Training Future Professors: The Preparing Future Faculty Program In Electrical And Computer Engineering And Computer Science At The University Of Cincinnati

In the rapidly evolving fields of computing and electrical engineering, many graduate students have little opportunity to learn teaching skills necessary for success in an academic career or to become familiar with the benefits of faculty life. In the combined Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science (ECECS) Department at the University of Cincinnati, for example, between 1993/94 and 1998-99, 75 students graduated with a Ph.D., but only three chose to pursue an academic career. To encourage and prepare potential future faculty, we have developed a "Preparing Future Faculty" program in our department. We discuss the outcomes of this program, its potential for impacting projected faculty shortages, options for sustaining the program, benefits to graduate students, faculty, and undergraduates, and whether it should be mandatory in a high-quality Ph.D. program.