Governor's Teaching Fellows Return to Athens

The Institute of Higher Education hosted a new cohort of the Governor’s Teaching Fellows (GTF) in Athens for a two-week intensive summer program in May. The Institute had decided to defer the summer 2020 cohort to 2021 but still offered a virtual meet and greet last year to get the fellows acquainted and excited about their fellowship.

During the in-person session, the fellows participated in hands-on classroom experiences revolving around student engagement, course development, and professional renewal. The program seeks to bring teaching faculty to the leading edge of instructional methods to improve post-secondary education across the state. 

“I am very pleased that we were able to hold the May 2021 session in person at UGA. Year after year, wonderful exchanges occur when fellows come together to share experiences, seek knowledge, and challenge each other. They now have a new, rich network of colleagues and friends to rely upon in the future,” said Leslie Gordon, GTF program director.

The 2020/21 academic year program ended in April after a year of interactions in a virtual format. Despite the array of personal and professional challenges of the year, fellows from the cohort found the experience rewarding. One student said, “There wasn't a month that I didn't go and try out at least one new idea in my classes.” Other students commented that “even having to do it by Zoom was very beneficial” and “I was thoroughly impressed with the [number] of resources, new ideas and organization of the program.”

GTF was established by former governor Zell Miller to give the state’s educators better opportunities, skills, and networking to improve the quality of instruction in higher education. In highly competitive-process, the Institute selects a limited number of fellows each year for the an academic year program (September-April) and a summer program (May). Since its inception, over 675 Fellows from over 75 different disciplines have participated.