Chellgren Center opens applications for endowed professorships

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 2, 2025) — The University of Kentucky Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence is now accepting applications for the next cohort of Chellgren Endowed Professors. These prestigious appointments, supported by the Chellgren Endowment, will fund five new professorships beginning in the Fall 2026 semester.

Each appointment is a three-year, nonrenewable term and is reserved for tenured UK faculty who demonstrate outstanding achievement as teachers and researchers with a deep commitment to undergraduate excellence.

“The Chellgren Endowed Professorships are designed to celebrate and support faculty who are shaping the undergraduate experience at UK in innovative and impactful ways,” said Isabel C. Escobar, Ph.D., Chellgren Endowed Chair. “These faculty leaders help fulfill our mission of advancing student excellence, teaching excellence and program excellence across the university.”

The mission of the Chellgren Center is to advance UK’s commitment to student excellence, teaching excellence and program excellence, with the broader objective of positioning the university as a national leader in undergraduate education. Chellgren Endowed Professors help fulfill this mission by raising student aspirations, fostering curricular innovation, and promoting collaboration across programs and disciplines.

Faculty responsibilities

To be named a Chellgren Endowed Professor, faculty members must either:

1. Assume a leadership role for a campus-wide initiative or program of undergraduate excellence, or
2. Propose an independent project that broadly addresses one or more of the following areas of emphasis:

• Development of new courses that incorporate cultural competency, collaborative learning, problem-solving, creative thinking and team building.
• Creation or revision of undergraduate programs (certificates, dual degrees, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary offerings) that prepare students to be leaders and scholars in a global society.
• Revision of existing courses to improve quality and relevance for today’s students.
• Curricular reform that integrates curricular and co-curricular activities to promote engagement, belonging and retention.
• Pedagogical innovations that enhance student learning and classroom experience.
• New assessment procedures to measure academic success, well-being and belonging.
• Strategies to integrate high-impact practices throughout academic curricula and majors.
• Programs that strengthen collaboration between college-based programs and units in the Office for Student Success. 

In addition, each Chellgren Endowed Professor will:

• Conduct the approved project or leadership assignment.
• Serve as an active member of the Chellgren Center faculty team, participating in regular discussions about educational excellence.
• Participate in candidate review committees for external scholarships.
• Present a public lecture describing their project or addressing a topic pertinent to the UK undergraduate experience.

Eligibility and application

Any tenured UK faculty member with a record of sustained commitment to undergraduate education is eligible.

Applications must be submitted electronically by Nov. 1 to chellgrencenter@uky.edu. Each application should include:

• A letter of interest.
• An up-to-date resume or CV (maximum three pages).
• A project proposal (maximum three pages) or description of a leadership assignment (maximum two pages).
• The most recent teaching portfolio (updated as desired).
• A letter of support from the applicant’s dean.

Final selections will be made by the provost, in consultation with the senior associate provost for administration and academic affairs, from finalists recommended by the Chellgren Endowed Professor Search Committee.

Compensation

Each professorship carries a $5,000 annual stipend for salary or research support during the term of the appointment. The preferred funding model is as an overload assignment, though alternative strategies may be considered in consultation with deans.

The next cohort of Chellgren Endowed Professors will be announced no later than Dec. 19.

Looking ahead

In the months ahead, the Chellgren Center and UKNow will profile past and current endowed professors whose work has shaped the undergraduate experience at UK in powerful ways. From developing courses that integrate cultural competency and collaborative learning, to creating new cross-disciplinary programs, to piloting innovative teaching methods that ripple across colleges, these faculty leaders demonstrate the transformative impact of the professorships.

By highlighting their experiences, insights and advice, the series will not only celebrate the accomplishments of these outstanding educators, but also inspire other faculty to imagine how their own ideas could take root through the Chellgren Endowed Professorship. Together, these stories will underscore how the program elevates teaching, fosters student success and strengthens UK’s national reputation for undergraduate excellence.

The Chellgren Center, a unit within the Office of the Provost, will also cohost an open house with UK’s Nationally Competitive Awards and Undergraduate Research offices 8:30-11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, on the second floor of the Funkhouser Building. Visitors can meet the new class of Chellgren Student Fellows, connect with the center’s staff and learn more about programs that support undergraduate excellence.

For questions about the application process, contact Isabel C. Escobar, Chellgren Endowed Chair, at isabel.escobar@uky.edu.

To learn more about the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence, visit www.uky.edu/chellgren.