Early-Career Faculty Development Institute 2026

How can one make a transition from being a graduate student to a college professor teaching undergraduates about Asia or Asian diasporas? What does a successful teacher-scholar do in and outside the classroom? How can one thrive as a scholar in higher education while advancing education about Asia? Why do undergraduate students need exposure to educators with expertise about Asia, Asian diasporas, and Asian Americans/AAPI?

ASIANetwork, a consortium for undergraduate education about Asia, invites early career faculty to join a community of peers who value being imaginatively reflective and increasingly skilled educators. The faculty development Institute will gather participants in a collaborative learning cohort to engage in timely conversations toward a career in creative teaching, broad engagement on campus and beyond, and holistic professional growth. Through structured sessions and ongoing mentorship, personal and communal discovery, and relationship-building with peers from other small undergraduate-focused institutions, participants will add new skills and perspectives to enhance and sustain a healthy professional life in higher education.

With the generous support of the Henry Luce Foundation, airfare, ground transportation, accommodations, and meals will be covered. ASIANetwork is grateful to Muhlenberg College for hosting this event.

The cohort will address such questions as:

• What are the particular challenges and rewards of teaching and conducting research on Asia and Asian diasporas at primarily undergraduate institutions? 
• What pedagogies might strengthen teaching in early careers? How can we enhance our pedagogical tools, both by using traditional approaches and new technologies, to create an innovative learning environment? 
• How do we teach and advise effectively on topics outside our areas of training or research focus?
• How does a faculty member enact agency in the classroom and in their career?
• What knowledge and guidance are required to read institutional contexts, cultures, and politics?
• What kinds of self-care and support structures help us to become healthy, generative, and passionate teachers in a sustained way?

Goals / Outcomes

• To form a cohort of faculty who will reflect on the craft of teaching and envision career development trajectories
• To critically examine our teaching lives within the context of our institutions and the changing landscape of higher education
• To develop and sustain practices that allow us, as teacher-scholars, to flourish and to care for self, family, students, and communities to which we are committed
• To discuss ways to incorporate diverse pedagogical tools and methods into our classrooms 

Eligibility

• Full-time tenure track and continuing term (lecturer, instructor, teaching scholar, postdoctoral fellow) faculty at North American undergraduate-serving institutions
• Up to 5 years of teaching experience in full-time, tenure track or other continuing positions

Application Material

• Personal essay (No more than 800 words) addressing the following: What is your current position? What topics/subjects do you teach and/or plan to teach in the coming years? What do you hope to gain from the institute? Please share a brief story about a teaching moment that you found challenging and/or rewarding.
• CV: No more than two pages.

Application Due: July 15, 2026

Notification: August 1, 2026

**Click here to upload your application.**

Questions:
Karil Kucera, Professor of Art and Art History, and Asian Studies at St. Olaf College (Institute Director)
Chris Herrick, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Muhlenberg College

Dan Choffnes, Executive Director of ASIANetwork