Faculty Fellows Strengthen Learning and Leadership at Wentworth

From left: Jody Gordon, Anne-Catrin Schultz, Adam Payne, Mark Mixer, and Hariharan Naganathan

Across Wentworth, faculty and staff work together to strengthen the student experience. That work is guided by shared questions: How can we make learning more meaningful? What would help more students take advantage of available opportunities? How can we better connect classroom learning with experiences beyond it?

Faculty bring a perspective to these questions that is essential to our progress. They see how students experience our programs every day. They understand the promise of an idea and the practical work required to put it into action. Our five Faculty Fellows help turn that knowledge into shared institutional progress.

The fellowships focus on the Honors Program, study abroad, teaching and learning, undergraduate research, and academic advising. Each area offers an opportunity to enrich students' education. The fellows work with colleagues across schools and divisions to develop ideas, broaden participation, and help us learn from what works.

• Jody Gordon, Study Abroad Faculty Fellow, helps expand opportunities for students to learn in new cultural and professional settings. At a university where academic requirements and co-op shape students' schedules and experiences, access depends on thoughtful planning. Faculty leadership can help us create experiences that fit our programs and make the value of global learning clear to students.
• Mark Mixer, Academic Advising Faculty Fellow, brings a faculty perspective to our efforts to make advising more integrated and coordinated. Advising supports students' academic progress and personal growth, helping them build confidence, explore their interests, and make thoughtful decisions about their goals. Faculty engagement is essential, as they help students understand their field, develop a sense of belonging, and connect academic choices with co-op, research, and other opportunities. Mark's role helps strengthen that engagement and collaboration among faculty advisors, student success advisors, and co-op and career advisors.
• Hariharan Naganathan, Teaching and Learning Faculty Fellow, works with colleagues as they explore effective approaches to teaching, learning, assessment, and student engagement. Faculty are already adapting their courses in response to changing fields, new technologies, and what they learn from their students. The fellowship creates more opportunities to share those practices across the university and support thoughtful experimentation.
• Adam Payne, Honors Program Faculty Fellow, helps shape an honors experience that challenges students to pursue ambitious questions, make connections across disciplines, and contribute to a community of inquiry. A strong honors experience should reflect Wentworth's distinctive approach to learning by combining academic rigor with practical application and connections to the world beyond campus.
• Anne-Catrin Schultz, Undergraduate Research Faculty Fellow, works with colleagues to expand opportunities for students to participate in research, scholarship, and creative activities. These experiences teach students to frame questions, work through uncertainty, and communicate what they discover or create. They also strengthen the connections between faculty scholarship and student learning that are central to Wentworth's teacher-scholar model.

These initiatives reach across the university. Study abroad depends on student support and thoughtful planning, while undergraduate research draws on library resources, laboratories, studios, and external partnerships. Honors, teaching and learning, and advising also benefit from expertise across schools and divisions. The fellows help connect this work by listening to colleagues, testing ideas, and guiding initiatives from aspiration to practice.

The fellowships also create opportunities for faculty members to grow as leaders. Leadership in higher education does not begin only when someone takes an administrative position. It develops when faculty build trust, invite different perspectives, guide a shared effort, and take responsibility for its results. Through these roles, fellows practice those skills while receiving support and working on issues that matter to our community.

These roles are an investment in Wentworth's future. As fellows gain a broader understanding of the university, they become better prepared to guide institutional initiatives and assume additional leadership responsibilities. Students benefit through richer learning experiences and greater access to opportunities.

I encourage faculty and staff across Wentworth to get to know the Faculty Fellows, share their ideas, and explore opportunities to collaborate. Together, we can make honors, study abroad, teaching and learning, undergraduate research, and advising more meaningful and accessible, and develop the faculty leadership that will carry this work forward.