December 15, 2016

Three named assessment fellows for spring 2017

A faculty member and two administrative/professional staff members will serve as fellows with a focus on improving student achievement. 

Anthony Agbeh, instructor, Animal Science, Food and Nutrition; Melinda Yeomans, associate director, University Honors Program; and Brenda Sanders, learning, service and leadership specialist, University Honors Program, will serve in the Assessment Fellows Program during the spring 2017 semester. The program, administered through the Associate Provost for Academic Programs office and the Assessment and Program Review office, seeks to provide academic and co-curricular assessment experience and skill development to faculty and administrative/professional (A/P) staff members who have an interest in student learning.  

Jim Allen, associate provost for academic programs, said the program has been very successful thus far. The Assessment Fellow Program started in spring 2015 semester and continues to attract at least two administrative/professional staff or faculty members each semester, greatly exceeding his expectations. “For these wonderful colleagues, student learning comes first,” Allen said. 

Agbeh has been in higher education for more than 30 years and is a lecturer within the Hospitality and Tourism Program. His interest in assessment resulted from working on assessment and accreditation for the program. He plans to pursue a project in student learning and engagement, which will help the program better understand the role of co-curricular activities in student success. He also hopes to use the fellowship opportunity to strengthen the assessment process related to the program’s student field internship experience while building a culture of evidence for the goal of improving student learning outcomes. 

Yeomans and Sanders have shown a commitment to creating excellent assessment methods for the University Honors Program. Their joint proposal focuses on further developing assessment models for scholarship, service and leadership in an advisement and assessment model that promotes synthesis. They also plan to build a data bank to track students’ post-graduation progress and potentially serve as an alumni network. 

Faculty and A/P staff members who are interested in the fellowship can apply during the 12th week of each semester for appointment the following semester, excluding summer semester. No more than two semesters of fellowship experience shall be awarded to the same individual in any five-year period.

Anthony Agbeh

Anthony Agbeh

Melinda Yeomans

Melinda Yeomans

Brenda Sanders

Brenda Sanders