Faculty Awards & Recognition
COLA Faculty Fellows Program
Phil Madison (Professor in Communications) will serve as Faculty Fellow for Policy and Faculty Development. As part of this role, Dr. Madison will work toward developing a college-wide Faculty Handbook and also a mentorship program for faculty.
Christie Charles (Master Instructor, Psychology) will serve as Faculty Fellow for Policy and Faculty Development. Dr. Charles will work in partnership with Dr. Madison to develop initiatives to support non-tenure-track faculty.
Andrea Conque (Assistant Professor, History, Geography, and Philosophy) will serve as Faculty Fellow for Liberal Arts. As part of this role Dr. Conque will help us build broader visibility for the value of the Liberal Arts.
Mark Rees (Professor in Sociology, Anthropology, Human Development and Family Science) will serve as Faculty Fellow for Research Development. As part of this role, Dr. Rees will help us find ways to encourage and support grant activity among our faculty.
Research-Intensive Semester Awards
The College of Liberal Arts is committed to fostering research excellence and supporting tenure-track faculty in establishing robust scholarly agendas.To this end, the College offers a Research-Intensive Semester (RIS) at full pay to incoming, tenure-track assistant professors within their first five years of appointment.
The RIS allows tenure-track faculty to dedicate a semester solely to advancing their research, free from teaching.There may be some service and advising responsibilities; however, department heads are encouraged to maintain these at a reduced level compared to standard expectations.
The RIS is an opportunity intended to accelerate research productivity and support faculty in achieving tenure.This policy is effective July 1, 2025 and applies to all eligible tenure-track faculty in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
The Research-Intensive Semester Awards for the 2025–26 academic year have been officially announced.
Brenna Armstrong (Political Science)
Lauren Auverset van Gerwen (Communications)
Samantha Billing (History, Geography, Philosophy)
Abbass Braham (History, Geography, Philosophy)
Taylor Clement (English)
Apoorva Ghosh (Sociology, Anthropology, Human Development and Family Science)
Kathe Managan (Sociology, Anthropology, Human Development and Family Science)
Joel Rhone (English)
Meng Ru Shih (Criminal Justice)
COLA Faculty Award Recipients
We want to recognize and celebrate the contributions of our faculty members as a tribute to their dedication, hard work, and impact on students and the university community.