What is Preparing Future Faculty (PFF)?
The mission of the PFF program is to expose graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to the diverse roles, responsibilities, and rewards of an academic career. In doing so it focuses particularly on the teaching and service roles sometimes not included in doctoral training. Fundamental research skills, such as grant writing, publishing, and academic job searching, are also addressed. Each semester, PFF workshops are offered related to the skills required to build a successful academic career. The PFF program is especially useful for students interested in an academic career at a university, liberal arts college, private college, or community college.
How can the PFF Help You?
In the Spring 2018 survey, less than half of ODU graduate students indicated they were prepared for an academic career as a faculty member in higher education.
PFF programming fills professional development needs not fully addressed by graduate programs, such as work-life balance, career planning, career exploration, socialization into academia, and teaching foundations
PFF events offer lessons, tips, strategies, and advice to help you:
- Maintain sanity as a graduate student
- Succeed as a graduate student
- Become a better teacher
- Become a better researcher
- Explore your academic career options
Students can receive a Preparing Future Faculty Certificate by documenting completion of a certain number of activities related to preparing for an academic career.
Earn the PFF Certificate by:
- Completing a mentored teaching experience
- Creating a curriculum vitae (CV)
- Attending PFF and other professional development events
- Producing an ePortfolio to document and highlight professional development and growth
See the full PFF Certificate requirements here.
How can you participate in PFF-specific events?
Two PFF events are offered every Fall and Spring semesters. Events are generally held on Fridays from 12:00 pm until 2:00 pm. However, some events may be offered on other days or times. PFF events are also available online via web conference (access the web conference here). Graduate students, post doctoral scholars, and faculty from across ODU and affiliated universities are welcome to attend. No registration is necessary.
PFF events are also generally recorded and archived for later viewing. The full archive will be available for viewing soon.
Academic Job Search Resources
PFF also supports graduate students’ academic job search by providing resources for graduate students entering the academic job market. These resources include recordings of previous events, short videos targeted at specific topics, CV consultation, and links to external resources. See the Academic Job Search Resources Page.