Provost’s Faculty Fellows

In 2020, as part of the college’s diversity initiative and with funding from our Mellon Foundation faculty diversity grant, we dedicated one of the two fellowships granted each year to a faculty member pursuing a project related to advancing campus diversity and inclusion. This year’s Diversity Fellowship has been granted to Christopher Williams. As co-director of the First Year Writing program, Christopher manages more than 70 adjunct faculty and administers approximately 200 course sections each academic year. Since Fall 2016, he has spearheaded revisions of College Writing 1 (English 110) and College Writing 2 (English 130) curricula, developed courses and resources for multilingual student writers such as the grant-funded Language Lab, and contributed to first-year and transfer student strategic goals through multiple Computing in Undergraduate Education (CUE)-funded projects focused on improving student success and retention. During his fellowship, he will research first-year student disengagement across the disciplines and assess in-class and co-curricular interventions that aim to improve student engagement and course completion rates. Read more about Dr. Williams’s Project.

The Middle States Fellow designation is new this year and is designed to deepen our bench of individuals at the college who are conversant with institutional reaccreditation and engaged as leaders in the reaccreditation process. This year’s MSCHE Faculty Fellowship has been granted to Susan A. Davis, professor and graduate coordinator of Music Education at the Aaron Copland School of Music. Susan’s research into culturally responsive music praxis and philosophy has led to multiple publications and international presentations, including articles in Music Educators Journal, the Journal of Music Teacher Education, and the International Journal of Music Education. She was an instrumental part of the team that led Queens College to obtain initial accreditation with the National Association of Schools of Music in 2021. Susan has been recognized with an Excellence in Teaching Award (2015, Brooklyn College) and as a CUNY Mellon Faculty Diversity Fellow (2016-17). During her fellowship, she will research advisement and registration culture at Queens College and work with partners to better the student experience from orientation through degree completion. Read more about Dr. Davis’s Project.