The Art Museum of WVU Faculty Fellowship is an opportunity for faculty and instructors from across disciplines to enhance their teaching and scholarship by engaging with the museum’s permanent collection of more than 5,000 objects.
Fellows will collaborate with museum staff to develop an approximately 25- to 45-object exhibition that integrates themes and concepts from their teaching and research practice with the Art Museum’s holdings.
During the summer of 2026, the fellow will meet with museum staff for intensive workshops on the collection itself, museum writing style and creating museum labels, essays, and education guides. There is also the possibility of exploring a limited number of loans with other museums to augment the exhibition’s themes.
During the exhibition period (January-May 2027), the fellow is expected to substantively integrate the resulting exhibition into their teaching practice (i.e. plan museum visits and/or assignments for their students) and to serve as an ambassador for colleagues to do the same. They are also expected to participate in at least one public program at the Art Museum related to the exhibition.
To view prior iterations of Faculty Fellow exhibitions, click the links below:
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2023: Lisa DiBartolemeo, Department of World Languages, Literature and Linguistics In/Humanity: Combat and War in Art
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2024: Erik Herron, Department of Political Science Our Votes, Our Values
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2025: Adam Komisaruk, Department of English Radiant Pages: The Art of the Book
- 2026: Angela Uriyo, Department of Fashion Design Merchandising Material Matters Use, Meaning, and the Making of Form in African & Diasporic Art (Virtual tour link forthcoming)
Fellowship Timeline
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Applications due: April 2, 2026
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Fellows notified: April 14, 2026
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Research: Meetings, research and writing between June 1–Aug. 10, 2026 to be confirmed based on fellow’s and Art Museum staff’s schedules. Draft exhibit due by Aug. 10. (On-site collection and research visits will be required during the fellowship period.)
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At least two rounds of revision of exhibition materials during the 2026 fall semester.
- Exhibition period: Spring semester 2027
Compensation
Fellows will receive $3,800 in summer research funding, paid in two installments on July 24 and Aug. 7, 2026.
Eligibility
Any full-time faculty (tenure or non-tenure track) on the Morgantown campus. This includes clinical, teaching, research and service track faculty as well faculty equivalents and other professionals with teaching responsibilities. Faculty from all colleges across the University are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be scheduled to/plan to teach at least one related course during the exhibition period.
Fellowship Application
- A cover letter outlining:
- The instructor’s area of expertise and vision for complementing the Art Museum’s holdings and educational mission.
- The central theme or idea around which the applicant would like to focus their research and exhibition planning (recognizing that this idea will evolve as the selected fellow becomes better acquainted with the collection).
- The faculty member’s past engagement with the Art Museum of WVU, if any.
- Other evidence of the applicant’s interest in teaching and learning with objects, their use of innovative pedagogical practices and/or their commitment to interdisciplinarity.
- How the fellowship award will support the applicant’s teaching practice. Please include the specific course(s) into which you hope to integrate the exhibition content. How do you foresee this happening?
- What type of public program (e.g., lecture, panel, performance, etc.) the applicant envisions leading in relation to the exhibition.
- Visual examples.
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A current CV
Applicants are encouraged to contact Art Museum curator of education Heather Harris (heather.harris@mail.wvu.edu) if they have questions about the museum’s collections prior to submitting their applications.
To apply for the 2026 faculty fellowship, use the link below: