Penn Faculty Pathways Program

Participants

All University of Pennsylvania Assistant Professors in STEMM fields on the Tenure or Clinician-Educator track may apply, and 18 will be selected to participate. Note: Assistant professors who have been faculty members for at least one or two years (here at Penn or at another institution) are likely to benefit most from this program. We will, however consider applications of assistant professors at any stage, from recent appointment to pre-promotion review.

Time Commitment

Faculty in the program will attend a total of eight monthly sessions on select Fridays, beginning at noon. Lunch is provided at in-person sessions. The first session is 3 hours and the following sessions are 2.5 hours. The final session may go longer. In addition to class time, participants spend about 1 hour per week intermittently on program-related activities.

How to Apply

Email a completed application by Friday, May 31^st @ 11:59 PM to Susan Primavera (sprimave@pennmedicine.upenn.edu). Space is limited, so we encourage interested faculty to apply early.

Program Content

• Total Leadership Program (3 sessions): Through peer mentoring and individual reflection, these sessions will focus on increasing performance at work, at home, in the community and for the private self (mind, body, spirit) – by finding mutual value among these four life domains (see www.totalleadership.org/).
• Faculty Career Development (5 sessions): Seminar sessions will be facilitated by content-area experts.  Combining discussions with skill-building activities, these sessions focus on developing fundamental strategies for Effective Leadership, Promotion, Time/Energy Management, Effective Communication, and Career Planning.  In the process, participants create a network of colleagues within the University who can provide peer mentoring and also some collegial enjoyment.

Expected Outcomes

In our program thus far, Penn Pathways Faculty have achieved significant outcomes. They developed empowerment, insight, knowledge, and skills for advancing their academic careers and clarifying their values and goals for their work and other parts of life. As one participant summarized, “the program provided me the impetus to think deeply about the direction I wanted to take my personal and professional life.” The program has made others feel a “sense of belonging” and “more connected” to the Penn community.