Work of Art

Tiffanie Townsend, Ph.D., professor of Art History in the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art, has earned the Governor’s Teaching Fellowship Award from the Institute of Higher Education and the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Georgia.

Established in 1995 by Governor Zell Miller, the Governor’s Teaching Fellows (GTF) Program is designed for faculty members who teach at accredited public or private colleges or universities in the state of Georgia to address a statewide need to improve undergraduate instruction. Programs focus on an array of instructional, technological and professional topics that emerge from the interests and needs of the participants.

Faculty are selected on the basis of their teaching experience, their ability to have an impact on their own campuses and on a strong commitment by their home institution for release time and other forms of support for the duration of their participation. Any full-time, regular faculty member can apply. The GTF Program represents a strong and tangible commitment to the continuing development of both public and independent higher education in the state of Georgia. Governor’s Teaching Fellows may participate in academic year symposia; an intensive summer symposium; or an academic-year residency at the University of Georgia (UGA). Past symposia have addressed numerous topics in using technology in the classroom and other pedagogical innovations.

Recently promoted to Associate Professor of Art History, Townsend teaches a wide range of survey and upper level courses highlighting ancient through Rococo art history. A faculty member for nine years, she earned her bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She earned her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Georgia in Athens.

A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Townsend is a member of the Sixteenth Century Society, the Renaissance Society of America, the Italian Art Society, and the Southeastern Regional Middle East and Islamic Studies Society.

The seeds of the Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program were planted 35 years ago by the Faculty Development in Georgia Program, designed to assist faculty members in Georgia institutions obtain terminal degrees through funded residencies at UGA. Further, a large and comprehensive model for faculty development had been initiated at UGA’s Office of Instructional Support and Development (now named Center for Teaching and Learning). The experience and the success of these initiatives shaped the Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program, which is open not only to the state institutions, but to all private colleges and universities in Georgia.

To improve the quality of instruction in Georgia’s colleges and universities, the Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program assumes the complex challenge of moving college faculty members to the leading edge of instructional practice. This effort to enhance instruction in public and private higher education statewide is very much in keeping with the mission of Georgia Southern University as a land-grant institution committed to diversified outreach and public service.

To date, more than 75 different disciplines, professions and teaching areas have been represented by the Fellows, coming from more than 45 institutions statewide: large and small, public and private, everywhere from the northern mountains to the Florida state line, and between the Atlantic coast and the Alabama border.

“I am thrilled and flattered to have been chosen,” said Townsend. “I am very excited to have this opportunity.”