Academics Grants Faculty

Spelman College Announces 2026 Vision Project Initiative Awardees

  • 21 April 2026
Home Spelman College Announces 2026 Vision Project Initiative Awardees

Faculty-Led Initiatives Drive Student Engagement and Strategic Impact

Spelman College announced the 2026 Vision Project Initiative awardees, recognizing six faculty scholars whose interdisciplinary projects advance the College’s strategic priorities through innovation and student engagement. Funded by the Office of the Provost, the initiative supports pilot projects during the 2026–2027 academic year, helping faculty develop proof-of-concept ideas that demonstrate Spelman’s strategic plan in action while benefiting both students and their mentors.

The following faculty members have been selected as 2026 Vision Project Awardees:

The Inspiration and Opportunity of the Vision Project Initiative

“The Vision Project Initiative was inspired by the need for a dynamic, faculty-led model of innovation that translates the College’s strategic goals into measurable student outcomes,” said Mark Lee, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. “Through this model, we can pilot innovations with targeted investments, demonstrate outcomes and build evidence to support expanded programming.” Lee outlined several key goals of the initiative:

  • Serves as an incubator for innovative ideas, providing proof of concept and operational data needed to attract external funding.
  • Aligns faculty research and training projects with Spelman’s Centers of Excellence.
  • Empowers faculty to reimagine curricula and explore emerging trends through structured funding.

Each project is funded at up to $10,000 and structured to support both faculty and program needs. Faculty stipends, including fringe, are capped at $6,000. Remaining funds may be used for student compensation, guest speakers, travel and other project-related expenses. Any unused funds will be repurposed to help address students’ outstanding financial obligations to the College. Each funded project must align with the broader Spelman mission and one or more of its Centers of Excellence: advancing STEM, extending Spelman's voice, growing Career Pathways, advancing inquiry, critical thinking and AI proficiency.

Intended Impact on Strategic Priorities and Student Learning

Lee said the Office of the Provost anticipates the projects will generate high-impact outcomes across key areas of the College’s mission. The initiative blends Spelman’s traditions with modern technology while equipping students with tangible credentials. It also positions students not only as consumers of technology but as creators and innovators, centering the contributions of Black women.

Learn More About the 2026 Vision Project Awardees:

Vision Project Awardees

Awardees appear from left to right: Gertrude González de Allen, Fernando Esquivel-Suárez, Kimberly Jackson, Tiffany Marquise Jones, Kelly Taylor Mitchell and T. Lang.

Gertrude González de Allen
Project Title: AI, Ethics and Pedagogy: A Faculty Development Initiative for the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
Summary: This project proposes a two-stage faculty development initiative to support, train and create a space for dialogue and reflection for Philosophy and Religious Studies faculty. It will help our department develop a shared, discipline-specific understanding of artificial intelligence (AI).

Fernando Esquivel-Suárez
Project Title: A Humanities-Led Study of Generative AI and Pedagogical Change at Spelman
Summary: The project’s primary goal is to document and interpret how teaching in the humanities at Spelman College is changing in response to generative AI and to use humanities-based inquiry to help guide ongoing pedagogical transformations.

Kimberly Jackson
Project Title: The African Diasporic Tea Project
Advancing Strategic Institutional Priority: Extending Spelman Voice
Summary: Black women, agriculture and their use of healing teas have played an instrumental and historical role in this country’s founding. Since the founding of Spelman College (1881), agriculture was part of the curriculum, alongside home economics (domestic and industrial arts). During times of war, records show that students and faculty worked together to grow food and sustain themselves during this tough time.

Tiffany Marquise Jones
Project Title: The D and D Lab: Mapping Dispossession and Displacement of metro-Atlanta via Linguistic and Urban Anthropology
Summary: The D and D (Dispossession and Displacement) Lab is a research-to-classroom initiative at Spelman College designed to bridge the gap between academic research and student skill-building. By focusing on the rapid gentrification of metro-Atlanta, the project documents the "archival silence" of Black residents in neighborhoods like Pittsburgh, Kirkwood and Oxford-Emory.

Kelly Taylor Mitchell
Project Title: The Studio Artist Apprenticeship Program
Summary: The Studio Artist Apprenticeship Program revitalizes the longstanding tradition of mentorship within the arts. By connecting emerging practitioners with professional studio environments, the project aims to bridge the gap between academic study and a sustainable career in visual culture.

T. Lang
Project Title: Switch Code Imagineers Lab: Prototyping AI-Driven Interdisciplinary Performance through Embodiment and Black Feminist Design
Summary: The Switch Code Imagineers Lab is an interdisciplinary research and training initiative that positions Spelman students as designers, critics and imagineers of emerging technologies. Structured as a short-term laboratory, the project engages a focused cohort of five students in prototyping AI-driven performance systems that integrate embodiment, computational thinking and Black feminist design methodologies.

View More News