Margaret E. Winters, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Wayne State University, is pleased to announce the selection of five faculty members from a diverse spectrum of disciplines to serve as the inaugural class of Provost's Fellows. The fellows are charged with a variety of tasks to improve Wayne State's graduation and retention rates through targeted initiatives and engagement with faculty and students. 

"This program will enable faculty who have already successfully engaged students to promote their best practices across the university and inspire colleagues and, ultimately, students," said Winters. "I look forward to working with our first cohort of fellows, who bring a wealth of experience and passion to this important project."

Among 30 applicants, the following fellows were selected:

Mary Elizabeth Anderson, associate professor of theatre, Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance; College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts.

Anderson, of Birmingham, created the Performance/Exchange ensemble for undergraduate theatre students, additional online general education theatre courses and a new interdisciplinary graduate program. She also mentored seven undergraduate research projects in which students conceived of projects, conducted research and evaluated results to help shape and direct their own educational process.

Vanessa De Gifis, associate professor of Islamic studies, Department of Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

De Gifis, of Royal Oak, has devised effective strategies for teaching students from a wide variety of religious, cultural, educational and economic backgrounds about Islam. She pioneered the use of an app to help students interpret the Qu'ran, bringing digital literacy to the understanding of an ancient text. She has developed four new courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and revised the curriculum of the Near East studies program.

Vaibhav A. Diwadkar, associate professor and co-director, Brain Imaging Research Division, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences; School of Medicine.

Diwadkar, of Bloomfield Township, has established a vigorous record for mentoring undergraduates. Students flock to his laboratory on a voluntary basis to be part of projects on complex neuroimaging analyses. He helps them assess and interpret the data and present results in both local and international forums. As an academic leader and mentor, he has created an enduring culture of mentoring young minds and instilling a sense of curiosity.

Donyale Padgett, associate professor, Department of Communication; College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts.

Padgett, of Ann Arbor, engages undergraduate and graduate students in continued conversations, research, coursework and projects that push them to reflect on their own histories and experiences. She helps Wayne State students draw from their strengths, effectively navigate challenges and persist to graduation. She is currently conducting an interdisciplinary student retention survey for marginalized WSU students in an effort to better understand why students fail to graduate and why some are empowered to finish. 

Richard Pineau, lecturer, Department of Mathematics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Pineau's experience with the WSU Math Corps has enabled him to build strong and lasting relationships with students. The Roseville resident has instituted a success policy in his classes requiring students scoring less than 80 percent on a quiz or exam to meet with him during office hours. He also presented a TEDx talk titled "Making Pigs Fly," which explored overcoming math anxiety and pushing beyond personal and professional boundaries. 

Fellows were chosen by a small committee led by Winters and Associate Provost for Student Success Monica Brockmeyer. Selections were based on enthusiasm for supporting student success and experience in retention and recruitment issues. A second criterion was the ability of the applicants, either proven or potential, to engage others in successful practices.

As part of the process, applicants proposed projects based on one of six themes:  high-impact practices, effective use of data to promote and sustain student success, creation of a culture of relationships and mentoring, support of effective curricular pathways to graduation, promotion of inclusive excellence and reduction of achievement gaps, and evidence-based teaching and learning.

In addition, the Provost's Fellows will contribute to one or more of these six themes, serve as ambassadors for programs and initiatives to the wider academic community, act as liaisons to the Student Senate leadership, and participate in a fall 2015 student success summit on the Wayne State campus. 

"The number of applicants for this first group of fellows exceeded our hopes, as did the excellence of the applications. It made the selection difficult, but, more importantly, made clear that the level of engagement with students across campus is already high," Winters stated.

Full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty, clinical faculty and lecturers were eligible to apply. The fellowship is from May 2015 to April 2016. Each fellow is granted one course release annually, a month of summer salary and support for travel to an educational conference.

Funding for the Provost's Fellows was made possible by a grant from the Kresge Foundation. Kresge funds will also support the fall 2015 student success summit.

Those pictured are first row, left to right: Associate Provost for Student Success Monica Brockmeyer,  Vanessa De Gifis, Donyale Padgett, Provost Margaret E. Winters. Second row, left to right: Mary Elizabeth Anderson, Richard Pineau, Vaibhav A. Diwadkar.