Karen Andes, assistant professor in the Hubert Department of Global Health at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, was selected as a 2018-2019 Governor’s Teaching Fellow. Andes is one of 18 faculty members from institutions of higher education across the state selected through a highly competitive application process for the 2018-2019 cohort, and only the second Emory faculty member to participate in the past 25 years.
The Governor's Teaching Fellows Program, an outreach program based at the University of Georgia, was established in 1995 by former Gov. Zell Miller to provide Georgia's higher education faculty with expanded opportunities for developing important teaching skills. Miller envisioned that this program would address faculty members' need to use emerging technologies and instructional tools that are becoming increasingly important for learning in today's society.
“This is a phenomenal and very enriching program,” explains Andes. “It’s fascinating to learn new approaches that may successfully transfer to my area of public health.”
The Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program covers a wide array of topics including curriculum design, essential learning outcomes, high impact practices, transparent and formative assessment strategies, educational technology, "flipping" the classroom, conflict resolution, higher education law and ethics and student engagement strategies. According to Andes, the diverse learning community has been the greatest asset of the program.
“We have a diverse array of disciplines and teaching styles working together to be innovative in how we approach pedagogy. This was such a valuable opportunity and one that I encourage my Emory colleagues to explore in the future,” says Andes.
Andes’s work spans several areas that began with women’s reproductive health in the U.S. and global populations. In later years, she shifted her focus to the reproductive health of adolescents and young adults and their healthy transitions to adulthood. This work also explored health challenges in urban settings in Paraguay, Nicaragua and Mexico.
Andes is also a Fulbright Scholar and directs the Ventanilla de Salud program at the Mexican Consulate in Atlanta. Most recently she was selected to develop a multi-course specialization for Coursera on Qualitative Research Methods for Public Health. The course is focused on in-demand research skills. Serving as a Governor’s Teaching Fellow has been beneficial as Andes explores innovative ways to expand her work.
To date, more than 75 different disciplines, professions and teaching areas have been represented in the program by over 600 fellows from more than 70 public and private institutions statewide. Learn more about the Institute of Higher Education and the Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program, including how to apply.