LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 4, 2026) — The University of Kentucky Office of Transdisciplinary Educational Approaches to Advance Kentucky has selected the TEK Faculty Fellows for the 2026-27 academic year. A mission of TEK is the development of transdisciplinary courses and the reimagining of existing courses to emphasize one or more essential career skills.
The TEK Faculty Fellows for the 2026-27 academic year are:
- Ray Archer, Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences .
- Arryn Blaine, Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy .
- Nikki Brown, History, College of Arts and Sciences .
- Heather Campbell-Speltz, Hispanic Studies, College of Arts and Sciences .
- Marc Cormier, Kinesiology and Health Promotion, College of Education.
- Alex Elswick, Human Environmental Sciences, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
- Andrea Friedrich, Psychology, College of Arts and Science.s
- Layne Gaynor, Biology, College of Arts and Sciences
- David Hague, Counseling Psychology, College of Education
- Danielle Herrig, Biology, College of Arts and Sciences.
- Jennifer Hootman, UK Libraries.
- Aubrey Jones, College of Social Work.
- Yeonjung Kang, Retailing and Tourism Management, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
- Matthew Kim, Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences.
- Carlyn Kimiecik, College of Social Work.
- Cassidy Leibold, Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences.
- Adrian Magendzo, Lewis Honors College.
- Nicole McKenna, Criminal Justice, College of Social Work.
- Peter Mirabito, Biology, College of Arts and Sciences.
- Ali Moradi, Mining Engineering, Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering.
- Nari Senanayake, Geography, College of Arts and Sciences.
- Jessalyn Vallade, Information Science, College of Communication and Information.
TEK Faculty Fellows participate in learning communities that offer structured support for the design of new undergraduate courses or the adaptation of current courses by embedding transdisciplinary skill development. Courses created as part of the TEK Faculty Fellows Program involve faculty in team teaching across disciplinary boundaries, focusing on a critical issue or problem alongside community partners to support students’ understanding of how multiple disciplines and approaches can solve local and global problems.
“Now more than ever, we perceive the value of immersing students in learning experiences that engage complex, authentic issues and foreground the development of durable, professional skills,” said Trey Conatser, Ph.D., assistant provost for teaching and learning and director of the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching. “The TEK Faculty Fellows program, now in its fourth year, offers the unique opportunity for teacher-scholars to work similarly in a transdisciplinary setting to address how we can design curricula and facilitate learning in ways that thread this needle.”
Existing courses emphasize the employability skills that transdisciplinary work requires, including collaboration and communication among stakeholders with different perspectives and lived experiences. Molly Blasing, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures -- Russian Studies., is co-teaching a course titled “Frontiers for Global Security: Russia, Ukraine, the Arctic and Deep Space” alongside Karen Petrone, Ph.D., professor in the Department of History.
“We knew the TEK Faculty Fellows program would help us build a course that transcends disciplinary boundaries, but what has exceeded my expectations is the learning community that has emerged around it,” Blasing said. “Our learners are active-duty military personnel, cybersecurity students, future educators, world language learners, archival researchers and even a former NASA attorney,. We are all learning from one another as we tackle questions about war, climate change, technology and the future of human society.”