Doctoral Students Learn to Navigate Academia
at Preparing Future Faculty Institute

The PFF Summer Institute brought together future faculty from across the nation

June 20-23, 2007, 51 doctoral students attended the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) Summer Institute, which was hosted by Howard University and the University of Texas at El Paso, and held at the University of Maryland Conference Center.

The PFF program is a national initiative, with partner institutions such as Howard, aimed at transforming the way aspiring faculty members are prepared for their careers. Participants selected for the program were from the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields and the social, behavioral and economic (SBE) fields. PFF participants received valuable resource materials about effective writing, research and teaching practices and had plenty of opportunities to network with other participants, faculty and administrators from around the nation.

“PFF gives our students an advantage in the academy. They leave Howard with a set of tools that others have to learn on-the-job. This is a wonderful asset for our students who will enter a profession where they may be one, if not the only, person of color in a department or campus unit, and having such knowledge lends to their success as a tenure-track faculty member,” says Kimberly R. Moffitt, Ph.D., Howard’s Coordinator for the program.

Participants of the Summer Institute are passionate about increasing their skills and seeking opportunities to prepare themselves for successful professional careers.

“PFF is a great tool that is used to open doors for the enhancement of students entering the professoriate, especially minority graduate students. For students like me who are interested in making a career in academia the Institute provides several opportunities to get a sneak peak into the arena,” says Patrice Jackson, a doctoral candidate studying pharmaceutical sciences.

Fellow participant Michelle Demus, a sociology doctoral candidate, agreed saying, “PFF not only provides a unique experience for students of color, it also facilitates a wonderful opportunity for students from a variety of colleges and universities, across several disciplines, to network. Personally, I think the most important aspect of PFF is the opportunity to develop and nurture informal relationships that lead to collaborative projects such as research or publications.”