The CSI is a fellowship opportunity for high-performing graduate students to prepare them for creative scholarship in academia and impactful leadership in society. The program commences with a mandatory three-day immersive institute followed by regular cohort-based activities throughout the academic year.
Program Summary
Through a series of hands-on workshops and immersive experiences, the Creative Scholarship Institute equips graduate students with the skill sets and mindsets to succeed both at Lehigh University and in their chosen career paths. The program commences with a three-day immersion experience that covers a range of topics essential to their personal and professional development as productive scholars, pro-active innovators, and engaged citizens. Fellows will participate in a series of roundtables and workshops across the academic year to share experiences and develop new skillsets and mindsets. The overarching goal of this cohort-based program is to help graduate students thrive at the happy intersection between their personal goals and professional aspirations in a complex and rapidly-changing world of work. Partnering and planning entities include the Office of Creative Inquiry, Graduate Life Office, and the Center for Career and Professional Development.
Program Benefits
- Fellows expand their toolkits for identifying and prioritizing research questions, pursuing scholarly agendas while navigating the university system, and articulating their work (and the value of their work) to diverse audiences.
- Fellows develop critical capacities--mindsets, skill sets, and vocabularies--needed to excel in diverse careers across industry, government, non-profits and more. Fellows engage in meaningful reflection about the place and value of their discipline in the world, how they fit in it, and how they might contribute to it.
- Fellows will convene for roundtable conversations and interactive workshops that promote their professional development, intellectual growth, and leadership skills. The objective is to help fellows develop a critical self-awareness of personal and intellectual strengths and learn how to build on those strengths to pursue lives of impact.
Program Schedule and Expectations
All Fellows are expected to:
1. Attend the three-day immersive institute.
--> The immersive institute will be held later in the 2020-2021 academic year. The immersive will cover topics including: Creativity and Innovation; Developing Projects and Proposals for Funding; Building a Professional Identity; Communicating Your Research; Learning the Institution; Understanding Self, Colleges, and Academic Culture; Authentic Leadership; Asking the Right Questions, and many more!
2. Participate in workshops and roundtables that will be held throughout the academic year.
--> Roundtable topics will include: Inclusive Excellence; Academic Leadership; Ethics and Integrity; Career Pathways - Academe and Beyond; Negotiating and Resolving Conflicts; and many more.
Creative Scholarship Institute 2020 Cohort
P.C. Rossin College of Engineering
Program of Study: Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Arup Sengupta
Current Academic Research: Using a novel bio-nano process to remove selenate in contaminated water/watershed.
When asked what are you hoping to gain from participating in CSI, Hao expressed " I am very excited to participate in this program. I hope I can make some friends and improve my communication skills."
P.C. Rossin College of Engineering
Program of Study: Industrial and Systems Engineering
Advisor: Robert H. Storer
Current Academic Research: Healthcare Optimization.
When asked what are you hoping to gain from participating in CSI, Secil answered "I would like to improve my motivation, and achieve professional and personal development."
P.C. Rossin College of Engineering
Program of Study: Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Mark Snyder
Current Acadmic Research: Functional nanomaterial synthesis for renewable energy applications.
When asked what are you hoping to gain from participating in CSI, Nur responded "I am really excited to be a part of this program since I want to find my authentic self through attending the roundtable conversations and interactive workshops. I believe that I can improve my weaknesses by learning from these amazing fellows."
College of Arts and Sciences
Program of Study: Cell and Molecular Biology
Advisor: Kathy Iovine
Current Academic Research: Investigate the link between cohesinopathies and thalidomide teratogenicity.
When asked what are you hoping to gain from participating in CSI, Annie commented "I am excited to be a part of the Creative Scholarship Institute to learn more about myself and to help me reach my personal and professional goals. I am looking forward to working alongside and connecting with fellow graduate students trying to lead a life of impact."
Lehigh Graduate College of Education
Program of Study: Teaching, Learning, and Technology
Advisor: Al Bodzin
Current Academic Research: My research consists of three strongly intertwined components: deep theoretical understanding of social-cognitive learning, practial expertise in the development of mobile learning environments, and the proficient ability to begin learning experiences aimed at increasing environmental literacy.
When asked what are you hoping to gain from participating in CSI, Jason mentioned " I would like to do all I can to make my life meaningful and create transformative change whether as a parent, citizen, partner, or student. The Creative Scholarship Institute is an opportunity for me to take advantage of early on in the development of my work so that I can focus my research interests and ensure my scholarship is a labor of love."
Lehigh Graduate College of Education
Program of Study: Comparative and International Education
Advisor: Lisa Damaschke-Deitrick
Current Academic Research: An indirect outcome of Western higher education: How acquiring US higher education influences the participation in civil society in post-Soviet Georgia.
When asked what are you hoping to gain from participating in CSI, Nino replied "I hope to improve my story-telling abilities as a researcher and learn how to present the findings in a meaningful way for academic and non academic audiences."
College of Arts and Sciences
Program of Study: English
Advisor: Seth Moglen
Current Academic Research: My dissertation studies the form and impact of public humanties scholarship on Harriet Wilson, the first Black woman in the US to publish a novel. I analyze how public humanities scholarship in Wilson's life and novel extend criticism and arguments of Our Nig and create new opportunities for Black feminist community collaborations.
When asked what are you hoping to gain from participating in CSI, Joanna stated "My main goal is to make new connections with graduate students from other disciplines and departments. I look forward to sharing my research, learning from and with others and working together to imagine how we can each use our knowledge to influence postive social change in our communities and fields."
College of Arts and Sciences
Program of Study: English
Advisor: Brooke Rollins
Current Acadmic Research: Composition and Rhetoric, Queer Theory, and Theology. My projet examines the rhetorical strategies of LGBTQIA+ Catholics and the lessons we can take from their narrative strategies into the writing classroom.
When asked what are you hoping to gain from participating in CSI, Jimmy explained" I joined the Creative Scholarship Institute to build a larger network of academics and scholars who can push me to new intellectual and creative places, I look forward to sharing in workshops, presentations, and conversations within a supportive and affirming academic community."
College of Arts and Sciences
Program of Study: Social Psychology
Advisor: Michael Gill
Current Academic Research: Looking at improving how Black and White people communicate about race. I'm investigating how moral emotions of blame, shame, and guilt mediate how white people respond to communication that harshly holds them accountable for racial injustice. I aim to find strategies to fortify white people who want to challenge racial injustices so that they feel skilled to do so even when they are uncomfortable.
When asked what are you hoping to gain from participating in CSI, Sine explained " I am hoping the CSI fellowship will be a transformative opportunity that will help me better access resources, ways of thinking, and people to help turn my purpose for service into a practical daily lifestyle that influences my personal and professional ambitions."
P.C. Rossin College of Engineering
Program of Study:Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Srinivas Rangarajan
Current Academic Research: My research focuses on the computational modeling of heterogeneous catalytic reaction.
When asked what he hoped to gain from participating in CSI, Huijie concluded " through the CSI program, I want to find my true desire for a future career path."
2019-2020 CSI Cohort
