Ignite Faculty/Staff Facilitators

The Ignite Program is a unique opportunity for incoming first-year students to begin developing their leadership skills, meet other new Vols and upperclassmen student leaders, learn about opportunities for involvement and discover what it means to be a Tennessee Volunteer.  Ignite has proven to have a significant impact on a first-year student’s transition to the university as well as their retention. As an extended orientation experience, Ignite hopes to instill a passion to the University of Tennessee, inspire a commitment to student success and ignite the leadership potential in new Volunteers.  

Facilitators co-advise a small group of incoming students alongside two Ignite Team Leaders (current UT student Leaders). These roles create a bridge between incoming student’s to our University and to the faculty and staff who care deeply for both UT and our students. Facilitators work alongside our TL’s to create meaningful conversation and experiences.

Traditionally, faculty and staff facilitators have joined us for our off-campus 3-day Ignite Leadership Summit experiences, and though that is continuing, we are also offering an opportunity for faculty and staff to connect and serve for one day on campus as a part of our on-campus Ignite.  

For those attending Ignite Leadership Summit off-campus experience, we provide transportation to and from the site, as well as lodging and all meals. As a facilitator, we do ask that you attend the entire program, so that you can establish a strong connection with the participating students. 

Dates for Ignite:  

• Off-Campus Experience: 

• West TN (Linden, TN) – June 1-3 
• East TN (Newport, TN) – August 16-18 

For those attending Ignite on-campus experiences, we ask that you spend an entire day engaged with a group as they serve the community, explore Knoxville, and take part in meaningful team conversations about what it means to be a Volunteer.

• On-Campus Experience: 

• June 15-17 
• June 20-22 
• August 16-18

Additional time commitments: Two Facilitator training meetings that will be scheduled once facilitators are selected. 

• No cost associated for people to attend! 
• More information can be requested by completing the form below.
• Application deadline: March 1, 2023
• For more information, contact Shane Boswell at sboswell@utk.edu.  

We hope that you have an interest in participating and your schedule can accommodate these time commitments, as we truly cannot offer this program without the support of faculty & staff members like you! You do not have to take vacation time to participate, as this is a serving opportunity through the University.

For our planning purposes, please complete the below interest form by March 1. If you know of any other UT faculty or staff who might be a great fit for this role, feel free to forward this form along to them.