Dear Colleagues:

The Provost’s Fellowship Program offers faculty who have demonstrated leadership potential and are interested in higher education administration the chance to develop knowledge, skills and experience as an administrator; to increase the understanding of the faculty about practices and procedures in academic administration;  to assist in the development and implementation of projects in current key areas; and to provide ongoing faculty involvement and input into the activities of the Provost’s Office.  Fellows participate in a range of learning opportunities, both special and routine, and develop greater insight into academic initiatives, strategic planning, budget issues, and challenges in higher education. The goal of the program is to provide  faculty members with a more expansive range of leadership experiences at the campus level. I am pleased to announce that the 2014 -2015 Provost’s Fellows are Susan Neely-Barnes, associate professor of social work, and Katharine Schaffzin, associate professor of law.  These two faculty members were selected from a very competitive pool to work on special projects in the provost’s office.

Susan Neely-Barnes joined the University of Memphis faculty in 2010 after serving for five years as an assistant professor at another institution.  Since arriving at the U of M, she has been instrumental in the development and accreditation of the new Master of Social Work (MSW) program as well as student recruitment and admissions.  Susan’s fellowship is for the 2014 fall semester.

Katharine Schaffzin began her U of M career in 2009.  Prior to beginning her academic career, she was a litigator for one of the nation’s largest law firms and also clerked for the Honorable James Knoll Gardner of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  While at the U of M, she has worked extensively on faculty development initiatives as well as serving on the law school’s faculty recruitment and admissions committees.  Katharine’s fellowship is for the 2015 spring semester.

Please join me in congratulating these outstanding faculty members.  I look forward to working with them as they become familiar with campus wide academic initiatives, strategic planning, budget issues, and challenges in higher education. 

Sincerely,

M. David Rudd, Provost