Overview

Established in 2022 by Provost Sara Zeigler, the Provost’s Faculty Internship Program is designed to develop leadership skills at the university level among EKU faculty. As a complement to the annual Provost’s Leadership Institute, the Provost’s goal is to build exceptional leadership by supporting individual faculty development. 

Faculty will participate in a range of mentoring and learning opportunities, collaborate with colleagues in the Office of the Provost and other academic and administrative offices across campus, and assume leadership roles on critical campus strategic initiatives and projects, designed in conjunction with individual interests and long-range career goals. The Internship program capacity is limited to five.

Faculty Leadership Development

As part of the program, faculty will become familiar with and increase their understanding of university-wide academic initiatives, strategic planning, budget issues, and challenges in higher education. In addition, faculty will make direct contributions to the Office of the Provost by taking on special projects and assisting in other operational activities.

The faculty will have the opportunity to:

• Develop leadership skills,
• Be mentored by senior academic leaders.
• Shadow Office of the Provost staff,
• Attend selected meetings within the Academic Affairs,
• Undertake a jointly agreed upon project under the supervision of a senior administrator in Academic Affairs as well as special projects as appropriate

Faculty selected for the program will

• Receive one-course reassign time;
• Receive summer compensation for learning plan and project design;
• Design a research-based faculty leadership project (in coordination with the Office of the Provost, mentor, and program personnel) or a focused learning plan aligned with professional goals; and
• Participate in the Leadership in Higher Education (LHE) conference with Office of the Provost staff members.

The Internship program is designed to 1) increase awareness of faculty leadership skills, 2) provide practical opportunities for faculty leadership skill development, and 3) design tailored leadership skill development for faculty.

Faculty will meet once per month during the fall and spring. The Internship experience begins in the summer. Mentors will be assigned by the program Welcome. Internship members will be invited to select, pre-planned Academic Affairs meetings.

Interns will be invited to serve as members of the Provost’s Faculty Advisory Committee in year two.

Annual Timeline

Eligibility

Faculty members at the Associate Professor and Professor ranks are eligible to apply for the Provost’s Faculty Internship Program. Capacity is limited.

2025 Provost’s Faculty Internship Program Application [The application will be available in spring 2025.]

Application Process

Applications Due: April 2025
2025-2026 Cohort Announced: April 2025
2025-2026 Welcome: May 2025
Internship Program Begins (Learning Plan Design): Summer 2025

Current Provost’s Faculty Internship Cohort

2024-2025 Provost’s Faculty Internship Cohort

Previous Provost’s Faculty Internship Cohorts