Dear Colleague:

I am writing to invite you (or another representative of your department) to participate in a Midwestern Regional Workshop on Preparing Future Faculty in Psychology, which is sponsored by American Psychological Association and Miami University (Ohio). The workshop is scheduled for September 9-10, 2004. We encourage you to bring a graduate student representative with you.

Why is this workshop important for your department? The future of psychology as an academic discipline depends on a supply of outstanding teacher-scholars who will introduce new undergraduate students to the discipline, teach them how psychologists think, challenge them to generate and test their own ideas, and encourage their dreams. This critical task has recently received new attention and is the focus of new efforts, thanks in part to a national movement to reflect on doctoral training and its outcomes for new faculty members. There is a growing recognition that doctoral training, across disciplines, is failing to adequately prepare students for academic careers, and that psychology is not exempt from these inadequacies of training. Given our expertise in learning and education, it is particularly appropriate for psychology as a discipline to be involved in efforts to enhance the preparation of future faculty. Recently, the American Psychological Association has supported some programmatic efforts that have been undertaken in five doctoral programs in psychology (Miami University in Ohio, University of New Hampshire, University of Georgia, University of Colorado, and Oklahoma State University) to serve as model Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) programs.

What will the workshop accomplish? The purpose of this workshop, hosted by the Miami University APA-PFF program, is to bring together representatives from doctoral programs in psychology in the Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky area to discuss ways to improve the preparation of doctoral students for careers in academia. We hope to disseminate information about the need for PFF, about different models for achieving this goal, and about the outcomes/satisfaction of various stakeholders. The workshop time should allow representatives to move beyond simply receiving information to thinking about how they could take some of these seeds and plant them in their own institutions, discussing these ideas with others from similar institutions, and clarifying issues, as they arise, with the speakers who have participated in such programs.

Who will be involved? The workshop will bring together the three major stakeholders who are interested in the successful preparation of students for faculty jobs: the students themselves, their doctoral institutions (who are invested in successful placement rates), and the institutions who hire new Ph. Ds. The centerpiece of the program will be the APA-PFF program based at Miami University. This program provides one model for a department-based program that links doctoral students with area non-doctoral institutions so that students can learn about the ways that faculty responsibilities are shaped by institutional mission. Speakers/panels will represent the three major stakeholder groups in this partnership. A key idea of PFF programs is that they must be individualized by institution, and so the speakers will include alternative views from other APA PFF programs (Rosemary Phelps, University of Georgia), and from other area universities with university-level PFF programs (Carl Huether, University of Cincinnati), to suggest ways that departmental efforts could be integrated with university-level efforts.

How can you participate? The workshop will be held on Miami’s main campus in Oxford, OH. Maps, directions and parking passes will be provided to participants. If practical, a discount on a block of rooms will be obtained at a local hotel. To save costs for graduate students, we will make an effort to obtain lodging for them with our students. Please let us know if you are interested in participating by returning the attached Interest Form by March 1, 2004. This does not constitute a rigid commitment to attend, but will give us a basis for planning. A firm deadline for registration will be established later. If you would like to know more about Preparing Future Faculty programs at Miami and other institutions, please visit our website at www.users.muohio.edu/shorec/apapff/apapff.htm. If you have questions about PFF or about this conference, please contact Cecilia Shore, shorec@muohio.edu, or 513-529-2401. We hope that you will become part of this exciting effort to enhance doctoral training in psychology in the Midwest.

Sincerely,

Cecilia Shore

Time	Event	Speakers
THURSDAY Evening	Registration, Welcome, Why should psychology programs be interested in PFF? Social hour, dessert provided	Karen Schilling, chair, Miami’s psychology department
FRIDAY 8:30-9:00	Registration, continental breakfast provided
9:00-9:45	Welcome, Overview of Miami’s PFF programs.	Cecilia Shore, co-director of MU APA-PFF.
10:00-11:00	Partner faculty perspectives	Beth Uhler, Jim Bodle, Michael Jackson
11:15-12:15	Alumni/student perspectives	Amy Buddie, Zak Birchmeier, Melissa Lea, Gloria Oliver
12:15-1:15	Lunch provided
1:15-2:00	Approaches at another APA PFF institution	Rosemary Phelps, University of Georgia
2:15-3:00	Other ways of interfacing with university programs	Carl Huether, University of Cincinnati
3:15-4:45	Workshop time: break into small groups to buzz about planting PFF seeds at your institution, questions/consultations with speakers	Speakers will be on hand to answer questions, help you think through issues
4:45-5:15	Practical steps for getting started—Suggestions for your “do-list”
6:00	Interested participants can join us at a local restaurant for dinner

Interest form

Midwestern Regional Workshop on Preparing Future Faculty in Psychology

Name:

Department, Institution:

Mailing Address:

Email address, phone:

I would intend to arrive (please mark one): ( ) Thursday evening ( ) Friday morning

I would need lodging for (please mark one): ( ) Thursday night ( ) Friday night ( ) neither night

I have the following dietary requirements/restrictions:

Do you think it is likely that you will bring a grad student with you? Will that person likely have the same arrival/lodging needs that you do?