Giving postdoctoral scholars the skills and experience to be successful college faculty is the aim of a joint program of the University of California, Davis, and San Francisco State University. The Professors of the Future (PROF) program is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. New Ph.D. graduates take short-term jobs as postdoctoral researchers, often funded by federal grants, as a step toward a career as a college professor. But very few get any formal training in college teaching, managing staff or running a research lab. "It's pretty amazing when you think about it," said Jerry Hedrick, associate dean of graduate studies at UC Davis and one of the administrators of PROF. Young professors have to learn these skills on the job when they get their first faculty position, he said. The UC Davis/SFSU scheme funds postdocs for three years. Participants have two faculty mentors, one at each institution. They spend up to two years at UC Davis, working mostly on bench research. They also learn how to set up and run a lab, manage staff and cope with workload. At least one year is spent at SFSU, where they develop and teach a full course, supervised by their mentor at the state university. Participants also explore using new approaches and new technologies for college teaching. This program will benefit both the participants and future students who will have better prepared teachers, said co-administrator Bruce Macher, assistant vice president of research at SFSU. "Ninety percent of postdocs get their Ph.D.s at research universities, but 90 percent of those that continue in academia will get teaching jobs at non-research institutions," said Macher. Postdocs from UC San Francisco and Stanford University often approach SFSU looking for teaching experience, he said. Over 60 percent of UC Davis postdocs in a recent survey favored more teaching experience and training, said Tom Peavy, chair of the Postdoctoral Scholars Association at UC Davis. Only 20 percent said they were getting teaching experience at present. The PROF scheme is funded by the NIH under a program to promote training collaborations between research universities and teaching institutions that serve minorities. More information: -- At UC Davis: -- At SFSU: