The VCU SOM Office of Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development Faculty Teaching Academy (FTA) is comprised of 12 selected faculty members and seeks to cultivate a thriving community of practice that focuses on excellence in teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning in health sciences education. The 2025 inaugural FTA is nearing completion. The FTA faculty will be encouraged to present the results of their FTA engagement at the 2026 VCU Health Sciences Education Symposium.
Information regarding the application process for the 2027 FTA will be provided next year. VCU SOM faculty at all levels, who teach VCU SOM students or trainees will be encouraged to apply. The 2027 VCU SOM Faculty Teaching Academy will be announced in February 2027. Please stay tuned to this web page for more information.
Information from the 2025 FTA Application Process
2025 FTA faculty will be encouraged to present the results of their FTA engagement at the 2026 VCU Health Sciences Education Symposium.
The VCU SOM Office of Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development is excited to announce its inaugural 2025 Faculty Teaching Academy (FTA) and is inviting faculty teaching in the SOM to apply by January 31, 2025. The SOM FTA will be comprised of 12 selected faculty members and seek to cultivate a thriving community of practice that focuses on excellence in teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning in health sciences education.
Beginning in April 2025 and continuing through December 2025, these 12 FTA faculty will engage in professional development that enriches their understanding of pedagogical frameworks for inclusive and interactive teaching; and advance an educational research project or curriculum innovation. The commitment of time is approximately 20 hours.
FTA faculty will receive a $400 stipend that can be used for professional development or to support other scholarly endeavors. Additionally, instructional support, coaching and facilitated guidance will be provided to FTA faculty throughout the year.
- VCU SOM faculty at all levels teaching VCU SOM students or trainees are encouraged to apply.
- Applications must be submitted by January 31, 2025.
- Applicants will be notified by February 14, 2025.
Please contact Jody Hedstrom (jody.hedstrom@vcuhealth.org), Senior Program Specialist, Office of Faculty Affair and Faculty Development, if you have any questions or concerns.
Selection criteria
The FTA committee will review each applicant’s submission and selection criteria will be based on faculty experience, teaching statement, and potential impact of research project/curriculum innovation on the strategic priorities concerning education at VCU SOM. Faculty confidence levels around teaching, innovation, and medical education research are assessed to determine cohort groupings upon selection. There will be four cohorts with three faculty in each cohort. Cohorts will be determined to achieve participant diversity across disciplines and teaching expertise (i.e., A junior faculty member teaching in Pathology may be in a cohort with an experienced faculty member teaching in Physiology and Biophysics.)
Faculty selected for the 2025 VCU SOM OFAFD Faculty Teaching Academy include:
Deborah DiazGranados
Taylor Haight
Laura Paletta-Hobbs
Nayef Chahin
Melissa Bui
Becky Forrest
Maria Teves
Michelle Troendle
Eric Nelson
Grace Prince
Avanthi Jayaweera
Lisa Shock
FTA member expectations
Selected FTA faculty will need to commit to:
- completing assigned readings and/or assessments in advance of April 9*, 2025;
- engaging in a learning community throughout 2025;
- advancing their scholarly project in preparation for presentation or publication;
- continually reflecting on the FTA process via periodic journaling after cohort sessions; and
- writing a brief, evaluative summary of their experience by December 31, 2025.
Timeline and agenda
March 2025 – April 2025
Review curated reading selections and engage asynchronously prior to workshops and keynote (~2 hours)
April 9*, 2025
Attend workshops and keynote (~8 hours) (* date is tentative)
- 830-12p: workshops (learning theory, active teaching strategies, backward design, assessment, inclusion, and accessibility).
- 12-1p: keynote presentation: innovations in medical education/AI, ethics/teaching and learning
- 130-3p: primer into scholarship of teaching and learning, health sciences education research
- 3-430p: cohort group work, reflection, wrap up
May – November 2025
Participate in learning community with cohort and another faculty facilitator to discuss ideas, refine design and methodology, and provide accountability updates (~10 hours)
December 2025
Prepare proposal for 2026 VCU HSES for presentation in March 2026