New RIO Faculty Fellows cohort continues legacy of leadership development across campus
听听2025 Faculty Fellows
- Amir Behzadan (Institute of Behavioral Science)
- Eleanor Browne听(Chemistry & CIRES)
- Donata Giglio听(Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences)
- Roselinde Kaiser听(Psychology and Neuroscience)
- Morteza Lahijanian听(Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences)
- Tamara Lehman听(Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering)
- Julia Moriarty (Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research; Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences)
- Debanjan Mukherjee (Paul M Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering)
- Carl Simpson听(Museum of Natural History and Geological Sciences)
- Marina Vance听(Mechanical Engineering / Environmental Engineering Program)
- Terri Wilson听(School of Education)
The鈥疪esearch & Innovation Office RIO Faculty Fellows鈥2025 cohort has launched.
This year鈥檚 cohort includes 14 faculty members from departments and research institutes spanning the campus. The 2025 fellows recently convened for a retreat in Estes Park focused on leadership styles and honing collaboration skills, and are looking forward to the next retreat focused on communicating their scholarship and impact to the public.
The鈥疪IO Faculty Fellows program鈥痵upports faculty in achieving their research and innovation goals and promotes collaboration through tailored training, experiential learning and leadership development opportunities. The program is also building a community of interdisciplinary, creative research leaders to help drive collaboration and innovation across the university through a series of intensive research leadership retreats and coaching. 听
鈥淭his new cohort adds to the growing body of faculty across campus that are honing their leadership skills to grow the impact they have on students, our community and their areas of specialty,鈥 said Senior Vice Chancellor for鈥疪esearch & Innovation and Dean of the Institutes Massimo Ruzzene. 鈥淏y participating in this unique program, they also join a growing community of RIO Faculty Fellows that are helping reimagine and advance our campus research and innovation ecosystem.鈥
鈥淭he faculty at 91传媒 are world-class and inspire students and colleagues alike to lean into our gifts and pursue discovery, creative expression and innovation,鈥 said Research Leadership Program Director Kirsten Rowell. 鈥淭he leadership demonstrated by our faculty is an important part of what makes 91传媒 such a special place.鈥 听
The RIO Faculty Fellows program
The 2025 cohort at the January retreat
The program identifies and develops individual leadership styles of tenured and tenure-track assistant and associate professors who are poised to lead significant collaborative projects, develop vision and deliver novel and impactful scholarly work.鈥疶he cohort creates a 鈥渧ertically integrated鈥 peer group鈥攂ringing together assistant professors, associate professors, full professors and institute directors鈥攔esulting in a scaffolded model that faculty find energizing and rewarding as their careers develop. 听
Members of the new cohort are already learning what more than 100 91传媒 leaders have discovered through the experiences of the previous seven cohorts: RIO Faculty Fellows is unlike any other opportunity available to 91传媒 faculty, offering:
听听鈥 a unique opportunity for reflection and learning about my leadership style and goals, the research and academic communities in which I am a member, and broader goals for future work"
听听... a strong new community established in our cohort, which promotes a sense of connection to CU as an institution"
听听鈥 better confidence in, and self-knowledge of, my leadership orientation; pragmatic ideas about how I can fill gaps in my leadership and professional work鈥
听听鈥bsolutely a transformative experience for faculty鈥
This and other鈥痜aculty development programs,鈥痠ncluding the鈥疎xcellence in Leadership鈥痯rogram, represent investments in 91传媒 faculty and in the university as a global leader in innovation and impact.
In addition to the cohort鈥檚 three-day retreat in January, the鈥痯rogram framework鈥痠ncludes several more focused retreats and a variety of informal networking activities throughout the year.听
Applications鈥痜or the 2026 cohort will be accepted in September 2025. If you have questions, would like to nominate a faculty candidate or would like to express interest in advance, please email听听听kirsten.rowell@colorado.edu.
The 2025 RIO Faculty Fellows cohort at a January retreat in Estes Park