Call for Proposals: Affiliate Fellows
Deadline: Monday, March 16, 2026
University Honors invites University of Maryland faculty of all ranks and disciplines to indicate their interest in becoming an Affiliate Fellow for 2026-29.
Every year, University Honors introduces into its curriculum four new themes of contemporary and enduring significance. These themes are addressed through “clusters” of courses offered over a period of two academic years. Each course in a cluster engages the theme from a different disciplinary perspective.
Each cluster features a Lead Fellow, who sets the cluster theme and teaches an Big Question course; an early-career Collegiate Fellow, who teaches across the University Honors curriculum; and one or two Affiliate Fellows, who offer small seminars (1-2 sections per year) taught from a complementary disciplinary perspective.
Those whose seminars are selected will be named Affiliate Fellows in University Honors for 2026-29. We especially invite those faculty to apply who wish to address the theme in an innovative way and/or from a discipline not traditionally associated with this thematic area.
Affiliate Fellows can anticipate participating collaboratively in some preparatory course-building and cluster promotion during late-Spring 2026 through Spring 2027, and to offer their seminar once or twice per academic year during 2027-28 and 2028-29. During this time, Affiliate Fellows will receive financial and administrative support, as detailed below.
All courses are taught as part of faculty members’ regular teaching loads.
2026-2029 Cluster Themes
Life from Scratch
Lead Fellow: Richard Bell (History)
Popular Mechanics
Lead Fellow: Paul Cote (English)
Cause and Effect
Lead Fellow: Cortney Fisher (Criminology & Criminal Justice)
Mapping Change
Lead Fellow: Catherine Nakalembe (Geography)
Eligibility & Terms
UMD faculty members from all academic disciplines are eligible to serve as Affiliate Fellows in University Honors. This includes TTK faculty and PTK faculty. Faculty members may propose to teach once or twice per academic year during the cluster’s two-year run in the Affiliate Fellow role.
All courses are taught as part of faculty members’ regular teaching loads.
Courses developed by Affiliate Fellows are offered exclusively through University Honors until the conclusion of the cluster’s two-year run, after which time they may be offered through the Fellow’s home department.
Student Engagement
- Opportunity to mentor and recruit potential majors/minors
- Co-curricular involvement with student-facing programming
Incentive & Compensation
$5,000 stipend (if teaching 2 seminar sections in each of 2027-28 and 2028-29) or $2,500 stipend (if teaching 1 seminar section in each of 2027-28 and 2028-29) for (a) course development/update, (b) cluster promotion, and (c) instruction.
Stipends are distributed via payroll unless a direct KFS transfer is requested.
Campus Recognition
- Campus-wide visibility through UMD, Honors College, and UH media
- University Honors Fellow plaque
- Eligible for University Honors faculty awards and recognition
Our Community
University Honors is a living-learning program guided by the beliefs that depth of insight requires breadth of vision, that conscientious specialization requires multidisciplinary dexterity, and that meaningful impact requires collaborative engagement. And so, our community of students, faculty, and staff pursue these aims while cultivating an environment that is safe and inclusive as well as inspiring and creative.
Support and Assistance
- Curricular-enrichment budget for field trips, visiting speakers, etc.
- UH Staff support (e.g., course and GenEd proposals, scheduling, enrichment logistics)
Questions
Please direct questions to Dr. Leigha McReynolds, Assistant Director for Academic Affairs, lmcrey@umd.edu.
Timeline & Responsibilities
- Summer 2026: course idea development and GenEd exploration
- Fall 2026: course creation and collaborative theme refinement; prepare course proposal and submit for GenEd approval
- Spring 2027: cluster publicity
- Fall 2027 and/or Spring 2028: teach 1 or 2 sections of seminar
- Fall 2028 and/or Spring 2029: teach 1 or 2 sections of seminar
