Dr. Kerri Shelton Taylor, an associate professor at Columbus State University, was among the 18 higher education faculty from throughout Georgia selected as a Governor’s Teaching Fellow for the May 2023 symposium. Participating in the symposium follows a highly competitive application and selection process.

A faculty member in the College of Letters & Sciences’ Department of Chemistry since August 2016, Taylor’s academic and research focus is in organic chemistry—specifically the field of synthetic medicinal chemistry and material science. Her subject-matter expertise draws from multiple areas of chemistry, including organic synthesis, drug efficacy, art restoration and material science, all of which have led to strengthening her synthetic skills and increasing her chemical knowledge as an educator and researcher. 

During her teaching tenure, she has supervised more than 20 undergraduate students and three graduate students—most of them identifying with minority or underrepresented groups. As a result of her research endeavors, she has published eight peer-reviewed manuscripts/creative endeavors and has presented at more than 30 local, regional and national scientific conferences. 

Taylor holds a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from Miami (Ohio) University, a master of science degree in chemistry from the University of Kentucky and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Akron. At Columbus State, she is the 2023 recipient of the Faculty Research and Scholarship Award and a past recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Award. In addition, she has received the American Chemical Society’s Younger Chemist Committee Leadership Development Award and the 2020 Buchi Scholar Award. Taylor is also a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Georgia Academy of Science (GAS).

The Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program was established in 1995 by Zell Miller, who served as Georgia’s governor from 1991 to 1999, to provide Georgia’s higher education faculty with expanded opportunities for developing important teaching skills. Gov. Miller envisioned that this program would address faculty members’ pressing need to use emerging technologies and learn instructional approaches that are becoming increasingly important for teaching in today’s society.

The Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program is an outreach program of the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. To enhance instruction in Georgia’s colleges and universities, the Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program assumes the complex challenge of moving faculty members to the leading edge of instructional practice. This effort to enhance instruction in public and private higher education statewide aligns with the University of Georgia’s traditional mission as a land-grant institution committed to outreach and public service.

To date, more than 200 disciplines, professions and fields have been represented by over 700 Fellows from more than 90 public and private institutions statewide. Visit the McBee Institute of Higher Education website to learn more about the Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program.