Join the Teaching Academy
The WSU Teaching Academy invites current faculty with at least three years of teaching service at WSU or another accredited institution of higher education to apply for membership. Chairs, deans, and other administrators: please encourage faculty to self-nominate.
Please note the Teaching Academy does not open calls for nominations every academic year. Calls for nominations and submission deadlines for Teaching Academy membership, as well as other awards and grants, are periodically announced on our news page and in the WSU Insider. When calls for nominations open, this page will offer specific dates and directions. Please check back periodically or contact the Chair of the Teaching Academy with inquiries.
Mission
The mission of the Teaching Academy is to provide advocacy, expertise, and resources to WSU faculty, so they can involve students in transformative learning experiences and promote a university culture that values and rewards excellence and scholarship in teaching.
Responsibilities
Membership in the Teaching Academy is not only a permanent recognition of teaching excellence but also a commitment to promoting the mission of the Academy. Members are motivated to advocate for faculty by shaping university policy, including but not limited to, grant and award reviews, cross-disciplinary peer evaluation, informal mentorship, and professional development efforts.
By accepting an invitation to join the Teaching Academy, a member resolves to become a vital resource and advocate for fellow teaching faculty and graduate student teachers at WSU. Members are expected to attend general meetings as their schedules permit and lead or participate in initiatives and committees according to their interests, skills, and availability.
Eligibility
Membership is limited to current tenured/tenure-track faculty and career-track faculty who have at least three years of teaching experience at WSU or another accredited institution of higher education by the end of the semester of application.
Membership Benefits
Membership is a permanent recognition of teaching excellence and a commitment to promoting the mission of the Academy. Members:
- Advocate for faculty through grant and award reviews, cross-disciplinary peer evaluation, informal mentorship, and professional development
- Attend general meetings and participate in or lead initiatives and committees according to interests, skills, and availability.
Personal benefits also include:
- Recognition and validation of excellence in teaching and the scholarship of teaching
- Access to a supportive network for professional growth, connect with colleagues from different disciplines/colleges/campuses, share ideas, discuss challenges in a safe and supportive space, and learn from each other
- Opportunities to collaborate on innovative teaching methods
- Access to enhanced professional development opportunities to further develop expertise, learn about new educational curriculum development, policies, technologies, and more.
- Opportunities for leadership development pathways, and to provide guidance, support, and mentoring
- Opportunities to share best practices, brainstorm and develop new teaching strategies, curriculum materials, assessment tools, and more.
- Stay updated on current educational research and topics.
Access the Membership Application
Application Note
Please note that the application below requires two letters of recommendation: one from a colleague, mentor, or administrator and a second from a current or former student. Letters should speak directly to teaching effectiveness and provide insight into applicant’s likely contributions to improving teaching and learning at WSU. Please allow letter writers adequate time to provide letters given the Academy application deadline. Upload letters with your application.
Letters should offer clear, specific, and unequivocal support of the candidate’s exceptional teaching effectiveness and describe multiple and/or highly impactful ways the candidate will be able to contribute to improving teaching and learning at WSU.
Letters should offer clear and specific evidence of the applicant’s teaching effectiveness across different populations of learners.
The membership application period is currently closed. Please watch WSU Insider for an announcement from the Teaching Academy that it snow accepting membership applications.