CTLM Wins $15,000 Award for Supporting Contingent Faculty and Teaching Staff

Arcadia University's Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring (CTLM) has been named a recipient of the 2026 Delphi Award, a national honor recognizing institutions for transforming systems to better support contingent, or VITAL (Visiting, Instructor, Temporary, Adjunct, and Lecturer) faculty.

Presented by the Delphi Project on the Changing Faculty and Student Success at the University of Southern California's Pullias Center for Higher Education in partnership with the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the award includes a $15,000 prize, a video celebrating the CTLM's "scalable institutionalized support for VITAL faculty" to share with other universities, and a case study the Delphi Project will perform to document and publicize the CTLM's work.

Since its founding in 2020, the CTLM has developed a model that intentionally draws on the expertise of VITAL faculty to shape teaching and learning initiatives. Through programs such as Inclusive Excellence Training, Teaching and Learning Circles, Mid-Semester Feedback, Student Pedagogical Consulting, and May Workshops, the CTLM has created spaces for designing courses, leading professional development, and participating in university-wide initiatives focused on artificial intelligence and experiential learning.

"This national recognition for our work with contingent faculty and teaching staff also feels vital to our capacity to be a world-ready institution," said Dr. Ellen Skilton '22MFA, faculty director of the CTLM and professor of Education. "Because adjunct faculty and teaching staff teach so many first-year courses, they are a key part of the talent that allows new students to feel a sense of belonging and stay at Arcadia. Our capacity to create structures for contingent faculty to thrive and feel a deep sense of belonging at Arcadia really matters to the institution and our strategic goals for the future."

Skilton credited Monica Day, former CTLM assistant director and current adjunct professor of Education, and Daniel Pieczkolon, CTLM administrative fellow and adjunct professor of English, with taking primary responsibility for writing and revising the award application.

"Getting to work with other contingent faculty and staff to harness the power of our collective classroom experiences through the CTLM has been some of the most rewarding and joyous work of my career," Pieczkolon said. "I feel incredibly grateful to be recognized for that work-and to be supported materially to continue it."

The Delphi Project also recognized the CTLM's broader impact, noting the CTLM's approach to influence faculty support beyond Arcadia.

"You are leading higher education in transforming systems to support faculty off the tenure track," stated the award letter from the Delphi Project. "Your work provides an excellent and inspiring model for other campuses, and we look forward to engaging with you further to promote your good work and to learn from your example."

CTLM will accept the award and participate in a Delphi Project session at the 2027 AAC&U Annual Meeting in Seattle, Wash., from January 20 to22. The Delphi Project has also invited CTLM to share its work with other institutions through a case study, presentations, and a spring 2027 webinar.