The Future Professoriate Project

Developed by the Graduate School at Syracuse under grants from FIPSE and The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Future Professoriate Project seeks to integrate additional preparation for teaching into the graduate experience to help advanced Ph.D. students successfully make the transition to becoming assistant professors. The English Department joined this project in the fall of 1995. Typically in their third and fourth years, Ph.D. students become teaching associates in English and teach one lower division undergraduate course in English and Textual Studies a semester. These courses relate both to the ETS major and to the Ph.D. student's area of interest and expertise. The students select a faculty mentor to work with, offering teaching seminars during the semester, meet to talk about professional issues, produce a teaching portfolio, and earn a Certificate in University Teaching. The teaching seminars are open to all interested students and faculty in the department. The primary liasion person for this project is Professor Susan Edmunds. The project complements the work of the department's Professional Development Cpmmittee, which offers seminars in getting essays published and which provides mock interviews and other assistance to student's as they enter the job market. Preparing Future Faculty

The PEW Charitable Trusts has awarded the Association of American College and Universities and the Council of Graduate Schools to launch, the Preparing Future Faculty, this career development program for advanced Ph.D. students. This project introduces graduate students to the day-to-day realities of teaching at various kinds of institutions of higher education. Students benefit from such opportunities as teaching apprenticeships, attendance at faculty and department meetings, faculty mentors at other institutions etc. We joined this project in 1997, and are linked with the departments of English at four partner schools: Hamilton College, Lemoyne College, SUNY Oswego, and Onondaga Community College. Chairs and faculty representatives from these four schools participated in a panel discussion about their curriculum, their expectations of faculty, and their hiring procedures and needs in March 1998. In May 1998 Professor Steven Cohan and advanced Ph.D. graduate student Josh Stenger conducted a seminar on "Teaching Film" for faculty from all four schools as well as for faculty and students from Syracuse. Starting in the fall of 1998, advanced Ph.D. students will visit campuses, sit in on classes, give class lectures, etc., as part of this project.



Teaching Strategies (PowerPoint)