The National Fellowship on the Future of Liberal Education Announces Cohort

Early-career political scientist Michael Dichio is one of twenty-four tapped for the group.

The National Fellowship on the Future of Liberal Education (NAFFLE) has named its inaugural class of twenty-four fellows who represent the next generation of leaders in liberal education.

Michael Dichio, associate professor of political science at the University of Utah, is one of the cohort. Dichio teaches constitutional law, American political thought and judicial politics. His research focuses on American political and constitutional development, particularly how judicial institutions are created and evolve, and how political actors inside and outside of courts use these institutions to shape constitutional change, federalism and state-building.

Sponsored by the Teagle Foundation, NAFFLE convenes newly tenured faculty members for a multi-year program in which they acquire practical knowledge and build a sustaining professional network, as well as time and space for reflection on the purposes of American higher education. Fellows will work together over the course of their careers to strengthen the sector for the good of our classrooms, our universities and the nation at large.

NAFFLE fellows are nominated by leaders of their institutions based on their promise and demonstrated interest in advancing liberal education. The inaugural 2026-28 cohort is composed of early-career faculty at public and private research universities across the nation, with fellows drawn from a wide array of disciplines in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

“Our fellows are naturally energized by projects of curricular innovation and eager to consider how their own teaching, research and university service fit into the larger context of higher education,” noted Sarah Igo, the program’s Executive Director. “These talented faculty members are actively thinking about the urgent challenges—political, reputational, technological and structural—that confront the professoriate and the very idea of liberal education today. We aim to prepare them for effective advocacy in the face of such challenges and to lead creative institutional change.”

NAFFLE fellows will participate in a series of meetings in New York over two years. They will inquire into the history and structure of the U.S. liberal arts tradition, examine case studies of institutional change and hear from university presidents and other leaders on the art of guiding, managing and transforming complex institutions.

The fellowship pays special attention to curricular issues, including the place of general education, the future of doctoral training, and the problems and possibilities introduced by artificial intelligence. Fellows will also consider the strained relationship between college campuses and democratic society today—including the role that faculty can and should play in restoring public trust in the university.

NAFFLE is led by an Executive Board composed of experienced teacher-scholars who have been deeply involved in the revitalization of liberal education on their campuses and beyond. The fellowship also draws on the expertise of an Advisory Board of prominent higher education thinkers and leaders.