Advancing in your academic career brings new challenges, opportunities, and goals—and we're here to support you through every stage of mid-career growth. This section of the Center for Faculty Development and Advancement (CFDA) website is designed to connect you with programs, tools, and communities that support your continued success.

Here, you’ll find opportunities and resources tailored for mid-career faculty, 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.
• Consider working with a Senior Faculty Mentor.
• The HR Talent Management team offers additional workshops through their Individual Development Programs.

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.