Midcareer Faculty Advancement Program offers pathway to promotion

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Like many tenured faculty members at Penn State, José Soto took some time before deciding to take the necessary steps to achieve his next big career goal — a promotion to full professor.

“Promotion was something I had thought about, but had made a conscious decision to not worry about because of family considerations and other factors,” said Soto, professor and associate head of diversity, equity and inclusion for the Penn State Department of Psychology. “Eventually, though, I started to think it was a probably a good time to start pursuing it.”

Fortunately for him, the Midcareer Faculty Advancement Program (MFAP) was just getting off the ground at that time.

Launched in 2020 by the College of the Liberal Arts, the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity, and the Africana Research Center, MFAP supports the advancement of faculty in the humanities and social sciences from associate to full professor. Initially a University-level initiative geared towards faculty from underrepresented backgrounds, the program today is housed exclusively in the College of the Liberal Arts and available to any associate professor interested in promotion.

MFAP was conceived with the idea that while early-career faculty have abundant resources available to them as they pursue tenure, the same doesn’t often apply to mid-career academics who want to advance to professor – a reality even more pronounced among faculty from historically underrepresented groups, said Jennifer Hamer, founding director of MFAP, former special adviser for institutional equity, senior faculty mentor in the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity, and professor of African American studies and women's, gender and sexuality studies.

“Having been an associate professor at one time in my career, I know how hard it can be to take that next step — especially for people of color and women in particular, because there are just so many things that demand our attention,” Hamer said. “When you’re in the right network, you have access to information and resources that others don’t. With this program, we set out to fill that gap and make sure all faculty have access to those resources, and along the way create greater equity within the University.”

“When faculty get tenure, they’re entering mid-career and often mid-life, and the many responsibilities that come with it,” added Amy Allen, associate dean for faculty affairs and advancement in the College of the Liberal Arts. “They have family issues, childcare issues and, of course, all the responsibilities associated with tenure — more service obligations, more leadership opportunities, more time demands as a scholar. They get overburdened and it can really slow down their progress to promotion.”

Often times, though, faculty are closer to promotion than they think and “it’s just a matter of some coaching and assessment and self-assessment,” added Clarence Lang, Susan Welch Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts.

“There’s no magic wand here; it’s really about giving mid-career faculty some additional attention and encouragement, and providing them access to faculty outside of their department,” Lang said. “Sometimes, it can feel safer to talk to individuals who are not directly in your bailiwick who can give you some advice and assessment, not from a disciplinary standpoint, but from a purely professional standpoint.”

The first cohort of 18 fellows began meeting in the fall of 2020, initially online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than half were promoted to full professor by last summer, the end of the three-year pilot — “a lot faster than many of them thought was possible,” Hamer noted.

“It’s better for them and better for us as an institution to support them in their being promoted to professor,” Allen said. “It increases the prestige of the institution, and it comes with a salary increase and greater recognition for the faculty. So, it’s to everyone’s benefit to support those faculty seeking promotion.”

About 30 college faculty members make up the current MFAP cohort. The program offers numerous professional development opportunities, including writing groups, goal-setting strategy sessions, and even informal gatherings for social and networking purposes. Each participant is assigned a mentor and peer coach.

Along the way, participants get advice and assistance on everything from writing narrative statements for promotion to balancing work-life commitments.

“The coaches and mentors foster a supportive environment where the associate professors get to think through their goals and establish a plan to get there,” said Hamer, who continues to serve as MFAP director. “They check in on the faculty members weekly and make adjustments along the way. It’s peer coaching from people who get it because they’ve been there, and it’s important for associate professors to not feel like they’re alone in the process.”

Having successfully gone through the program, Soto now serves as an MFAP coach.

“Historically, I think a lot of the focus has been on the junior faculty getting tenure. But guidance is useful for those at the mid-career stage, and now there’s an opportunity to provide for those who can benefit from it,” Soto said. “Based on my experience, I think it can be very helpful to someone at that stage in their career going up for promotion. It helps make those last steps a little clearer, a little more manageable, and makes you feel you have more people in your corner as you get over the finish line.”

Soto cited several aspects of the program that were particularly beneficial, including the workshops geared around goal setting and service, as well as the small-group sessions with faculty coaches. He also enjoyed the writing groups, and simply chatting with the other fellows about the common challenges they faced.

Koraly Pérez-Edgar, associate director of the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) and McCourtney Professor of Child Studies and professor of psychology, served as Soto’s faculty mentor, while Ray Block, Brown-McCourtney Career Development Professor in the McCourtney Institute and associate professor of political science and African American studies, was his coach. Both provided first-rate support, he said.

“The mentoring is more hands-on, more field-focused, so you’re getting expertise from someone in your area of study who can give you more practical advice,” Soto said. “The coaching is a little bit more about support and empowerment, and is really question-driven. It’s less about being told what you should do, and more about how you can get to where you want to go.”

Stephen Wilson, professor of psychology, said MFAP came along just as he was beginning to think about advancing his career.

His mentor, Sheri Berenbaum, professor of psychology and pediatrics, encouraged him to be more proactive about promoting his work, while Block, his coach, expertly explained and demystified the promotion process. The small-group meetings, meanwhile, provided an ideal setting for the fellows to share ideas and learn from one another, he noted.

“Like how to balance service obligations with other things you’re being evaluated for, and being strategic about networking and increasing your visibility in the field,” Wilson said. “It was nice to be able to talk in a very holistic way about our experiences, and even about things like balancing family responsibilities and how to take care of yourself.”

Wilson said one of the most stressful parts of the promotion process was having others evaluate his portfolio. Fortunately, Hamer was able to minimize that angst, he said.

“Jenny was fantastic – she invested a lot of time in reviewing my materials and giving me feedback before I sent them out. Having that support and structure through the whole process was extremely helpful,” Wilson said. “The program fills a gap and provides some much-needed structure and support. I definitely would recommend it to others.”

Dawn Witherspoon, McCourtney Family Early Career Professor in Psychology and director of Parents And Children Together (PACT), said she appreciated the fact that MFAP helped make her  accountable for the many tasks required to earn promotion.

“What I also like about the program is its flexibility,” Witherspoon said. “You can tailor the experience to fit your needs — it’s not one size fits all.”

Witherspoon said her mentor, Jenae Neiderhiser, distinguished professor of psychology and human development and family studies, provided great feedback on composing the narrative statement for her dossier. And she thoroughly enjoyed interacting with her peers.

“It was very beneficial to have a community of people going through a similar process, and I liked that it allowed each individual to have the agency and autonomy to choose what they wanted to take part in,” Witherspoon said. “It creates a community, lifts the veil and provides us with a safe space to have these conversations — and to get feedback from those outside your department.”

As MFAP continues to evolve, Hamer hopes it will spread to other colleges and campuses. A few deans have already expressed an interest, she said.

“It’s all about growing the community of scholars for associate professors looking to advance their careers,” Hamer said. “This is a program that I hope can succeed for the long term.”

“This is something that’s good for the college, but I also think it’s a good model for the University,” Lang added. “Of all the accomplishments our college has had since I’ve been here, MFAP is very much at the top of the list. It’s satisfying to support an idea that’s yielded so much in demonstrative ways. I’m very proud of it.”