9/8 Fostering a Culture of Critical and Ethical Learning to Shape Future Leaders- Our 2026 Theme!

We live in an age marked by rapid technological advancement, social transformation, and global interdependence, making it imperative to inspire critical and ethical learners across academic disciplines. The Smithsonian has adopted a similar ethos in the Institution’s five-year Strategic Plan, “Smithsonian 2027: Our Shared Future,” which first launched in 2022. “Nimble,” a central tenet of this plan, highlights the Smithsonian’s innovation in improving operations, cultivating new opportunities for staff, and embracing a culture of connection. The Smithsonian Faculty Fellowship intends to uphold the same philosophy as we engage with museum resources, imagine high-impact student engagement strategies, enrich our professional development mission, and build bridges between the world of academia and our students’ futures. 

While the college classroom is a primary destination for learning, it can be enlivened by Smithsonian resources and the institution’s mission: “Through our unparalleled collections and research capabilities, and the insight and creativity we foster through art, history, and culture, the Smithsonian strives to provide Americans and the world with the tools and information they need to forge Our Shared Future.” This language offers a powerful model for cultivating a comprehensive learning culture.

This year, we invite Fellowship applicants to consider how the youthful minds in their unique curriculums will take advantage of and participate in the Smithsonian’s robust educational ecosystem. The museums of the Smithsonian Institution provide a dynamic educational platform that fosters both critical inquiry and reflection. From the stories of trailblazers throughout American history to the experiences of survival, resilience, and social change to the ethics of scientific advancement and more, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of Natural History, and the National Air and Space Museum offer a rich tapestry of exhibits and resources to explore and drive wonder.

Beyond inviting students to admire a portrait or unearth the history of an artifact, we encourage faculty to imagine projects that bolster agency, promote self-directed learning, leverage creativity, and underscore the skills that will buoy their students’ personal and professional futures. By helping our students develop critical thinking skills, for example, we are providing them with the ability to distinguish truth from untruth as they work to solve complex real-world problems. Equally important is the need to develop a sense of empathy, integrity, and responsibility, qualities of ethical learning needed to confront the challenges of today. We know the students in our classrooms invigorate our shared learning with fresh ideas, distinct perspectives, valuable lived experiences, and so much more. When invited into the museum, it is a joy to see how their intellectual and creative worlds evolve.

Intentional interactions with museum resources foster empathy, healthy skepticism, ethical research, debate, communication, observation, and attentiveness. It is important to cultivate opportunities and discover spaces that celebrate our students’ practice and achievement of these skills. Youth and the Future of Culture—the theme for this past summer’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival—put a spotlight on the projects and organizations that help to cultivate and energize the voices of today’s youth. At Montgomery College, we are in an especially unique position to engage this same audience, whether they are high school graduates, adult learners, or visiting scholars. College students are our future innovators, leaders, and problem solvers, and as such, need to develop the capacity to think critically and act ethically across all areas of public life.

Through this program, the Smithsonian is our partner in the robust work ahead. We can help our students participate in the national dialogue. They will be part of maintaining traditions and preserving history, while meeting and addressing contemporary challenges and finding their unique voices.

Details on the application process can be found here: https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/special-programs/paul-peck-humanities-institute/smithsonian-faculty-fellowships.html

Might this be your year? Information session will be held as follows: