Faculty selected for Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars Program

Duo among 24 in UW System chosen for program that focuses on teaching, research

River Falls, Wis. – Two University of Wisconsin-River Falls faculty have been selected as Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars. 

Christopher Holtkamp, assistant professor of environmental planning, and Erik Kline, assistant professor of English, are among 24 University of Wisconsin System faculty chosen for the honor. UW System officials announced the winners July 14. 

Holtkamp, Kline and others chosen to participate in the Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars Program applied last fall. Those selected were chosen by a committee of their peers on the campus where they teach. 

This year’s participants come from the System’s 11 comprehensive universities and UW-Milwaukee. Faculty recognized as Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars must demonstrate high-level teaching and have a curiosity about student learning. The year-long program finishes with a research presentation at the annual Spring Conference on Teaching and Learning in Madison.

Cyndi Kernahan, UWRF professor of psychological sciences and director of the UWRF Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, praised Holtkamp and Kline for their commitment to educating students. Participating in the program will enable Holtkamp, Kline and other participants to boost their research and teaching skills. 

“This program is transformative,” Kernahan said. “It helps people go from ‘what am I teaching’ to ‘what are my students learning,’ which is a different question. It ends up creating a better experience for students, which is really our end goal.”

Kernahan knows firsthand about the benefits of Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars. In 2001-02, during her second year of teaching at UWRF, she was chosen to participate in the program. She subsequently served as Wisconsin Teachers & Scholars co-director for UW System for six years and remains active with the program.  

“It really taught me how to do research with my teaching and students in a way I didn't learn as a graduate student,” Kernahan said. “It allowed me to do my scholarship much more coordinated with my teaching, which is a big deal at a teaching institution like ours.”

Through Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars, UW faculty and teaching academic staff collaborate with other teachers from different areas of study across the UW System. Participants discuss influential literature and take part in systematic research focused on improving student learning.

Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars is one of three signature programs offered by the UW System’s Office of Professional and Instructional Development (OPID). OPID supports UW System's 13 Centers for Teaching and Learning to foster a culture of teaching and learning excellence.

Photo #1: Erik Kline, UWRF assistant professor of English
Photo #2: Christopher Holtkamp, UWRF assistant professor of environmental planning