Faculty members selected as Presidential Fellows

President Philomena V. Mantella has selected two faculty members as new Presidential Fellows to engage with university leadership on various initiatives.

• Merritt Delano-Taylor, interim department chair, geology and professor of biomedical sciences. Delano-Taylor’s interest area involves advancing commercialization and entrepreneurial opportunities and supporting faculty with research and scholarly efforts at the university.
• Karyn Rabourn, associate professor and director of the M.Ed. in the Higher Education program. Rabourn’s interest area involves increasing capacity for more inclusive and equitable academic departments and reviewing processes for policies and practices with an equity lens.

Delano-Taylor and Rabourn will join the President’s Council this summer, using the next few months to refine their scope of work with Mantella. Rabourn officially begins her term in Summer 2024 following her sabbatical in Winter 2024. 

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work on this project,” Delano-Taylor said. “It will be a thrill to connect with faculty who are doing outstanding creative work and scholarship. To have President Mantella and Provost Mili dedicate this fellowship to pursue this goal is impressive, and I am truly looking forward to working with this team.”

Rabourn added: “I am excited to learn from faculty leaders on campus and learn more about the ways in which academic units and unit heads support their faculty and enable thriving departments. I also hope to learn more about inclusive and equitable academic departments through my sabbatical study in Winter 2024, which may be useful to support of faculty here at GVSU.”

In 2019, a University Academic Senate task force made recommendations for leadership development among faculty members and Mantella responded with a fellows program. Tenured faculty members can learn more about the program and application process at the Office of the President’s webpage.