James K. Polk Faculty Fellows

Are you a BIPOC teacher interested in helping develop the next generation of minority scholars? If so, the James K. Polk Faculty Fellows Program is here for you. The program is designed to diversify our faculty workforce by promoting community college career opportunities to members of minority teaching groups.

The Faculty Fellows Program recruits, retains, and promotes outstanding scholars from different backgrounds, including individuals from groups that have been underrepresented in higher education.

Qualified applicants experience opportunities to teach in their certified discipline while developing minority talent for future success in higher education.

Find Out More

• Qualifications

  Hold a master’s degree or doctorate from an accredited university in a discipline or related area that corresponds with academic departments at ICC.
• Goals

  The Faculty Fellowship Program will:

  • Diversify ICC’s pool of qualified minority faculty
  • Create and facilitate diversified career paths for minorities within and outside of ICC
  • Promote ICC as an accessible and desirable environment within which members of minority groups can establish and maintain careers
  • Provide diverse role models for the benefit of ICC students
  • Enhance the ethnic, racial and intellectual diversity that the college seeks to promote
• Benefits for Fellows
  • Exposure to curriculum that includes best practices in teaching and learning in face-to-face, hybrid and online modalities
  • Opportunities for job-shadowing and co-teaching
  • Participation in the ICC Faculty Mentoring Program
  • Participation in professional development opportunities within the ICC and Peoria communities scheduled during the assignment
• Expectations of Fellows
  • Faculty Fellows are non-tenure track faculty who will be assigned an instructional workload up to 12 contact hours per semester. No previous teaching experience is required.
  • Fellows are given release time from their home departments to serve on .25% – .50% FTE fellowship appointments for up to two years as assigned by the Vice President of Diversity.
  • Work assignments are significant and meaningful to the College’s operation. Many will be project-based, requiring the Fellow to learn about and conduct a string of related initiatives to achieve successful completion.
  • Fellows regularly participate and contribute in senior-leadership team meetings 
  • Fellows need to stay current in their disciplines.
• Learning Outcomes
  1. Substantive relationships between Fellows and mentor college faculty members.
  2. Deliberate, systematic, and reflective use of assessment techniques and research methods to determine what students have learned.
  3. Understand ways that a teacher can leverage student diversity to enhance learning for all students.
  4. Develop an understanding of complementary and supportive relationships between academic affairs and student services.
  5. Describe and recognize the value of academic student support commonly found at higher education institutions.
  6. Develop an understanding of various systems within higher education including Academic Affairs, Student Services, Institutional Research, Accreditation, Human Resources, Diversity, Marketing/Public Relations, IT, Finance, Educational Foundation, and Public Safety.

  Learning outcomes are achieved through various ways including:

  • Regular meetings with mentors, college staff members, and supervising personnel
  • Professional development opportunities, both on and off campus (i.e. teaching squares, diamond dialogues)
  • Independent research
  • Project-based learning within academic departments or student services
  • Scholarly presentations, both on and off campus
  • Participation in college and community service
  • Participation in department and college-wide meetings
  • Immersion within a teaching-learning environment
• How to Apply
  1. Submit an application at icc.edu/jobs and include the following:
     • Cover Letter
     • CV/Resume
     • Copies of undergraduate and graduate transcripts from accredited institutions
  2. Official transcripts are required upon hire and employment is contingent upon a criminal background check
  3. Employment sponsorship is not available