work
    • Justine Gortney, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
    • Daniel Isaksen, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
    • Tracy Neumann, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

    2011-2012

    • S. Asli Ozgun-Koca, College of Education
    • Eric Troffkin, College of Fine, Performing & Communication Arts
    • Yifan Zhang, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

    2010-2011

    • Marcus Dixon, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences 
    • Michael Barbour, College of Education
    • Monica Brockmeyer, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
    • Suzanna Dillon, College of Education

    2009-2010

    • Yeau-Jian Liao, College of Engineering
    • Bob Pettapiece, College of Education
    • Chin-An Tan, College of Engineering

    2008-2009

    • Mark Baskaran, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
    • Julie Klein, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
    • Marsha Richmond, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
  • Faculty Teaching Travel Grant

    Faculty Teaching Travel Grant

    The Faculty Teaching Travel Grant Program is designed to help Wayne State University's faculty members participate in or present at conferences, workshops, and other professional development activities that expose faculty to the latest pedagogical research related to effective teaching, and which also supports the teaching mission of the university. 

    We have provided a brief overview containing information about eligibility and the application process for you to download and peruse. 

    To apply, download the editable PDF application form.  After the form is downloaded and edited, save the form to your computer, and then send it to: faculty.travel@wayne.edu.

    We have provided a follow-up summary template for you to download and use. 

  • Quality Matters Peer Reviewer Grant

    Quality Matters Peer Reviewer Grant

    The Quality Matters Peer Reviewer Grant is designed to help Wayne State University's faculty members improve the quality of online education and supoprt student success. The grant wil create a pool of faculty at WSU that are certified online peer reviewers. Leading to an overall increase the quality of online courses at WSU through voluntary course peer review using an internationally recognized benchmarking tool. 

    We have provided a brief overview containing information about eligibility and the application process for you to download and peruse. 

    Applications are due March 20, 2020.  To apply, complete the QM grant application with the following information:   

    1. Name
    2. Email
    3. Department & School/College
    4. List of online courses taught (i.e. AB 1000 (Fall 2019), etc)
    5. Interest Statement including answers to all the following: 
      • Why you are interested in this award?
      • What do you currently do to ensure the highest quality in your online courses? 
      • What makes you a good candidate to be a peer reviewer?
      • How will the award support your career plans? 
      • How do you plan to use what you learn to support student success at WSU?
    6. Course Completion Plan: Indicate the dates that you plan to start each of the required courses.
    7. CV / Professional Record
       
  • Academy of Teachers

    Academy of Teachers

    The WSU Academy of Teachers seeks to create and sustain a culture of teaching excellence based on the diffusion and implementation of evidence-driven, inclusive, and student-centered pedagogical and curricular practices across the university.

    Charge

    • Support the professional development of faculty and instructors, and the recognition and reward of excellence in teaching and learning at WSU. 
    • Provide an effective means for sharing information, ideas, and proven strategies to promote excellence in teaching and learning
    • Serve as an advisory group to the Provost on matters related to teaching and learning and policies that affect recognition and reward
    • Assess and promote institutional-, college-, and department-level structures that honor and reward excellence in teaching and learning.
    • Provide a conduit for institutional change to support teaching excellence 

    Process

    • The WSU Academy of Teachers (hereafter referred to as the Academy) will be launched with 3 to 5 charter members appointed by the Provost or his designee(s).
    • These founding members of the Academy will create the Charter of the WSU Academy of Teachers and submit their proposal to the Board of Governors for adoption. 
    • Membership thereafter will be nominated and selected in accordance with the Academy's Bylaws. (The academy will accrue no more than 3 new members each academic year.)
    • Eligibility:
      1. All WSU tenure system and full-time, long-term instructors are eligible.
      2. Minimum of 5 years of full-time service in a capacity that includes, but is not limited to, undergraduate instruction at WSU.
      3. Evidence of leadership in promoting excellence in teaching and learning at the department, school/college, and/or institutional level (e.g., college or institution level awards for teaching such as the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching). Instructional excellence may also be demonstrated by documented efforts to innovate and take risks to promote instructional excellence.
      4. Recognized for significant impact on the WSU undergraduate learning experience beyond one's individual courses (i.e., able to demonstrate impact on the department, school/college, and/or university levels).
      5. It is expected that Academy members will be representative of the rich array of teaching and learning environments at WSU (e.g., traditional, hybrid and online classrooms; studios; labs; and clinical settings).

    Membership

    • Members receive a one-time honorarium (TBD) upon induction. 
    • Members retain the recognition of Member, WSU Academy of Teachers for life.
    • Members will collaborate with the Office for Teaching and Learning to present/co-present at least 2 workshops on teaching and learning related topics of their choice during the course of the first 3 years of membership in the WSU Academy of Teachers. This may, for example, be participation in an annual WSU Teaching Summit.

    Members:

    2020

    2019

    2018 (Inaugural class)