PROGRAM DETAILS
A spirit of innovation, design and entrepreneurship is an essential tool for career
success and serves to enhance multidisciplinary appreciation, yield advanced solutions
and provide novel insights. However, this spirit is often underserved by a pedagogical
approach to teaching within a discipline. The IDEA Faculty Fellows program presents
an opportunity for faculty to become involved by directly creating curriculum to
enhance student skills in the areas of innovation, design and entrepreneurship.
In addition, Fellows will form a cohort and work with the Executive Director of
the Morris L. Hayhurst LaunchLab in Morgantown and other like-minded faculty members
at WVU’s Morgantown campus, WVU Institute of Technology and Potomac State College
to recommend activities and initiatives and act as cross-campus champions of entrepreneurship
education.
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This program is open to WVU Morgantown, WVU Institute of Technology and Potomac State College tenure- and non-tenure track faculty members regardless of rank, including Teaching, Research and Clinical Professors, with time that can be allocated to this effort. FEAPs and Librarian faculty who have a teaching assignment or offer related programming are also eligible. Adjunct instructors are not eligible. A requirement is that the IDEA Fellow faculty member must have an assignment that permits teaching the course in the future.
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Leadership for this program will be provided by Dr. Carrie White, Executive Director of the Hayhurst LaunchLab on WVU’s main campus in Morgantown.
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Interested faculty will propose a new course or modification of an existing course that will directly support the goals of the cross-campus entrepreneurship initiative. Although the primary focus is on the teaching of innovation, design and entrepreneurship, use of a novel teaching paradigm may also contribute to the goals.
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The application must include a letter of support from the faculty member’s division/department chair and an endorsement from the dean stating that (i) the faculty member will be given permission to offer the course or program at least one time during BOTH the 2023-2024 and the 2024-2025 academic years and (ii) that the faculty member will be free to attend the training described below. The offering can be part of the faculty member’s normal assignment or in addition to it, as determined with their supervisor.
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Each Fellow will receive a $5,000 salary supplement that could be used as summer salary, or as salary enhancement during the course or program development, as approved by the chair and dean.
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In addition, the Fellow may apply for up to $500 in grant funding during the semester that the course or project is being offered. This grant may be used to pay a student worker or offset other costs of the program or course.
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The Fellows will meet monthly at the minimum, with Executive Director of LaunchLab to refine their idea and report progress. The full cohort will meet monthly to share their experiences, receive additional training and make recommendations for improving and expanding entrepreneurship across campus. These meetings may be in person or via teleconference and may include other cohorts of IDEA Fellows.
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Fellows will serve for two years. Course development compensation occurs in year one only. Training and limited grant funding opportunities will continue during year two, and Fellows are encouraged to seek external funding to advance their efforts further.
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The seventh cohort of IDEA Fellows will be named by early March 2023 and should be prepared to attend training in late May 2023 or the next scheduled training.