The Future Faculty and Academic Careers office is committed to the development of learning communities within the students and faculty of Cornell and beyond. Graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff are welcome to join our learning communities by participating in our ongoing programs, signing up for our listserv or by following the @CUFutureFaculty Twitter account or the national CIRTL Network Twitter or Facebook.

Our aim is to create strong and vibrant learning around effective teaching and mentorship practices at Cornell. We have outlined below some of the benefits to participating with Future Faculty and Academic Careers’ community of learners.

Benefits to Cornell graduate students and postdocs

• High-quality courses and workshops on topics in teaching and mentoring
• Flexible professional development opportunities through a variety of in-person and online formats
• Ability to earn certification at different levels of commitment
• Mentoring from national experts in areas such as universal design for learning and discipline-based education research
• Diverse role models for faculty and other academic career paths
• Networking opportunities with faculty and students at 40 schools
• A support network for designing teaching as research projects
• Chance to present research to a wider audience for feedback
• Funded travel opportunities to give research or teaching talks and attend discipline-specific education meetings

Benefits to Cornell faculty and administrators

• Selling point for recruiting new graduate students, faculty, and postdoctoral scholars to Cornell
• Ability to pursue ambitious grant opportunities with a strong network of collaborating institutions
• Support for mentoring or individual development plans when applying for training grants and career awards
• Resource for answering student and postdoc questions about the job search and academic careers
• Enhanced broader impacts of grant activities through a route to disseminate Cornell innovations to 40 schools
• Training manuals for graduate seminars with syllabi, case studies, and discussion questions
• Supports fields with graduate learning outcomes relating to teaching
• Supports Cornell University strategic initiatives to create a culture in support of teaching across campus and to develop stronger connections across the colleges
• Sharing of best practices for future faculty preparation across 40 research universities
• Student research on teaching will provide new innovations benefitting faculty and students
• Opportunities to participate in and present at conferences on teaching at research universities
• Cornell is at the forefront of the national conversations shaping higher education

Please contact us if you would like additional outreach materials about the CIRTL Network or Future Faculty and Academic Careers office.