New CSU Initiatives Invest in Faculty Research, Teaching and Collaboration

The California State University employs nearly 28,000 world-class faculty who are integral to promoting student success and achieving the CSU's mission of preparing all students for future careers. In line with the goal of establishing the CSU ​as an employer of choice, as outlined in the strategic plan CSU Forward, the university provides a number of opportunities for faculty to pursue professional development​, advance their careers and conduct advanced research.

While the CSU has several longstanding programs—such as The Wang Family Excellence Award for faculty who demonstrate excellence in teaching, scholarship and service and Innovative Teaching and Learning Programs to foster faculty professional growth—the university has recently introduced new faculty focused programs to further support their endeavors and ability to serve students.

Learn about four new systemwide programs for faculty.

The CSU + Adobe for All

In partnership with Adobe, the CSU has established The CSU + Adobe for All program that provides unlimited access to Adobe Creative campus for all students, faculty and staff as well as training in the tools for all three groups. San José State, in partnership with the Chancellor's Office, will lead the Adobe + CSU Center of Excellence to manage training, facilitate collaboration and project implementation, and share best practices.

With an $810,000 grant from Adobe, called the Adobe + CSU Academic Innovation Fund, the CSU also distributed up to $30,000 to each of its 22 universities to support faculty in expanding students' digital and AI literacy skills. The projects, which launched in spring 2026 and will run for one year, focus on developing innovative, equity-centered instructional strategies using Adobe Express to enhance high-impact courses, namely first-year writing courses and high-enrollment classes with elevated DFW (D-F-Withdraw) rates. SJSU received additional funding to support the Adobe + CSU Center of Excellence, which hosted the inaugural CSU Digital Literacy Summit in April 2026 to kick off the campus projects.

Many of the projects are creating faculty learning communities to provide Adobe training and resources for faculty, shape discussion around responsible AI use, and help instructors implement the technology in their own classes. The efforts also design or redesign curriculum and assignments to incorporate Adobe Express, ensuring students have equitable access to the technology they need to successfully complete coursework. The software allows the students to create more engaging work using digital storytelling techniques, multimodal portfolios and AI—expanding students' critical thinking skills as they complete their assignments.

Beyond this funding opportunity, the partnership between the CSU and Adobe has been able to provide a number of other resources to support faculty, staff and students. For example, the California State University Entertainment Alliance held its first-ever CSU MAX creative experience, modeled after the Adobe MAX Creative Conference and sponsored in part by Adobe, in April 2026 at CSUN to help students, faculty and staff engage with creative tools and explore AI use.

CSU GUIDE (Growth in Undergraduate Innovation, Discovery and Engagement)

Another initiative recently launched by the Chancellor's Office seeks to enhance undergraduate student engagement across the system and promote innovative, inter-campus faculty collaboration.

CSU GUIDE (Growth in Undergraduate Innovation, Discovery and Engagement) will fund faculty-led, one-year research, scholarly or creative activity (RSCA) projects that engage students in hands-on learning and discovery. The projects will address significant intellectual questions, creative endeavors or real-world problems and provide strong mentorship.

The program is open to multi-campus faculty teams, single-campus teams or single faculty projects at their home campus, and mid-career faculty seeking to reengage in or pivot their RSCA work.

Undergraduate RSCA is considered a high-impact educational practice because faculty-mentored participation is strongly associated with persistence, personal development and gains in critical thinking.

The program has four goals:

1. Enhance student success by providing meaningful, hands-on, faculty-mentored RSCA opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.
2. Foster collaboration by encouraging multi-campus faculty teams to collaborate on shared research challenges or creative endeavors that engage undergraduate students across campuses.
3. Secure external funding by positioning CSU faculty teams to successfully compete for significant external grants and contracts following the seed funding period.
4. Advance interdisciplinary fields, in addition to supporting high-impact projects across the full range of disciplines offered within the CSU system.

The winning proposals will be announced in July 2026. Projects will be awarded $40,000 for single-campus proposals and $80,000 for multi-campus collaborative efforts.

CSU Chancellor's Early-Career Faculty Fellowship

For the first time in 2026, the CSU's Office of Federal Relations is coordinating the CSU Chancellor's Early-Career Faculty Fellowship to recognize and support junior tenure-track faculty across the CSU who have already demonstrated exceptional scholarship, teaching innovation and campus engagement that advance the CSU's mission of student success, access and public service. Open to up to two faculty members from each CSU, the fellowship will strengthen these instructors' ability to further advance the CSU's mission on a national level as well as encourage greater cross-campus collaboration between faculty.

Over the year of the fellowship, the selected faculty will attend two in-person visits to Washington, D.C., engage with federal program officers at government agencies, participate in legislative briefings, contribute to a Congressional research reception highlighting faculty work, collaborate on federal engagement strategies and provide mentoring to future cohorts, among other activities.

In addition to supporting the CSU's mission and federal priorities, the experience will enhance the faculty's national research competitiveness. Through connections with program managers at agencies like the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, participants will gain insight into the federal funding selection process, helping them be more competitive when applying for federal grants.

The inaugural cohort includes 30 faculty members representing 16 CSUs.

Learning Innovation for Future-Forward Teaching (LIFT)

With an eye on preparing students to adapt and thrive in today's work and life, the CSU Chancellor's Office has established the Learning Innovation for Future-Forward Teaching (LIFT) program. The one-year funding opportunity invites individual CSU faculty members or teams to design and test teaching innovations that intentionally embed durable skills into undergraduate courses and programs.

Durable skills are defined as the intellectual, interpersonal and self-directed capacities that enable students to apply what they learn across different contexts over time. These include competencies such as critical thinking, communication, teamwork and leadership, as well as core skills like analytic and creative thinking, resilience and adaptability, technological literacy, and systems thinking.

Funded projects may include opportunities for students to earn or work toward relevant credentials or microcredentials aligned with course outcomes. Project scope can range from course-level enhancements—such as applied learning activities, assignments, modules or signature projects—to comprehensive course or program redesigns.

Through applied learning, feedback and reflection built into coursework, the effort aims to help students better make clear connections between what they are learning in their courses and programs; how that learning is used in professional, civic or community contexts; and the durable skills needed to pursue opportunities and contribute meaningfully to work and other aspects of 21st-century life.

In July 2026, the CSU will announce ​the awarded grants, which range from $10,000 to $30,000, depending on project scope and available funding.