Future Faculty Career Exploration Program (FFCEP) hosts 19 prospective faculty | October 2018
The Office of Faculty Recruitment, along with leaders from all academic colleges, were thrilled to host 19 prospective faculty for the 2018 Future Faculty Career Exploration Program (FFCEP) held September 27-29 at RIT. “This is a wonderful opportunity, not only for FFCEP participants, but also for RIT. It’s a rare privilege to have so many talented young scholars on our campus at one time and to play a role in their professional development. I am excited about their future prospects and look forward to seeing some of them return as RIT faculty,” said Dr. Ellen Granberg, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.
FFCEP, initiated in 2003 by RIT, is nationally recognized as a best practice in recruiting talented diverse faculty to learn about cutting-edge academic programs. Since the inaugural class, the FFCEP has had over 330 participants with 22 RIT faculty hires. We also celebrated two past FFCEP participants, Dr. Alexander Ororbia (2016), Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, and Dr. Yewande Abraham (2017), College of Engineering Technology, who were both hired for the 2018-2019 academic year as tenure-track assistant professors.
During their time on campus, all FFCEP participants shared their research with students, staff and faculty. Among the presenters were:
Paula Buchanan, a doctoral student in the Department of Emergency Management at Jacksonville State University. Before starting her doctoral program, she attended the University of Alabama, Birmingham where she graduated with an M.B.A. and M.P.H. with a concentration in Health Systems Management. Buchanan, a Dean’s Honor Scholarship awardee, earned a B.S. in Biology, B.A. in History, and a minor in economics from Tulane University. Her research focuses on how health systems function during disasters, particularly on using social media, technology and data visualization tools to more effectively communicate healthcare issues to targeted audiences.
Racheida Lewis, a Gates Millennium Scholar and an Engineering Education Ph.D. candidate at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Lewis attended the University of Virginia, where she was named a GEM University Fellow and earned her M.E. in Electric Engineering. She also holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering with minors in mathematics and physics from Virginia Commonwealth University. Lewis’ transition into the field of engineering education is direct result of her research interests, which include, exposure and recruitment of engineering students from diverse backgrounds; retention and persistence in engineering; and the development of self-efficacy in engineering students.
A special dinner reception was held for the FFCEP participants at Liberty Hill on September 29th. They had the opportunity to meet President Munson, Trustees, several deans and senior administrators, many RIT faculty and community leaders. The RIT Provost’s Office and Office of Faculty Recruitment recognized the Kate Gleason College of Engineering with the 2018 Changing Hearts and Minds award. This award is given to recognize a college’s efforts toward furthering the university’s commitment to diversity, specifically by enhancing diversity among the faculty ranks.
“We are always pleased to invite such talented and accomplished scholars to RIT in an effort to network, build new relationships, and examine intersections of interest. Such relationship building in academia is vital to creating opportunities to attract some of the best and brightest,” said Dr. Keith Jenkins, Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion. “We hope participants leave knowing that RIT is a place where their gifts can be embraced and propelled to the next level.”
