Every semester, the Office of the Vice President for Research will choose 20 faculty members from the University of Virginia faculty as Research Communications Fellows. Through the program, Research Communications Fellows will learn how to present their research clearly and concisely through presentations, a website, articles and on-air interviews, and learn about the available resources for faculty at UVA.
Check back in the spring of 2026.
Photo by Meredith Cole
The period of the fellowship will be six months in the fall. During the fellowship, the fellows can use some or all of these services:
- Science communication training through a program like Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science
- Media training and on-camera interview practice
- Assistance with their slides and presentations to better communicate their research
- Opportunity for public speaking coaching
- High quality portraits taken by UVA photographers for articles/applications
- Social media training
- Assistance pitching an article for The Conversation, writing a press release for media, or learning the paths to promote research stories in the news
- Individual attention by the VPR: one-on-one meetings with research development team, as well as meetings with communications members from VPR and their school to help learn how to promote their research
Time Commitment: Time will vary, but should be roughly 2-6 hours a month, depending on their needs and interest
Required Events:
- One-on-one meeting with Director of Communications
- Reception
- 1/2 day training with Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science
- Pitch to The Conversation
- Public speaking evaluation
- 1/2 day media training
- Video interview
A calendar and syllabus of 2024-2025 events is available here.
Certification: To receive certification and to successfully complete the program, Research Communications Fellows must complete all the training sessions.
Eligibility: Fellows must be full-time faculty at the University of Virginia.
Nominate: Faculty may nominate themselves or others by emailing Meredith Cole (Meredith-vpr@virginia.edu) a name and email address, or they can reach out to the Associate Research Dean of their school. The cohort will be chosen by a OVPR committee.
Questions? Contact Meredith Cole at Meredith-vpr@virginia.edu
Photo by Meredith Cole
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
In an intensive ½ day class, faculty will learn how to incorporate storytelling into their presentations, and how to put their best foot forward in an interview situation. After on-camera interview practice, they will receive constructive feedback from a trainer and get tips on how to improve.
A short video about their research will be created from their interview and can be used to help showcase their research on their website or on social media.
A website is an essential tool for a researcher, helping them to find collaborators, graduate students, and funding. Faculty can receive assistance with setting up a research website at UVA and/or get helpful suggestions on how to improve their current site.
Fellows will also have the opportunity to have a new headshot taken.
In this ½ day on-line session, faculty will learn how to speak about their research more clearly and effectively. The trainers will help them learn what is the right amount of information to share, how to better understand their audience, and how the length of a presentation can affect the impact.
Faculty will learn about writing for The Conversation and will have an opportunity to pitch a story idea to their editors.
They will also get help with any media interviews or opportunities that come their way during the year.
Faculty will have the opportunity to be evaluated by a public speaking coach who can help identify any bad habits. Fellows that wish to continue using the coach for a specific presentation, or to just improve their skills can then use their UVA benefits to continue working with them throughout the year.
More information here.
Faculty will learn about various forms of social media, how to use them for promoting their research, students, and labs.