August 27, 2026
Four SIU Carbondale faculty named Provost Faculty Fellows
Four SIU Carbondale faculty — Chao Lu, Katherine Martin, Mathew Gluck and Sabrina Starnaman — have been appointed as Provost Faculty Fellows for 2026-2027.
The program provides part-time academic leadership experience to a university faculty member who has an interest in academic administration. Fellows gain insight into administrative practices and procedures in the provost’s and associate provosts’ offices.
Lu, a professor in the School of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, will work with Juliane Wallace, associate provost for academic administration. Martin, an associate professor in linguistics, will work with Julie Dunston, associate provost for academic programs (APAP).
Lu will work with Wallace to explore artificial intelligence-supported approaches to faculty onboarding and professional development. Wallace said Lu’s project “will examine how AI-supported tools can help new faculty more easily access university information, understand academic policies and procedures, and identify resources related to teaching, research, student support, and professional development.”
The project will also explore structured learning modules and personalized guidance based on faculty needs. These approaches will build on existing university resources and processes, with the goal of making faculty onboarding more organized, accessible, and efficient.
Lu has more than 10 years of experience teaching undergraduate and graduate courses and has served the SIU Carbondale at the school, college and university levels. His interests include artificial intelligence, engineering education, and the use of emerging technologies to support teaching, learning and faculty development.
“I look forward to working with the APAA team to explore practical ways AI can support new faculty as they learn university processes and connect with resources across campus,” Lu said.
Martin will work to strengthen assessment practices and support continuous improvement initiatives campus wide. Dunston said she “looks forward to the positive impact Katherine’s work will have on advancing a culture of assessment and evidence-based decision-making across the university.”
Martin said that she “looks forward to helping redevelop the assessment infrastructure at SIU Carbondale.”
“Lots of people hear the word ‘assessment’ and they think of tests and administrative activities, but the reality is that the assessment process can give us some of the best information on how we are doing with serving our students, making sure we are responding to their needs, keeping our programs up-to-date, and supporting them to succeed,” Martin said. “At a time when confidence in higher education is faltering, it’s critical that we can demonstrate the value that an SIU degree provides to students, and improving our assessment practices can help us to do that.”
Gluck, an assistant professor of mathematics and statistics, and Starnaman, an assistant professor of practice in philosophy, will work with Shelly Gehrke, associate provost for student success.
Gluck will work with Gehrke on initiatives designed to strengthen student success and academic achievement, with an initial focus on the first-year student experience and early academic support.
Gluck began his fellowship work this summer by leading a significant redesign of the UNIV 101 curriculum and D2L course resources. The updated curriculum provides greater consistency across sections while giving instructors resources and flexibility to engage students and support their transition to SIU. He also reorganized and enhanced the D2L student course shell and Instructor Hub to make course materials and teaching resources more accessible and useful for both students and instructors.
Gluck’s work will continue this academic year with an analysis of previous-semester DFW, Progress Report and Early Alert data to better understand patterns across these measures and identify opportunities to strengthen early academic support and intervention. He will also help develop an online version of UNIV 101 to expand access to the course and support students across learning modalities.
“Matt has done exceptional work this summer moving several important student success initiatives forward,” Gehrke said. “His work on UNIV 101 has strengthened both the student experience and the resources we provide instructors. He has a strong ability to connect data, classroom practices, and student experiences to identify opportunities for improvement and strengthen student success.”
Gluck is also expected to contribute to faculty development focused on student success, including the upcoming Best Practices for Student Success in the Classroom faculty forum on Oct. 2. As time allows, he will collaborate with academic units to explore the development of online practice problem resources that provide students, particularly those in STEM courses, additional opportunities to practice foundational concepts and strengthen their academic preparation.
Starnaman will work with Gehrke to strengthen the onboarding, development, and ongoing support of graduate student instructors across SIU.
She began her fellowship work this summer by collaborating with academic programs, the Center for English as a Second Language, the Center for International Education, and other university partners to learn more about the preparation and support currently available to graduate student instructors. While some programs have established onboarding, mentoring, and development practices, resources and approaches vary across the university. Her work is designed to build upon effective practices already in place, identify opportunities for additional support, and strengthen connections among existing efforts.
Her work extends beyond initial onboarding to consider how SIU can provide graduate student instructors with practical, ongoing support throughout the semester. During SPARK New Instructor Orientation, she presented “Teaching 101: Best Practices for a Great Semester,” which focused on practical strategies instructors can use to create welcoming, engaging, and supportive classroom environments. Planned programming includes sessions on American education culture and communicating across differences.
“Sabrina has approached this work as a true campus partner,” Gehrke said. “She has spent time listening and learning from academic programs and campus partners, building on strong practices already in place, and looking for opportunities to connect and strengthen those efforts. Supporting our graduate student instructors helps them develop confidence, connections, and practical teaching skills while also strengthening the classroom experience and success of the students they teach.”
Starnaman will also continue collaborating with academic programs and university partners to develop an approach that is practical, collaborative, supportive, and responsive to program and instructional needs. The goal is to create a stronger network of preparation and ongoing support for graduate student instructors while leveraging the expertise and successful practices that already exist across SIU.
“By nurturing and supporting graduate student instructors, we have an impact on not our undergraduate students in their courses but also fostering the next generation of outstanding university educators,” Starnaman said.