February 08, 2018
Jurkowski named Provost Faculty Fellow
Elaine Theresa Jurkowski, professor of social work in the College of Education and Human Services’ School of Social Work, will be the Provost Faculty Fellow for the spring 2018 semester.
Fellowship focuses on first generation students, recruitment and retention
The program’s goal is to provide part-time leadership experience and skill development to university faculty with an interest in academic administration. Jurkowski will be part of the university’s team responsible for SIU Carbondale’s Quality Initiative required by the Higher Learning Commission.
The initiative is focused on identifying roadblocks faced by first generation students, and initiatives to increase recruitment and retention. The Quality Initiative is a collaborative effort of the Provost Office, the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Core Curriculum office, and Student Affairs.
Lizette Chevalier, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and acting co-Provost, said Jurkowski was selected as a Fellow due to her scholarship and expertise.
Jurkowski hopes to use data to inform new programs
Jurkowski said she is honored to be selected Provost Faculty Fellow for spring 2018.
“This is an advantageous opportunity for me to enhance my administrative background and lay the groundwork to help the campus cultivate an understanding of retention issues for our students at this crucial time,” she said. “Moreover, I am looking forward to working in the associate provost’s office to gain insight into the retention issues on our campus through the use of our institutional data.
“I am also excited to work with various partners on campus who have a vested interest in our student retention. One primary goal of this experience will be to help build a data profile to be able to make appropriate data driven informed decisions regarding academic and co-curricular programs.”
20 years of experience at SIU
Jurkowski, who has cross appointments in the Department of Public Health and School of Medicine’s Family Practice Residency Program, started at SIU Carbondale as assistant professor in 1998, and became an associate professor in 2004 before becoming professor in 2009.
She served as the School of Social Work’s graduate program director from 2003-2013 and interim director from 2013-2015. Jurkowski earned a doctorate degree in public health from the University of Illinois Chicago in 1997, and holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Manitoba specializing in policy and administration.