The Council on Postsecondary Education is pleased to announce the creation of the Faculty Employability Fellows, a group of 14 faculty members who are developing “employability” best practices that faculty can deploy in college classrooms across Kentucky.
In partnership with the Quality Assurance Commons, the fellowship program is one of several approaches that Kentucky is developing to help ensure college graduates have the essential skills—like teamwork, communications and problem-solving--that today’s employers are requiring.
Coming out of quasi-retirement to lead this initiative is Janna Vice, professor and provost emerita of Eastern Kentucky University. Prior to her retirement from EKU in 2017, Vice served as senior vice president for academics and provost. Her work earned EKU the 2014 Council on Higher Education Accreditation Award for Outstanding Institutional Practice in Student Learning Outcomes. She also served as the convener of Kentucky’s Council of Chief Academic Officers.
“We are so fortunate to have Dr. Vice leading this distinguished cohort of Faculty Fellows. She is well known as a student success champion and is highly respected at all our campuses,” said CPE President Aaron Thompson.
Vice talked about what drives her, as well as her perspectives on the project.
“Student success has always been my motivator as a professional educator—whether as a full-time faculty member, a university administrator, or now as project coordinator for a highly committed group of faculty,” she said.
“Any time we become more intentional about our work, we improve quality. I believe Kentucky students are already receiving a high-quality academic experience. The faculty fellows are focused on how institutions can add a particular value to that experience—increasing students’ employability,” Vice explained.
Over the course of the 10-month fellowship, the group will:
- Engage directly with regional and statewide employers, workforce boards and policy makers to learn first-hand about Kentucky’s workforce needs and concerns.
- Undertake an environmental scan of the ways their institutions currently support employability.
- Interview regional employers.
- Gather data and undertake original research projects.
“As we review the faculty fellows’ environmental scans, I predict we will see that some programs are further ahead in equipping students for employability than other programs. We will see pockets of excellence on every campus, said Vice. “As we become more intentional about employability, we will see ‘best practices’ become the common practice.”
Ultimately, Vice said this group of “thought leaders and rising stars” will become champions on their campuses for building a culture of employability.
The 2019-20 Faculty Fellows are listed below:
- Erik Brooks, Kentucky State University
- Lauren Campbell, Bluegrass Community and Technical College
- Amy Carrino, Gateway Community and Technical College
- Annie Dail, Murray State University
- Lee Ferrell, University of Kentucky
- John Gregory, Kentucky State University
- Nicole Hand-Bryant, Murray State University
- Amanda Lawrence, University of Kentucky
- Brian Mason, Morehead State University
- Jorge Ortega Moody, Morehead State University
- Caroline Reisner, Jefferson Community and Technical College
- Kara Schotter, Jefferson Community and Technical College
- Reva Stroud, Gateway Community and Technical College
- Melanie Williamson, Bluegrass Community and Technical College
For complete bios and individual photos of the fellows, visit https://theqacommons.org/fellows/.
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The Council on Postsecondary Education is leading efforts to get more Kentuckians more highly educated. By 2030, at least 60 percent of working-age adults in Kentucky will need to have earned a postsecondary education degree or credential to meet expected workforce demands.