Preparing Future Faculty and Family Professionals

• Published date: 01 January 2006
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00354.x
• Author: Sally A. Koblinsky,Katherine A. Kuvalanka,Marta McClintock‐Comeaux
• Date: 01 January 2006

Preparing Future Faculty and Family Professionals

Sally A. KoblinskyKatherine A. KuvalankaMarta McClintock-Comeaux*

Abstract: The Department of Family Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, developed a Preparing

Future Faculty and Family Professionals program to enrich the graduate education and professional development of

its doctoral students. This article describes key elements of the program, including informing students about the

responsibilities of faculty positions at diverse institutions, fostering faculty-student mentoring relationships, visiting

partner colleges/universities, examining requirements of nonacademic family science careers, and preparing students

for the job search. Student and faculty evaluations of the program are summarized, and recommendations are made

for graduate educators in family science.

Key Words: career development, innovative methodologies, professional development, professional development of

students and new professionals, program evaluation.

A large percentage of graduate students who earn the

doctorate, including those in family science, pursue

careers in colleges and universities (Sanderson,

Dugoni, Hoffer, & Selfa, 1999). Yet, research reveals

that many current graduate programsfail to ade-

quately prepare doctoral students for the demands

of academic positions (Austin, 2002; Olsen &

Crawford, 1998). A majority of the family science

faculty who educate and mentor doctoral students

work in large research universities where the require-

ments for a successful career vary markedly from

institutions offering the most jobs—specifically, mas-

ter’s granting universities, smaller liberal arts colleges,

and community colleges (Gaff, Pruitt-Logan, &

Weibl, 2000). Moreover, many graduate programs

are not addressing recent trends that will affect the

next generation of assistant professors,including the

growing diversity of the student body, the impact of

globalization, and the use of instructional technolo-

gies (Newman, Couturier, & Sessa, 2002).

Nationally, the number of PhDs awarded

increased 33% in the past 20 years (U.S. Department

of Education, 2003), accompanied by a similar rise in

the number of doctoral recipients in family and con-

sumer sciences (Food and Agricultural Education and

Information Systems, 2003). Today, many of these

recent doctoral graduates are facing keen competi-

tion for tenure track positions in colleges and uni-

versities (Adams, 2004). Decreases infunding for

higher education have caused many institutions to

reduce permanent positions, cut campus funds

for research, and impose higher faculty workloads

(Finkelstein, Seal, & Schuster, 1998). Although the

job market for new faculty has improved from the

poor market of the 1990s, few disciplines are con-

fronting a shortage of PhD faculty (Syverson, 2002).

Additionally, with the increasing national focus on

family policy issues (e.g., welfare reform, marriage)

and human services, many family science doctoral

recipients are seeking positions in government, non-

profit agencies, and the private sector. Such gradu-

ates would benefit from systematic, developmentally

appropriate guidance and experiences that educate

them for a range of potential careers. The purpose

of this article is to describe a departmental program

designed to prepare family science doctoral students

for the responsibilities of faculty members in varied

academic institutions, as well as equip them with

knowledge and skills for positions outside the

academy.

*Sally A. Koblinsky is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Family Studies, University of Maryland in College Park, 1204 Marie Mount Hall, College Park,

MD 20742 (koblinsk@umd.edu). Katherine A. Kuvalanka and Marta McClintock-Comeaux are doctoral candidates in the Department of Family Studies at the

University of Maryland in College Park.

Family Relations, 55 (January 2006), 29–43. Blackwell Publishing.

Copyright 2006 by the National Council on Family Relations.