Preparing Future Faculty
Report on 1996 Conference at
the University of Kentucky

What Institutions of Higher Education want from new Ph.D.s

June 21, 1996

Fifty participants representing five community colleges; eight liberal arts colleges; five regional, comprehensive universities; and five research universities met for a day and discussed their experiences with new faculty in relation to various topics. The results of these discussions are summarized for each of the topics discussed.

Teaching

Graduates of research universities regularly lack experience in the areas of general education.
Prospective faculty need to be proficient in several different teaching areas.
Not infrequently, the narrowness of the Ph.D.s' training is a barrier to interdisciplinary cooperation and interdisciplinary teaching.
Teaching experience at several different levels is desired, and it is even better to have had experience in teaching interdisciplinary courses.
Prospective faculty need to pay attention to the character of the student bodies they will teach. Their attitude toward student learning (as distinct from teaching) is critical to their success. We need to think more about students as consumers.
Prospective faculty need to possess an attitude of openness and a willingness to teach students at all levels.
New instructors should be sensitive to students' different learning styles and be able to adapt to different teaching environments.
Faculty need to be aware of the levels in student preparedness.
Prospective faculty should be aware of the impact which adult learners are having on teaching.
Since discussion is the primary mode of instruction at many small institutions, new PhDs should develop their skills in delivering short lectures.
Prospective faculty should have knowledge of the technology which is now available to assist instruction.
Prospective faculty should recognize that ongoing training in teaching is not always available in small institutions.

Research

Graduate students should be made aware of the resources available for keeping up-to-date in their fields (e.g. Internet, WWW, etc.).
New instructors should know that resources for research on small campuses are limited, and they should be aware that there are types of research other than those they have become used to.
Prospective faculty should be aware that many small colleges also demand research activity.

Finding academic employment

It is very important to attain the right kind of match between institution and professor.
The idea of marketing oneself is fine as long as the presentation of oneself is truthful and accurate.
Mentors of Ph.D.s. need to be more informative about the candidates they endorse by giving clear, detailed, and personal data about them. Hiring institutions are interested in the personal qualities as well as the professional qualifications of the candidates.
Information about the candidates' undergraduate experience is helpful.
Faculty letters of recommendation should be written with the potential employing institution in mind.

Success as a colleague, member of an academic community

Prospective faculty ought to think more about their role as team players than as superstars. Collegiality is a very important element in success.
In religiously oriented institutions the candidates' personal qualifications cannot be separated from the professional ones. Professors function as role models as well as teachers.
Preparation of PhDs should include instruction in the kinds of transition candidates will go through in moving from the graduate institution to the undergraduate environment.
New instructors need to be sensitive to the character of the larger community in which they work.

Graduate Education

The history of higher education in American should be an integral part of the graduate program. New faculty should understand higher education and how it functions academically, financially, and administratively.
There ought to be a development program for Ph.D. candidates in order to help them hone their teaching skills. Such a program could assist them in bettering their communication and grant-writing abilities.
In preparing future instructors, it is better for research institutions to make use of a series of one-hour seminars on issues related to teaching rather than to develop lengthier courses.
Efforts at preparing future faculty need to be systemic and part of each department, and not rely solely on a central unit as a "safe haven."
Faculty attitudes at a research university may be a barrier to developing the attitudes in graduate students needed to be successful.

For more information, contact Dr. Morris Grubbs at morris.grubbs@uky.edu or (859) 257-9725 or Dr. Linda Worley at lworley@uky.edu or (859) 257-1198.

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