What is the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF)?
Preparing Future Faculty is a program of the Center for Academic & Faculty Excellence at Claremont Graduate University. The Preparing Future Faculty national initiative was launched in 1993 by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and the Council of Graduate Schools. The initiative aimed to transform how graduate students prepared for academic careers in higher education. Today, these goals are even more urgent as higher education changes radically. PFF programs play a critical role in helping graduate students prepare for productive and balanced faculty lives of ethical and excellent scholarly teaching practice and service.
Many CGU graduates seek academic careers. As future faculty, you positively shape your students’ future paths. The Preparing Future Faculty program (PFF) helps you become an inclusive leader of teaching and learning, connecting you with like-minded faculty who seek to build excellence and foster inclusivity in teaching.
Based on the Scholarship of Teaching (SoTL), the PFF office helps you develop pedagogical knowledge and skills, whether you are new to teaching or are an experienced educator interested in continuing to grow. We offer workshops, webinars, courses, and individual consulting appointments on all aspects of teaching and learning, including developing teaching philosophy statements, diversity statements, syllabi, and portfolios. In addition, we offer the College Teaching Certificate, a rigorous program that nurtures your excellence as an educator. The program is offered to all CGU students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
Appointments
Do you need help with course design? Class facilitation? Your syllabus? Your rubric? Your teaching portfolio? Our online appointment system is free to all CGU students, alumni, and faculty. Even if you are not working toward the certificate, our appointment services are always open to you. You can meet with a PFF Fellow online using Zoom or get feedback on your documents without meeting. You can upload teaching-related documents such as teaching philosophy statements, lesson plans, syllabi, and more for review.
For specific help with writing please visit the Center for Writing & Rhetoric, or for help with preparing for your job search visit the Career Development Office. For other professional development opportunities check out CGU’s Academic Professional Development page.
College Teaching Certificate
The College Teaching Certificate recognizes your personal development through a rigorous program to develop an inclusive, student-focused pedagogy for teaching and leading in post-secondary and other professional settings. You also develop a portfolio that will serve you well in your job search and continuing professional development. The College Teaching Certificate is free for currently enrolled CGU students and $50 per course for alumni.
Events
We offer events each semester that focus on a variety of teaching topics. See our events page for our current offerings. All sessions are open to CGU students, alumni, faculty, and staff, as well as to the 7Cs community.
Resources
We have curated and developed resources for current and future faculty covering a wide array of topics from creating syllabi to classroom activities. We also have a lending library with books about teaching and learning that CGU students and alumni can check out.