Office of Faculty Affairs and Advancement

Mentoring enhances professional success and supports the career advancement of all faculty, but is particularly important for early and mid-career faculty. Effective mentoring fosters social connections, expands professional networks, improves research skills and productivity, invigorates pedagogical practice, and promotes a sense of community among all faculty who participate (including mentors)—making mentoring especially crucial as we begin to establish some sense of normalcy after the isolation and disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. By improving the working environment in the institution, mentoring also promotes the recruitment and retention of faculty and enables them to do their best work.

The Midcareer Faculty Advancement Program in the College of the Liberal Arts is a resource focused on the experiences of new and senior associate professors. Its purpose is to offer greater transparency on the role and expectations of the associate professor rank, clarify and facilitate the path toward the next promotion, and build a stronger community of care and intentional support for this group of faculty.

MFAP leadership consists of a team of College of the Liberal Arts professors who work in collaboration with the Office for Faculty Affairs and Advancement. They have created and offer a set of resources that include the following:

• Annual professional and career development workshops
• Professional and social networking opportunities (open to all faculty)
• Professional coaching to facilitate the navigation and balance of career, everyday work, and life (open to all faculty)

MFAP resources are available to all faculty, regardless of title and rank. Our program is an expanded version of the successful University-wide 2020-2023 pilot that was implemented by the College of the Liberal Arts and the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity. At present, it is a resource that is only available in the College of the Liberal Arts.

Contact Laura Specht for more information

Read the Penn State News story on MFAP

F3 is a two-year mentoring and professional development program that facilitates the external funding success of faculty in the College of the Liberal Arts. We are fortunate to have many successful grant-active faculty in the college. To continue and expand on this record of success, we must ensure that junior faculty enter the ranks of grant-funded researchers in ways that support their research agendas, promote the wellbeing of their department and the college, and contribute to the research mission of the University. To achieve these goals, the college created F3 more than a decade ago.

Weekly facilitated writing groups that support the writing practices and scholarly productivity of faculty in the College of the Liberal Arts. The Faculty Writing Program enables faculty to secure dedicated time each week for scholarly research and writing, supports the development of productive writing skills, and fosters a community of writers.

Learn more about the Faculty Writing Program

Sessions throughout the year to support faculty at all stages of their professional career.

• Orientation luncheons for new tenure line and non-tenure line faculty
• New Untenured Faculty Workshops
• New Department Heads Workshops
• Promotion and Tenure Workshops:
  • Promotion and Tenure Workshop for Untenured Faculty
  • Non-Tenure Line Faculty Promotion Workshop
  • Narrative Statement Workshop
  • Associate to Full Professor Workshop