Jennifer Adams, DePauw University
Professor of Communication and Theatre
Fellowship Administrative Position: Associate Dean of Strategic Academic Projects
This project develops a structured pathway to support exploratory students as they navigate academic uncertainty and discover purpose within the liberal arts. By integrating advising, reflective programming, and career exploration, it fosters belonging, purpose, and confident academic decision-making.
Corey Barnes, Oberlin College
Robert S. Danforth Professor and Chair of Religion
Fellowship Administrative Position: Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences
Corey Barnes will pursue three main projects. He will direct the Existential Seminar program, which will offer seminars integrating humanistic inquiry with co-curricular skills. He will lead the creation of an Arts & Sciences Faculty Handbook, and he will implement a year-long Junior Faculty Development program.
Andrea Colvin, Ohio Wesleyan University
Associate Professor of Spanish
Fellowship Administrative Position: Assistant Director of the Smith Center for Faculty Excellence
Andrea Colvin will work closely with Barb Bird, Director of the Smith Center for Faculty Excellence, to shape the future direction of the Center, whose mission is to enhance teaching excellence, support faculty scholarship, and strengthen student success at Ohio Wesleyan. As the Assistant Director Colvin will lead initiatives that aim to translate individual pedagogical innovations into sustainable institutional best practices. Among her responsibilities will be faculty mentoring, curricular reform, and a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning project with focus on the Humanities.
Matthew Farmer, Hope College
Professor of Dance, Dorthy Wiley DeLong Endowed Chair of Dance
Fellowship Administrative Position: Associate Dean of the Arts
Matthew Farmer will be serving as the Associate Dean of the Arts at Hope College working to strengthen collaboration, visibility, and strategic planning across the four arts departments (Art and Art History, Dance, Music, and Theatre). His primary responsibilities will include developing strategies and recommendations to enhance campus-wide coordination of arts events and performances, workload calculations, recruitment strategies, community engagement, and marketing and branding opportunities. Additional duties will include supporting accreditation needs for NASAD, NASM, NASD, NAST, and representing the Arts and Humanities on campus or at external events.
Michael Mehler, Allegheny College
Professor of Theatre
Fellowship Administrative Position: Dean for Visual and Performing Arts
Michael Mehler will serve as Dean for Visual and Performing Arts at Allegheny College. In this role, he will work to improve student recruitment and retention, arts event experiences, and community engagement through the arts. New initiatives include launching an arts cohort program for arts scholarship recipients and developing an administrative structure for a divisional dean that elevates faculty work and serves diverse institutional needs.
Pashmina Murthy, Kenyon College
Associate Professor of English
Fellowship Administrative Position: GLCA-Kenyon Keys Coordinator
Pashmina Murthy will help develop and implement Kenyon’s new initiative, Kenyon Keys: thematic foci for cross-disciplinary exploration and experiential learning. Her main responsibilities will be coordinating the six Keys, working closely with faculty and staff, and building programming for the initiative.
Ibra Sene, The College of Wooster
Associate Professor of History
Fellowship Administrative Position: Associate Dean for Global Initiatives
As Associate Dean for Global Initiatives Dr. Sene will focus on building partnerships with other institutions to provide faculty, student, and staff global engagement opportunities, increase connections to institutions in the Global South, and help advance Wooster’s campus-wide internationalization efforts.
Babli Sinha, Kalamazoo College
Professor of English
Fellowship Administrative Position: Director of AI and Education
Babli Sinha will develop guidelines and policies for AI use in conjunction with the Gen AI Coordinating team and the Teaching and Learning Committee at Kalamazoo College. Her responsibilities will include developing faculty resources to foster critical thinking about AI and pedagogy, creating opportunities for dialogue about AI technologies among faculty, staff, and students, and gathering information about the promises and limitations of AI in various disciplines, divisions, and departments.
Adriel M. Trott, Wabash College
Professor of Philosophy, Andrew T. and Anne Ford Chair in the Liberal Arts
Fellowship Administrative Position: Director of Liberal Arts Pathways
The Director of Liberal Arts Pathways will lead a strategic initiative that translates the enduring strengths of a liberal arts education into language and structures that resonate with today’s students and families in this moment of changing demographics and shifting perceptions of higher education. The position is designed to illuminate how the liberal arts cultivate intellectual versatility, ethical discernment, and professional adaptability—all qualities essential for thriving in the modern world. At the heart of this work is the creation of a series of pathways that integrate academic courses and co-curricular opportunities to showcase the multiple routes students can pursue toward purposeful careers while championing the liberal arts commitment to humanistic development.
Peter Valdina, Albion College
Stanley S. Kresge Associate Professor in Religious Studies
Fellowship Administrative Position: Faculty Director of the James L. Curtis Institute for Social Change
As Faculty Director of the Dr. James L. Curtis Institute for Social Change, Peter will lead strategy for curriculum development and implementation for a new concentration in social change in the arts and humanities. He will work closely with the Executive Director, the Office of the Provost, and Institutional Advancement to develop support for the Institute through faculty and student engagement, alumni outreach, co-curricular initiatives, and by cultivating donor support for long-term sustainability.