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Office of Academic Affairs
Office of Faculty Affairs

Faculty Focus June/July 2026

June 24, 2026

News and Information for Ohio State Faculty

FACULTY AFFAIRS
June/July 2026 

Five faculty members at th awards ceremony

Ohio State educators and scholars honored for service in classroom and beyond

The work that educators and scholars do every day in teaching and furthering research and innovation is the foundation of Ohio State’s land-grant mission, President Ravi V. Bellamkonda said at the university’s annual Faculty Awards Celebration. 

Learn More About the Celebration

 

Promotion and tenure approvals 2026

This month brought many Ohio State faculty members a reason to celebrate as the Board of Trustees approved promotion and tenure recommendations. Each faculty member has excelled in the areas of teaching, research and creative accomplishments, and service. Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Trevor Brown and the Office of Academic Affairs is proud to recognize these achievements and contributions to the university.

View the List of Approvals

 

Kang Xu

Game Changer Scholars initiative attracts global leader in battery innovation

Kang Xu, a world-renowned scientist and expert in battery technology, has been named an Ohio Eminent Scholar and Howard D. Winbigler Chair in Engineering. His appointment in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering represents another milestone of Ohio State’s Game Changer Scholars initiative, which aims to recruit transformative research leaders and elevate the university’s global impact. 

Learn More About Kang Xu

 

Ohio State Energy Partners makes annual philanthropic awards

Ohio State Energy Partners (OSEP) has announced the recipients of its 2026-27 philanthropic awards for projects and events. As part of its commitment to academic collaboration, OSEP contributes $810,000 annually to the university or affiliated philanthropic causes.

Learn More About the OSEP Awards

 

Hugh Urban

Urban selected to join American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Hugh Urban, College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Comparative Studies, has been selected for membership in The American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Founded in 1780, the academy is an honorary society that recognizes and celebrates the excellence of its members and an independent research center that convenes leaders from across disciplines, professions and perspectives to address significant challenges. 

Learn More About Hugh Urban

 

NSF CAREER grant to Shuai Huang

Shuai Huang, assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics, has been awarded a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, among the NSF’s highest honors for early-career faculty, and supporting outstanding teacher-scholars who combine innovative research with excellence in education and mentorship. 

Learn More About Shuai Huang

 

Catalyst and Accelerator grants through President’s Research Excellence announced

Fourteen Ohio State research teams have been awarded funding through the President’s Research Excellence (PRE) program in the latest cycle. The PRE program provides seed support to catalyze and accelerate multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary or convergent research teams pursuing external funding. 

Learn More

 

Opportunities

2026 New Faculty Orientation

The 2026 New Faculty Orientation will take place on Aug. 19, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Ohio Union's Archie M. Griffin Grand Ballroom. New faculty can receive additional support by attending topical workshops in the Faculty Pathways program throughout the academic year. Email Associate Vice Provost Kaprea Johnson at johnson.9545@osu.edu if you have questions or would like more information. 

Learn More

 

Limited Submission Opportunities

The Office of Foundation Relations manages the limited submission process for private foundation opportunities, which are listed on the Research Funding and Awards site.

Open and Upcoming Opportunities:

More Opportunities

 

Foster community and teaching excellence as a Faculty FIT mentor

The Drake Institute’s New Faculty FIT (Foundation, Impact, and Transformation) program provides a year-long series of coordinated learning opportunities that promote professional development, mentorship and community-building among Ohio State faculty. Since 2016, the FIT program has connected newly hired faculty with a vibrant network of educators who are committed to reflective, evidence-informed teaching.

Learn More and Become a Mentor

 

Dive into AI Fluency this summer

Are you interested in learning more about key AI definitions? Would you like to understand what undergraduate students are learning in the GE Launch course about AI? There are multiple resources that the Drake Institute, GE Bookends, the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation and other university partners have made available to Ohio State instructors.

Learn More

 

Register for Drake Institute's “Just in Time” and autumn workshops

The Drake Institute has thoughtfully planned its summer 2026 “Just in Time” and autumn 2026 programming lineup. They offer a variety of workshops across multiple core competency areas, including Active Learning, Effective Learning Environments, Educational Technology and more. 

Learn More and Register

 

National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCFDD) offerings

NCFDD continues to offer live and on-demand webinars, virtual writing support and community-based programming that fosters accountability, connection and sustainable productivity as a part of your membership. 

Learn More and View Offerings

 

Registration open for summer online courses

Summer is a great time to invest in professional learning. Each term, the Drake Institute offers asynchronous online courses that make it easy to learn on your time, at your pace. Learn how to integrate and support AI Fluency in your courses in Building Students’ AI Fluency; explore fundamental approaches to online teaching with Introduction to Teaching Online; take a deep dive into effective online course design with Course Design for Online Courses; or expand your learning technology toolkit with Technology-Enhanced Teaching. 

Learn More

 

Planning Active Learning for This Semester

This three-hour, in-person workshop on July 20 will guide participants to plan active-learning strategies to incorporate into their autumn semester courses. Participants will discuss design, implementation, and facilitation strategies as well as have the opportunity to share ideas and feedback with colleagues.

Learn More and Register

 

Developing a Professional Learning Plan for Teaching: A Drake Institute Workshop for All Who Teach

The Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning invites all who teach to explore opportunities for individual educational development to be offered during the fall 2026 term. In this workshop on July 23, participants will hear about all programming and support opportunities available during the term and will be supported in developing personal, professional learning plans. 

Learn More and Register

 

Simple Syllabus now available

Simple Syllabus, Ohio State’s centralized platform for creating and publishing course syllabi, is now available to instructors. It allows instructors to create syllabi using a university-wide template and enables the university to make these syllabi available to students on a public-facing website in compliance with state law. 

Learn More

 

Teaching to Develop AI Fluency at Ohio State

During this interactive session on July 22, educational developers from units such as the Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing, Committee on Academic Misconduct, Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning, Office of Technology and Digital Innovation, and University Libraries will share strategies, answer questions and provide feedback as participants develop plans for teaching with AI. 

Learn More

 

Faculty Affairs events calendar

Faculty Affairs has a wide range of engaging events throughout the year. Check out the events calendar for the latest on opportunities for the 2025-26 academic year!

View Events

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