University of North Georgia (UNG) faculty member Dr. Lauren Johnson was selected for the summer 2017 cohort of the Governor’s Teaching Fellows (GTF) Program, a statewide initiative advancing instructional excellence in Georgia’s colleges and universities. Lauren C. Johnson, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, is coordinator of diversity and recruitment initiatives in the College of Education.

“The GTF program provided a great opportunity to supplement my teaching tools and resources in order to best engage my students in the classroom,” said Johnson. “As a teacher educator, it is important that we consistently strive to improve our methods and use of new technology so that we can support and guide our current and future teachers.”

Established in 1995 by Zell Miller, governor of Georgia (1991-1999), GTF provides Georgia’s higher education faculty with expanded opportunities for in-depth study of research-based pedagogies. The program is offered through the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia (UGA). More than 75 different disciplines, professions, and teaching areas have been represented, and they have come from over 45 institutions statewide: large and small, public and private, everywhere from the northern mountains to the Florida state line and between the Atlantic coast and the Alabama border. To date, 33 Fellows have represented UNG in the GTF Program.

According to the University of Georgia’s Institute of Higher Education’s website, a candidate’s selection is based upon “the basis of their teaching experience, their interest in continuing instructional and professional development, their ability to make positive impact on their own campus, and a strong commitment by their home institution.”

Other recent UNG fellows in the program have been Ken Martin, Assistant Professor of Spanish; Michallene McDaniel, Associate Professor of Sociology & Human Services; and, David Smith, Associate Professor of Media Studies.

Applications for the UNG GTF 2018 Summer Symposia and 2018-2019 Academic Year Symposia will be open later in the year.