Kovener Teaching Fellows Program

The Kovener Teaching Fellows Program—named in honor of donors Gary and Sharon Kovener—was launched in 2019 with the objective of supporting excellence in teaching. Its creation has enabled the College to address issues of inclusive pedagogy – critically, experientially, and in applied format.

Uniquely, this program brings together twenty student and faculty fellows for discussion, exploration, and mentorship in a five-person mentor pod structure that includes a senior and a junior faculty member, a graduate student, and two undergraduate students. Through a carefully designed set of readings and discussions, Kovener Fellows explore how best to make College classrooms inclusive spaces where all students—regardless of their identity or background—can participate fully in the learning process.

Some interrelated questions fellows address include: How do we support all students’ engagement with subject material? How do we situate learning within students’ own contexts while exploring those contexts? With the goal of motivating students to take control of their learning, how do we recognize them, ensure their voices are heard, draw relevant connections to their lives, and respond to their concerns?

As we look forward to starting our 4th year of the program, together, faculty and student fellows will continue to practice a mixture of intrapersonal and interpersonal teacher/learner awareness; cultivate their knowledge of inclusive practices; and, adopt and implement student-centered pedagogies.

For more information, or if you are interested in becoming a Kovener fellow, please contact Carmen Henne-Ochoa at ochoac@iu.edu.

Learn about the compassionate classroom

AACU Conference: Diversity, Equity, and Student Success

In March 2021, six Kovener fellows presented at the American Association of Colleges and Universities Conference on Diversity, Equity, and Student Success.

Presenters: Professor Cara Caddoo, Caliel Hines (undergraduate student), Mansi Joshi (graduate student), Gabbie Latimer (undergraduate student), Eric McKenzie (graduate student), Professor Martha Oakley.

Conference session title: Inclusivity through Engaged Pedagogy: A Student-Faculty Program's Impact

Conference session description: A diverse group of faculty and students—undergraduate and graduate—illustrate what is involved in being actively committed to a process of self-actualization in a manner that empowers both teachers and learners. Through a facilitated discussion, session participants will learn about a teaching initiative that, for more than a year, has uniquely brought together twenty student and faculty fellows for discussion and mentorship in a five-person pod to dialogue and listen to one another on matters of inclusive pedagogy. Drawing on the fellows' structured interactions, this session illuminates the generative process involved when teachers and students embark on a joint journey to create a brave space. It is a space where, through student feedback, teachers have sustained opportunities to identify and verbalize their own values, motives, strengths, and limitations in their pedagogical practice and where faculty are willing to struggle along with students in ways students rarely get to see.

Kovener Fellows 2022-2023

Senior Fellows

Richard Henne-Ochoa

Director, American Indian Studies Research Institute

Richard Henne-Ochoa, PhD, holds appointments at Indiana University, Bloomington, as Director of the American Indian Studies Research Institute and Academic Specialist.

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Tri Keah Henry

Faculty, Criminal Justice

Dr. Tri Keah S. Henry is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Indiana University – Bloomington. Her research examines the effects of extralegal factors on discretionary decision-making during case processing.

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