Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) History
COPFF Network History
Started in 1993, the Preparing Future Faculty national initiative was funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and endorsed by the Council of Graduate Schools and the American Association of Colleges and Universities. In the words of PFF Co-Director Jerry Gaff, the initiative seeks to make "graduate preparation more consistent with the actual responsibilities of faculty members." To this end, PFF seeks to expose doctoral students to the varying emphases placed on teaching, research, and service at a wide variety of postsecondary institutions. Since the vast majority of new faculty positions in the United States are not at Research I universities, appropriate training is de rigueur. One of PFF's long-range goals is to change the culture of higher education by institutionalizing future faculty training in all disciplines.
PFF gives future faculty a chance to acquire and hone pedagogical, administrative, and interpersonal skills before entering the job market. Moreover, by exploring different kinds of campus cultures, PFF Fellows are more likely to know which kind of institution best suits their personal and professional goals.
CU-Boulder PFF alumni report that participation in PFF and other Graduate Teacher Program activities increases their chances of getting a tenure-track job. One CU-Boulder alumnus reports that PFF "played an important role in my being hired as an assistant professor at Illinois Wesleyan University." Fellows have the opportunity to attend conferences, receive special job notices, and network with faculty and graduate students from other institutions around the country.
CU-Boulder was the recipient of four national PFF grants - the grants were awarded to the Graduate Teacher Program, the Physics Department, the Political Science Department and Psychology Department. Through our national PFF project, CU-Boulder has worked with Stanford, San Jose, Yale and Connecticut College. Internationally, we work with The University of Liege in Belgium.
