The 2025-26 Provost Faculty Fellows will lead strategic initiatives focused on enhancing student learning, expanding mentorship opportunities, promoting faculty development, and advancing community-engaged teaching.
Working closely with the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, each fellow will contribute to campus-wide efforts that foster collaboration, elevate teaching and learning, and strengthen the university’s support for students and faculty.
“The faculty fellows model is a great example of what can happen when we align shared values with intentional collaboration,” says Tanya Uden-Holman, associate provost for undergraduate education and dean of University College. “Their work will help us continue building an environment where students can thrive and faculty feel empowered to innovate.”
"The strength of our strategic plan comes from the people who put it into action,” says Barrett Thomas, associate provost for faculty and strategic operations. "These faculty fellows bring energy and perspective to important institutional goals, and we’re excited to support their efforts.”
Meet the 2025-26 Faculty Fellows
Lori Adams, Provost Faculty Fellow
Lori Adams, professor of instruction in the Department of Biology and director of the Iowa Sciences Academy, will continue her work as a provost faculty fellow focused on expanding mentorship opportunities for faculty. Over the past year, she has helped create a web-based mentoring resource library, developed structured guides to help faculty document mentoring practices for recognition and promotion, and launched a pilot Instructional Faculty Peer Mentoring Program.
In the coming year, Adams will continue supporting the peer-mentoring pilot for instructional-track faculty and launch a new train-the-trainer initiative to prepare future facilitators, ensuring that faculty mentoring programs can be scaled and sustained.
Adams joined Iowa as a faculty member in 2009. She directs the Iowa Sciences Academy, which is home to the Latham Science Engagement Initiative as well as several undergraduate research training programs. Adams received the CLAS Distinguished Professor of Instruction Award in 2024.
Rima Afifi, Engaged Teaching and Scholarship Faculty Fellow
Rima Afifi, professor in community and behavioral health in the College of Public Health, will serve as the faculty fellow for engaged teaching and scholarship. She will focus on a variety of community-engaged research and community-engaged teaching programs this year, including the Faculty Engagement Corps, the Community Engagement Network, and the Graduate Engagement Corps. Afifi also will help colleges and departments adapt the new guidelines for community-engaged scholarship in promotion and tenure. Additional projects will include a community partner needs assessment and developing community engagement stories of impact.
Afifi joined the UI as a faculty member in 2017. She received the Iowa Board of Regents Award for Faculty Excellence in 2024 and earned the UI College of Public Health Teaching Award in 2023. Her work focuses on public health research and practice with intent to promote social, community, and policy environments conducive to wellbeing, particularly for adolescent and youths.
Erin Barnes, Provost Faculty Fellow for Faculty Development
Erin Barnes, clinical associate professor of rehabilitation counseling in the Department of Counselor Education in the College of Education, will serve as the provost faculty fellow for faculty development. Barnes’ work will focus on increasing professional development opportunities for non-tenure track faculty through peer mentoring and curated resources. Her proposed project, the Institutional Navigation and Connection Hub (INCH), will establish a Microsoft Teams-based hub designed to address gaps in access to leadership development, career support and guidance, well-being, and community among specialized-track faculty.
Barnes joined the Department of Counselor Education in 2018 and has worked on several strategic planning, student, and faculty development initiatives since that time. She earned the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) leadership certificate in 2022, the College of Education Collegiate Teaching Award in 2023, and the 2023 Supervisor of the Year Award from the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. She is currently the director of the human relations minor.
Monica Correia, Mellon Faculty Fellow
Monica Correia, professor and area head of 3D design in the School of Art, Art History, and Design, will serve as a Mellon Faculty Fellow through the Big Ten Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Program. Her fellowship will focus on strengthening connections between academic programs and professional pathways in 3D design, with an emphasis on building industry partnerships, expanding experiential learning opportunities, and supporting student success beyond the classroom.
Correia has been a faculty member at Iowa since 2003 and has received national and international recognition for her work in 3D design. Her honors include the ICFF Editor’s Award for Best School and multiple SOFA CONNECT awards for excellence in design education.
Carl Follmer, Faculty Fellow for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
Carl Follmer, associate professor of instruction and assistant department executive officer in the Department of Accounting, and director of the Frank Business Communications Center in the Tippie College of Business, will serve as the faculty fellow for excellence in teaching and learning. Follmer will focus on advancing the teaching assessment framework by working with academic leaders to identify and address academic year priorities for the evaluation of teaching. He will also serve on multiple AI-related groups, identifying and expanding opportunities to leverage AI in teaching and learning.
Follmer earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. at Iowa and has held multiple instructional leadership roles in the Tippie College of Business. He has led curriculum design across undergraduate, MBA, and doctoral levels and teaches courses such as Business Communication and Protocol (BUS:3000) and Communicating with AI and Business Technology (MBA:8430). He received Tippie’s Innovation in Teaching Award in 2021.