Associate Faculty Coaching Program

The Michigan Engineering Associate Faculty Coaching Program supports faculty at a pivotal career stage: after tenure, when the path forward becomes less prescribed, and the opportunity to shape a distinctive, meaningful, and sustainable career becomes especially important. The program offers a robust framework to help faculty reflect, build awareness, expand choices, and consider the support network necessary to move confidently in their personal and professional growth. After completing one year of 1:1 coaching, faculty are offered continued support through a series of peer-based coaching cohort events.

Core Elements of the Program:

Intentional Goal Setting

Encouraging faculty to explore and articulate their career aspirations, capturing a clearer, deliberate path to achieving these objectives

Guided Reflection / Intentional Prompts

Prompting faculty to be intentional about how they want to proceed, who they surround themselves with, and what a productive day looks like at this crucial moment in their careers.

Leadership Readiness

Cultivating the skills necessary for taking on expanded roles and responsibilities within their departments, national societies, or policy agencies, or for leading their research groups, to name a few.

Cohort-Based Engagement

Facilitating peer relationships while providing individual support, emphasizing the importance of peer mentoring and enhancing dialogue, reflection, and learning.

Finding Direction After Tenure

After achieving tenure, many faculty face a new kind of uncertainty: what comes next? With increased expectations and expanding opportunities, it can be challenging for faculty to prioritize the responsibilities, goals, or directions that best align with their values and long-term aspirations.

The Michigan Engineering Associate Faculty Coaching Program offers the time, structure, and support to help faculty make thoughtful, intentional decisions about the next stage of their academic careers—whether that means deepening a research agenda, exploring leadership, expanding impact and influence, or pursuing a new scholarly direction.

What Faculty Gain

Through individual coaching and peer connections, participants gain clarity about what they want to build next, how they want to contribute, and which actions will help them increase their impact and influence while sustaining their motivation and well-being. Benefits include:

Renewed Motivation and Purpose

Clarify what is genuinely energizing—not just what is expected—and use that insight to pursue scholarship, leadership, and service that are meaningful and motivating. Define a future that aligns with personal values, strengths, and ambitions.

Optimization of Impact and Influence

Identify the opportunities that matter most, make more intentional decisions about where to invest energy, and build confidence in setting boundaries around work that does not align with goals.

Strategies for Work-Life Congruency

Develop practical strategies for aligning professional growth with personal well-being, in order to thrive and contribute at a high level over the long term.

Meaningful Connections

Build trusted relationships with peers navigating similar opportunities and challenges, creating a network of support, perspective, and connection that extends beyond the program.

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