Syracuse University Art Museum Curator of Education and Academic Outreach Kate Holohan (far left) works with Faculty Fellows each summer to introduce them to the museum’s collection and object-based teaching.
Syracuse University Art Museum Seeks Faculty Fellows for 2026-27
The Syracuse University Art Museum is now accepting applications for the 2026-27 Faculty Fellows program. The program supports faculty across all disciplines in bringing the museum’s collection of over 45,000 objects into their teaching.
Now in its fifth year, the Faculty Fellows program centersÌýon object-based teaching and research through an active,ÌýexperientialÌýapproach that asks students to make close observations, analyze evidence and develop their own interpretations in real time. Up to fourÌýfellowsÌýwill be selected and paired with museum staff—including curators Melissa Yuen and Kate Holohan—for a hands-on introduction to the collection and ongoing curricular support. Each Faculty Fellow receives a $2,500 stipend or research subsidy.
What’s Involved?
- Fellows work with museum staff to develop a museum visit lesson plan, at least one object-based student assignment and a collection-based teaching guide tied to a 2026-27 course.
- The bulk of the work takes place during the summer of 2026 (total time commitment of approximately50 hours).
Who can apply?
- The Faculty Fellows program is open to all University tenured, tenure-track and full-time non-tenure track faculty teaching in 2026-27.
- Proposals from any school, college or discipline are welcome.
- For fall 2026 courses, the museum especially welcomes proposals engaging in themes of ecology, climate change, consumption and material culture in connection with our upcoming exhibitions.
What you need to know
- More information including the entire call for applications andr equired application materials can be found on the .
- The museum’s collection can also be viewed .
PreviousÌýFaculty Fellows
Colleen Cameron,Ìýprofessor of practice in human development and family science in the College of Arts and Sciences,Ìýis a Faculty Fellow for 2025-26 who integrated museum materials into her course, Healthcare Communications: Research, Theory andÌýPractice this past fall. As part ofÌýthe course, students selected an object that connected to death notification and presented their research at the end of the semester.
OmarÌýCheta,Ìýa 2023-24 Faculty Fellow and assistant professor of history in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs,ÌýutilizedÌýa carpet, painting and 19th-century photograph in his course, The Middle East Since the Rise of Islam. ChetaÌýencouraged his students toÌýexploreÌýtracesÌýof the pastÌýthrough material objects, rather thanÌýjustÌýthroughÌýtextually transmitted ideas.
Elizabeth Wimer, assistant teaching professorÌýinÌýthe Whitman School of Management, was a 2024-25 Faculty Fellow. SheÌýexplored how artistic representation of African culture relates to the continual evolution of the interconnectedness of the global economy through objects in the museum’s collection as part of her Managing in a Global Setting course.ÌýHer work culminated in a Spring 2025 exhibition along withÌýa separate exhibitionÌýorganized byÌýLindsay Gratch, a 2024-25 Faculty Fellow.
The Faculty Fellows program is made possible with the support of the Office of Strategic Initiatives and Office of Research.
