RIT Hosts the 21st Future Faculty Career Exploration Program | October 2024
Eleven scholars and artists were selected to take part in this year’s Future Faculty Career Exploration Program. They traveled to RIT and NTID from across the country, from colleges and universities like Virginia Tech, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Florida State University, the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of Arkansas.
The program is sponsored by the Office of the President, Office of the Provost, the Division of Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of Faculty Diversity and Recruitment. It offers an opportunity to highlight what it is like to be a faculty member. It also helps to prepare scholars and artists for the academic job market. During the four-day event, they had a chance to meet one-on-one with RIT administrators, college deans, faculty, staff, and students. They took part in workshops, panel discussions, networking events and presented their own research.
Each has an exceptional story to share. For instance, Sayde King is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of South Florida. As a member of the Cyber Identity and Behavior Research Laboratory, she studies biometric systems, smart sensing for human behavior analyses, and applied natural language processing. Her abstract is entitled “AI for Mental Health: A Focus on Behavior and Deception” where she explores applied artificial intelligence in mental health contexts.
Mayssa Hashaad is a Ph.D. candidate in comparative literature at the University of Arkansas. Her research interests focus on world literatures, cultural studies, gender studies, literary translation, and women studies. Her current research investigates the productions of MENA/SWANA women writers in prison literature, exploring themes such as subjugated identities, trauma, and the intersectionality of race, class, gender, and power dynamics.
Another member of the cohort is Kalan G. Horton. He will earn his Ph.D. in strategy from Florida State University’s College of Business and is the instructor of record for strategic management and competitive dynamics undergraduate courses. He recently defended his dissertation proposal tentatively titled “Evolution, Adaptations, and Complexity in Ecosystems: Three Essays on Ecosystem Evolution.”
Nancy Dimock assistant director, Office of Faculty Diversity and Recruitment said this year’s cohort was outstanding.
“From one participant who specializes in human-computer interaction and design to another participant whose research is in AI for mental health, the 21st RIT Future Faculty Career Exploration Program cohort truly embraces RIT’s interdisciplinary collaborations. We even have a TED Resident and a Fulbright scholar among this class!”
In addition to offering professional development, the program is also important in RIT’s faculty recruitment goals. Last year, Kofi Bazzell-Smith took part as a visiting scholar/artist from the University of Illinois. This year he is on the RIT campus as a Future Fellow in the College of Art and Design. The artist, educator and professional boxer has a strong background in Japanese manga.
He says, “I was hired in the College of Art and Design at RIT to become the first professor of manga practice in the United States. After I finished graduate school, RIT immediately sent me to Japan, the day after graduation, to make connections for the university and lay the groundwork for a faculty-led study abroad program to launch next summer where I will bring RIT illustration students with me to Japan to take introductory Japanese lessons at Kansai Gaidai University and then to receive intensive manga training and feedback from professionals at the premier manga vocational school in Tokyo, Nihon Manga Juku.”
He says, “I applied for the Future Faculty Career Exploration Program so that I could gain a better understanding of academia and the interview process. The program staff were extremely helpful during the fellowship period, offering insightful and candid advice on working and maneuvering in academia, and have continued to mentor me now that I have begun my professional career here.”
Since the program started over 20 years ago, dozens of others have also been hired at RIT including Nnaemeka Nnamani, a nuclear physicist, who is a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Science and Mathematics at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Carlos R. Rivero, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science, Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences and Robert Osgood, associate professor and director of Biomedical Sciences Program in the College of Health Sciences and Technology. Dimock says this is one more way RIT is building a diverse and inclusive faculty.
“RIT welcomed its most diverse first year-student class ever. We are a place where innovation and ingenuity come together to give our students a unique experience, and that starts with a diverse faculty representation. Our faculty are from diverse backgrounds, and they bring a broad array of ideas and expertise. Their enthusiasm for their research excites our students and allows them to envision themselves in their future careers.”
The four-day event concluded with a reception and dinner with RIT Minett Professor Emeritus Emerterio Otero delivering the keynote address and with the presentation of the Changing Hearts and Minds Award, given annually by the Office of Faculty Diversity and Recruitment to a college or individual who works to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. This year’s recipient is RIT President David Munson. In presenting the award, Torrence Sparkman, assistant provost and assistant vice president for Faculty Diversity and Recruitment said, “The award is presented specifically for your emphasis on creating strength through difference, your years of support of the Future Faculty Career Exploration program, this dinner, and the hiring of fellows, tenured/track faculty and staff. You have positively influenced the trajectory of RIT and the entire Division of Diversity and Inclusion.”
You can read more about all of the program participants here