Seacrest Fellows

Seacrest Teaching Fellows

Cultivating Exceptional Teaching

The Seacrest Teaching Fellows program supports instructional faculty who propose new projects to conduct research on a topic of interest or explore a teaching innovation and evaluate its effectiveness. With a focus of igniting students' passion for learning and providing high quality classroom experiences, the Fellows engage in both individual projects and community-building activities for the College of Business during their year-long appointment.

Application and Selection Process Program Eligibility Program Participants

2022-23 Seacrest Fellows

Rob Stein

Associate Professor of Practice in Finance
Teaching Fellow

“Employers demand teamworking skills. Instructors use teamwork in many courses throughout the curriculum. But does it really improve student learning and performance? In my Seacrest project I explore this question, to satisfy my own curiosity and to justify the ubiquitous application of this methodology. This is why I became a Seacrest scholar: to rigorously test pedagogical practices and discover what works best in the classroom.”

Amanda Gonzales

Associate Professor of Practice in Accountancy
Senior Teaching Fellow

“Working in teams is a widespread and important part of today's workplace and academic environments. Yet, teams often fail to meet their objectives and/or team members feel frustrated with the experience. In my Seacrest project, we investigated whether students' explicit recall of their individual and collective strengths as part of the team charter development enhances measures of team effectiveness. As my students motivate me to grow as a and reflect as a teacher, I want to provide them with the best learning experience possible. Joining the Seacrest Fellows program is a wonderful opportunity to benefit from the wisdom of my colleagues and continue to learn about pedagogical best practices.”

Bob Mackalski

Assistant Professor of Practice in Marketing
Teaching Fellow

“There are a lot of interesting Nebraska-based companies. Yet, most of these organizations are not the go-to examples for class or are being studied in classes as case studies. I’m looking at the impact that studying local companies have on student learning. The Seacrest Fellows program gives the opportunity to research this field- while fueling Nebraska-based specific content.”

Heather Clemens

Ameritas Actuarial Faculty Fellow, Assistant Director and Associate Professor of Practice in Actuarial Science
Teaching Fellow

“I decided to become a Seacrest Fellow so that I could dig deeper into some researched-based learning strategies to better support my students in their learning journey. I plan on examining different sources and forms of feedback, the value the feedback provides, and ways to implement that in the classroom. My goal is to enhance learning by increasing feedback opportunities and giving students ways to incorporate that feedback into their assessments. I look forward to working with the Teaching and Learning Center, the Instructional Designers, and other Seacrest Fellows on this project.”

Past Program Participants

2022-23: Amanda Gonzales, Rob Stein, Heather Clemens, Bob Mackalski
2021-22: Uche Jarrett, Amanda Gonzales, Rob Stein, Sam Allgood
2020-21: Laurie Miller, Uche Jarrett, Amanda Gonzales
2019-20: John Geppert, Laurie Miller, Uche Jarrett, Amanda Gonzales
2018-19: John Geppert, Laurie Miller, Uche Jarrett

Eligibility

All instructional faculty in the College of Business are eligible to participate in the Teaching Fellows Program. There are two types of Fellows:

Teaching Fellows

Instructional faculty propose new project(s) to conduct research on a topic of interest or implement a teaching innovation and evaluate its effectiveness. Teaching Fellows are eligible for financial support of $6,000 per year for up to two years per project.

Senior Teaching Fellows

Teaching Fellows who have completed two years in the program may move into a mentorship role. They are still eligible for continued financial support of $7,000 per year for up to two additional years while continuing their research and innovation in teaching, which should lead to publications in teaching journals or presentations at teaching conferences.

Apply to Become a 2023-24 Seacrest Fellow

An ad hoc committee of relevant stakeholders will review and select from new applications each year.

Apply by June 15

Send the following application materials to Kasey Linde

Research or Innovation Proposal (250-500 words) describing teaching innovation or research project, timeline, how you will disseminate results, and how project outcome will affect quality of teaching in the CoB.

Teaching Statement (250-500 words) sharing your beliefs about how people learn and how involvement in this program will challenge you as a teacher and assist you in engaging more fully with students.

Letter of Support from Department Chair detailing how your involvement in this research or innovation will support the Department's teaching mission.

Share your current CV including teaching, publications, presentations and research interests.

Contact

Kasey Linde

Director of Teaching, Learning and Accreditation

HLH 014

P.O. Box 880405

Lincoln, NE 68588-0405

402-472-4292

klinde2@unl.edu