As you reach the later stages of your academic career, your professional goals and needs begin to shift—and the CFDA is here to support you through this important transition. This section of the Center for Faculty Development and Advancement (CFDA) website is designed for faculty who are considering retirement, preparing for phased retirement, or seeking continued engagement after retirement.

Here, you’ll find resources and opportunities designed to support your next chapter, including:

Career Advancement & Promotion

• Explore strategies and timelines for promotion to full professor, including mentoring opportunities and guidance on dossier preparation.
• Use the CFDA Professional Development Calendar to find workshops, programs, and events relevant to your stage in the academic career lifecycle.
• Explore nomination for the Provost Endorsement Program, which supports external leadership development opportunities through high-level endorsement.
• Participate in Mentorship Training, designed to support faculty who serve as mentors or seek to improve mentoring practices across career stages.

Writing, Research & Scholarship

• Join the Faculty Writing Program, a semester-long writing group designed to build productivity and accountability for scholarly projects.
• Use Course Insights to leverage learning analytics and student engagement data to support evidence-informed teaching and continuous improvement.
• Consider joining an Interdisciplinary Institute at Penn State. 

Mentorship & Peer Support

• Engage in peer Mentorship Training to grow your capacity as a mentor and support the next generation of faculty through inclusive, intentional mentoring practices. Start by visiting mentoring.psu.edu.

Leadership Development

• Apply for the Penn State Emerging Academic Leaders (PSEAL) program, a cohort-based experience for faculty exploring future leadership roles.
• Participate in the BTAA Academic Leadership Program (ALP) to connect with Big Ten peers and develop strategic academic leadership skills.
• For faculty managing people, the Management Concepts series offers workshops that focus on a wide range of manager competencies. 

Grants & Recognition

• Tenured faculty can plan their next step with sabbatical preparation resources that help them design a leave aligned with their research, teaching, and renewal goals.
• Apply for the Opportunity Grant: Professional Growth for Non-Tenure-Line Faculty, a competitive award supporting individual professional development goals.
• Explore the Awards & Recognition Database to identify internal and external honors that align with your scholarly or teaching accomplishments.
• Review nomination criteria for Titled Professorships, which recognize and support distinguished faculty across disciplines.

Retirement

• Attend an Office of Faculty Affairs Retirement Workshop to learn about navigating the transition.
• Explore faculty retirement resources.
• Visit the Human Resources Guide to Retirement website to understand how to retire from Penn State.
• Stay active in the Penn State community and earn the title of Academy Professor by applying to the Penn State Emeritus Academy.