Faculty Pursue Research, Creative Projects During Development Leave
UTEP's Faculty Development Leave (FDL) program gives faculty from various fields an opportunity to take a semester or year off teaching duties to pursue research and deepen collaboration in their area of expertise. From nanotechnology and agriculture to the completion of solo exhibitions for galleries of national prominence, FDL participants focus on a wide range of projects over the course of the leave.
UTEP's Faculty Development Leave program gives faculty from various fields an opportunity to take a semester or year off teaching duties to pursue research and deepen collaboration in their area of expertise. Participants have included Marianne Karplus, Ph.D., associate professor of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences, and Elisa Fraser Wilson, D.M.A., associate professor of choral music and voice.The FDL program supports the initiatives of faculty members and has advanced UTEP's mission of fostering an environment for research that has a positive impact. The leave application for the 2025-2026 academic year is currently open and will close on January 10, 2025.
" The Faculty Development Leave Program permits the type of immersive work and scholarship that is not feasible for faculty with full-time schedules," said John Wiebe, Ph.D., UTEP provost and vice president for academic affairs. "These opportunities can shift the trajectory of faculty careers and benefit students, UTEP and the larger El Paso community."
Elisa Fraser Wilson, D.M.A., associate professor of choral music and voice, was awarded leave in Spring 2024, just as she received an invitation to conduct "Lux Aeterna" by Morten Lauridsen at New York City's Carnegie Hall, as part of the 41st season of Mid-America Productions Concert Series. During this time, she prepared the score for rehearsal and performance, refined her conducting for the choral and orchestral masterwork with a professional symphony orchestra, coached alongside professional mentors and prepared 69 singers – including UTEP students, faculty, staff, and community members – for performances with both the UTEP Symphony Orchestra and at Carnegie Hall. During her preparation, she was also invited to conduct "Gloria" by Francis Poulenc at Carnegie Hall.
The dedicated time to focus on scholarship and creative activities allowed Wilson to create a curated, publication-ready series of UTEP's 2014-2024 catalog of original scores for choir and trombones. This three-part Border Choral Series is currently in progress, with plans to submit all three volumes for consideration in Fall 2025.
"I feel confident that the faculty development leave allowed me to build a strong foundation and timeline for completion of the Border Choral Series editions and to grow my conducting and leadership skills through the Carnegie Hall performance experience in ways I could not have managed without time away from my regular teaching," said Wilson. "It has been extremely gratifying to raise the national and international profile of the UTEP Department of Music, and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities to include my students, alumni, and community singing and composing partners in both projects, which has been a focus of my creative activities throughout my career at UTEP."
Marianne Karplus, Ph.D., associate professor of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences, spent part of Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters leading a team of 16 scientists, engineers and mountaineers in Antarctica. Together they collected new geophysical data at Eastwind Glacier near the American Antarctic research station, McMurdo, and at a remote field camp at Thwaites Glacier, the widest glacier on Earth.
In addition to advancing her research in seismology, Karplus served as a visiting associate professor at Stanford University. Her stay there provided three UTEP graduate students specializing in seismology with the opportunity to visit Stanford and conduct research of their own. Each of the students have since completed a thesis or will publish research in this field. During her FDL, Karplus received NSF funding to collaborate with Bhutanese colleagues on a research project studying glaciers and sediment transport in the high Himalayas. The project will also support an educational cooperative agreement for a UTEP study abroad program in Bhutan in the coming year.
Karplus' 2023-2024 academic year concluded with a UTEP Research & Innovation Outstanding Researcher Award.
"The Faculty Development Leave was very productive and allowed me to develop and advance multiple areas of research as well as global collaborations," said Karplus.
Visit to learn more about the FDL program and to view current and previous faculty cohorts.
Last Updated on November 08, 2024 at 12:00 AM | Originally published November 08, 2024
By MC Staff UTEP Marketing and Communications
