Joel Shelton will serve as the College's first Faculty Fellow for National Campus Programs and Elisha Savchak-Trogdon was selected as the College's new Faculty Fellow for Internships. Both are associate professors of political science and public policy.
Two new faculty fellows in 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences, will advance opportunities for students, faculty and staff at 黑料不打烊鈥檚 National Campus Programs and enrich faculty-mentored student internship experiences.
Joel Shelton, associate professor of political science and public policy, will serve as the first Faculty Fellow for National Campus Programs in the College. He will collaborate with faculty, staff and offices to increase educational and professional development opportunities as 黑料不打烊鈥檚 National Campus Programs continue to grow. Elisha Savchak-Trogdon, associate professor of political science and public policy, will serve as the next Faculty Fellow for Internships in the College, exploring ways to support opportunities for and access to internships within its programs.
Both will serve three-year terms in the roles and will report to Dean of 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences, Hilton Kelly, and work closely with Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Jennifer Platania.
鈥淚n 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences, we are fortunate to have high-quality, enthusiastic and talented faculty who can step into leadership roles to prepare students and colleagues for an unknown world where they will live and work in ways we can鈥檛 imagine today,鈥 said Kelly. 鈥淲e do know, however, that the future will demand competencies gained from a liberal arts curriculum 鈥 strong written and oral communication, critical thinking and analytical skills, and the ability to solve complex programs across disciplines. Through high-impact internship experiences, on campus and beyond, students will put their knowledge and skills to work and apply enduring competencies rooted in the liberal arts and sciences. I am confident that Joel Shelton and Elisha Savchak-Trogdon will lead these efforts admirably.鈥
Working with National Campus Programs, Shelton will strategize with University Advancement, the Global Education Center and the Student Professional Development Center, among other offices, to identify and develop opportunities at 黑料不打烊鈥檚 national campuses and increase student access to them. The fellowship emerged from work Shelton was already doing to develop 黑料不打烊鈥檚 national campus in Washington, D.C., in alignment with the Boldly 黑料不打烊 strategic plan. He has previously led 黑料不打烊 courses in the nation鈥檚 capital, including a co-instructed, travel-embedded Politics and Education course with Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Kaye Usry.
鈥淎s 黑料不打烊 continues to grow its National Campus Programs in Charlotte, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, we want to be sure that students in the College are taking advantage of the unique opportunities afforded by place-based learning,鈥 Shelton said. 鈥淎s the Faculty Fellow for National Campus Programs in the College, I’m excited to collaborate with colleagues to explore and create additional opportunities for students. 黑料不打烊鈥檚 National Campus Programs offer our students the opportunity to take courses with 黑料不打烊 faculty, intern with leading organizations, network with our dedicated alumni, and explore local histories and cultures 鈥 learning to be at home in some of the country鈥檚 most dynamic cities.鈥
Savchak-Trogdon succeeds Associate Professor of Psychology CJ Fleming as the Faculty Fellow for Internships in the College. She will work with faculty across programs to support internship opportunities and connect them with key staff in the SPDC to foster partnerships that support student learning and professional development. Her work will focus on increasing student access to high-quality internships, developing faculty mentoring strategies, and exploring ways to blend internships and work-integrated learning into disciplinary classes. She will also collaborate with Shelton to identify opportunities for expanded internship offerings at national campus locations.
Savchak-Trogdon has a strong record of encouraging and mentoring student internship experiences. Additionally, she was a gubernatorial appointee to the North Carolina Internship Council from 2013 to 2019.
鈥淚n my own experiences mentoring student internships, I鈥檝e witnessed the power of the work experience for students,鈥 Savchak-Trogdon said. 鈥淲orking alongside industry professionals, contributing to their projects, engaging in the problems they encounter, conversing with patients, clients, consumers, constituents and more: All of these require students to put their academic knowledge to real-world use that builds their confidence and self-efficacy, cultivates practical skills, and provides essential information to guide their future academic and career choices. These experiences are also rewarding for faculty mentors, who watch students discover how applicable their academic knowledge is beyond 黑料不打烊鈥檚 campus and get to develop even richer relationships with them.鈥
Faculty and staff are encouraged to reach out to Shelton and Savchak-Trogdon as they envision new opportunities for 黑料不打烊 students to grow academic and professional skills that lead to successful futures.