Bridge to Faculty
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Bridge to Faculty (B2F) is a recruitment program designed to attract underrepresented postdoctoral scholars with the goal of a direct transition to a tenure-track junior faculty position after two years. This recruitment initiative aims to attract and retain promising scholars to UIC as well as diversify our faculty, with particular emphasis on departments with low or no presence of faculty who are underrepresented in their field. B2F uses a cohort model, where postdoctoral scholars participate together in meetings and tailored workshops to prepare them to teach, establish a research program and support their ability to pursue grants, and create productive mentor relationships.
Departments interested in hosting a B2F Scholar must complete an application detailing the rationale for their interest in participating in the program and must provide a plan for mentoring and supporting an incoming B2F Scholar, expectations for evaluating Scholar progress through the two-year postdoctoral period, and a plan for transitioning the Scholar into a faculty position after the postdoctoral period. Departments selected to participate in the program conduct competitive searches to select and hire B2F Scholars. Resources for the postdoctoral positions and the faculty hires that result are provided by UIC’s central administration.
B2F is funded by the Chancellor’s Office and administered through the Office of the Provost. For more information please contact Angela Walden (walden1@uic.edu), Assistant Vice Chancellor of Diversity Initiatives, in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity & Engagement
Apply for the B2F Program - Learn more here!

Support Our Scholar! Heading link
April 19, 2023 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM [Virtual Event]
Join us as Bridge to Faculty (B2F) scholars share their experiences and respective research with the UIC community. Through an intersectional lens, these scholars reveal the complexity and specificity of their contemporary research and how the lives of those in the margins are impacted.
Dr. Ignacio Escalante Meza from the Department of Biological Sciences will discuss previous research on the behavioral ecology of daddy long-legs from Costa Rica and ongoing projects to study these arachnids in Chicago and Cook County. His research integrates questions & approaches from animal behavior, ecology, communication, biomechanics, and physiology to explore how and why animals perform the behaviors we observe.
Introducing Our 2022 Postdocs Heading link
Our 2021 Postdocs Heading link
Danielle Beaujon
Phillip Boda
Larelle Bookhart
Zizwe Chase
Monty Cole
Xiomara Cornejo
Lauren Johnson
Gabriela Nunez-Mir
Ivón Padilla-Rodríguez
Gordon Palmer
Nicole Perez
Justin Quang Nguyên Phan
Sabrin Rizk
Marvin Solberg
ash stephens
Emily Vasquez
Dieff Vital
Shweta Yadav
Our 2020 Postdocs Heading link
Marisol Becerra
Lawrence Brown
Roselyne Gérazime
Jarrad Hampton-Marcell
Maria Eugenia López-Garcia
Annette Martín
Marcus Michelen
Rodrigo Solinís-Casparius
Stephanie Torres
José Villegas
Our Affiliate Scholars Heading link
Alysha Hart
Ariel Smith
Awarded Departments Heading link
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Fall 2019
Nine UIC departments received ten Bridge to Faculty Scholars. These departments welcomed Scholars at the beginning of the Fall 2020 semester.
- Anthropology
- Biological Sciences
- Educational Psychology
- French and Francophone Studies
- Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science
- Museum and Exhibition Studies
- Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Philosophy
- Public Administration
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Fall 2020
Twenty UIC departments and programs were selected in Fall 2020 and provided the opportunity to recruit and hire a Bridge to Faculty Scholar. Scholars will begin their appointment at the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester.
- Anthropology
- Art History
- Biobehavioral Nursing Science
- Biological Sciences
- Community Health Sciences
- Computer Science
- Criminology, Law and Justice
- Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Educational Policy Studies
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- English
- Global Asian Studies
- History
- Medical Education
- Occupational Therapy
- Pharmacy Practice
- Sociology
- Special Education
- Theatre
- University Library