Post-Promotion Advancement and Career Exploration (PACE)
PACE offers newly promoted associate professors no-cost coaching services to support successful navigation through the transition that follows achieving tenure. Faculty across diverse contexts report that this new career phase presents unique challenges and opportunities. PACE is designed to help newly tenured faculty make the most of this transition point by pairing faculty with external coaches to support exploration of individually-defined needs, interests, and aspirations.
What is PACE?
Matching Process
The Coaches
Coaching Sessions
Eligibility & Registration
Contact Us
What is PACE?
PACE is a coaching program that affords faculty the opportunity to explore possibilities, reflect on priorities, clarify goals, and think through career next steps through six private one-on-one sessions with a skilled coach who understands academia. Co-created by the Office of the Provost and ADVANCE, the PACE program is evaluating how providing no-cost tailored academic coaching services over a two-year period can support faculty during this career transition.
The Coaches
PACE Coaching Organizations
PACE is partnering with six highly regarded coaching organizations external to U-M. Each coach has their own individual approach and style. Common to the discipline is that the direction of the coaching experience is determined by the person being coached. Coaches may provide tools, assessments, articles, and exercises to support their clients in both surfacing and achieving their goals.
Leader Academic
Eligibility & Registration
Who is eligible for the PACE Coaching Program?
The PACE Program is open to faculty who were promoted to associate professor with tenure effective AY2025-2026 and AY2026-2027, and whose home units do not offer coaching resources. (Note: Because the College of Engineering and the Medical School already provide such services, they are not part of this program.)
For split appointments, eligibility is determined by whether the home unit offers coaching services or not. If the home unit does not provide coaching services, you are eligible for PACE. If the appointment is equally split between two units that do not offer coaching, you are also eligible.
If you have additional questions about your eligibility for the PACE Coaching Program, please reach out to us at [email protected].
Which schools and colleges are currently part of the PACE Program?
- Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning
- Stamps School of Art & Design
- Ross School of Business
- School of Dentistry
- Marsal Family School of Education
- School for Environment and Sustainability
- School of Information
- School of Kinesiology
- Law School
- College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
- School of Music, Theatre & Dance
- School of Nursing
- College of Pharmacy
- School of Public Health
- Ford School of Public Policy
- School of Social Work
What information is needed to register for PACE?
The registration form asks several short questions about the topics you are interested in exploring with your coach, goals for coaching, preferred communication styles, and an abbreviated CV (no more than four pages).
I’m planning to be on leave/sabbatical during part or all of the year. Can I still participate?
Yes! In fact, this might be an ideal time to focus on your career goals. You need not be physically present on campus to participate in the program.
I am eligible for PACE, but I already have an established relationship with a coach. What are my options?
You may request additional coaching sessions through the PACE Pilot Coaching Program if you have an established coach who is currently affiliated with Bridgeport Consulting, Ideas for Action, Kardia Group, Kristen Storey Consulting, Leader Academic, or Vineyard Associates and you meet the eligibility criteria. If your coach is not currently affiliated with one of these three organizations, we are unable to offer the same opportunity through this pilot for that coach.
Matching Process
How does the coach matching process work?
The PACE program works with external coaches to identify matches based on your interests, needs, and capacity of coaches. The information you provide in the registration form regarding your goals, needs, and communication style will help facilitate the matching process. You can expect to hear from your matched coach within about two weeks of submitting your registration form
What information do I need to provide to be matched?
You will receive an invitation letter from the provost that contains a link to the registration site to request coaching. You’ll be prompted to provide your CV and some additional information about your goals, values, and communication style that will help your coach orient to your career and interests.
Can I select my own coach?
Unfortunately, program capacity does not allow for individual coach selection. However, if you feel that your coach is not a good match for you, please contact [email protected] so we can connect you with a coach whose style may be better suited to your needs.
What if I want to change coaches during the program?
It is important that you feel you have good rapport with a coach, but sometimes the connection just isn’t there. If that is the case, please let us know! We will make every effort to match you with a coach who better suits your needs. Email [email protected].
How long do I have to request and complete my coaching sessions?
All six sessions must be completed within no more than 20 months from your tenure effective date. Completion deadlines by effective tenure dates and are as follows:
- April 30, 2027 for effective tenure dates of AY25-26
- April 30, 2028, for effective tenure dates of AY2026-27
Coaching Sessions
What kinds of topics or issues can I discuss with a coach?
The following are examples
Career exploration
- What do I want to stop, start, or change in my research?
- Do I want to be a researcher first and foremost, a public intellectual, get involved in tech transfer, move into leadership, or something else?
- Do I want to pursue leadership roles, either at Michigan or elsewhere (e.g., nationally, internationally, etc.)?
- Writing (i.e., doing, not doing, collaborators, changing directions, etc.)
- Giving voice to your values
Work plans, habits, and mindsets
- Prioritizing people, tasks, projects, requests, etc.
- Freeing up time and space to pursue new interests
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Shifts in perspective, reframing
- Energy management
- Setting boundaries
Work relationships
- Working with challenging colleagues (faculty and/or staff)
- Navigating departmental or unit politics
- Building effective collaborations
- How to handle collaborations that aren’t working
Leadership goals
- Building an effective team
- Strategic planning
- Strengthening my professional presence
- Job offers (i.e., accepting, pursuing, negotiating, refusing, timing, etc.)
Personal and life management
- Work/life balance
- Mindfulness, wellness
- Traveling logistics
- Household management
What can I expect in a coaching session? Will there be things I need to prepare, or tasks to complete?
Every coaching relationship is different. Coaches will tailor the sessions based on the topics and issues participants wish to discuss. Outside assignments, readings, or tasks may be assigned to reinforce discussions. Such work will be developed in consultation with participants.
Is the information I discuss with my coach confidential?
Subject to the exception below, the content of all coaching sessions* is considered private and will not be shared with anyone (including program administrators and school/college leadership). Throughout the year, coaches will inform the program administrators of general themes or issues that arise during the coaching process and will make recommendations regarding the evaluation of the program.
*With respect to conversations, written communications, and any documents exchanged for the coaching/consulting relationship or generated for the purpose of coaching/consulting, including those that focus specifically on the employee’s characteristics or role in the university. This includes information about colleagues, career plans, or the institution.
How often should I meet with my coach?
While this will be for you and your PACE coach to determine, coaching sessions should optimally occur monthly. The cadence of coaching sessions will be a little different for everyone, but you might expect to have your initial 2-3 sessions fairly close together, with later sessions a little further apart.
What if I need to reschedule or cancel my coaching session?
Every coach sets their own policy and you should make sure you understand it. If you violate your coach’s policy about rescheduling or canceling sessions, you will forfeit that session.
What information does U-M collect from PACE participants?
Program administrators (which is jointly managed by the ADVANCE program and staff in the provost’s office) will know your name, school/college affiliation, your goals for coaching, information from your CV, and how many coaching sessions you participated in. Program administrators will evaluate the program using de-identified, aggregate data regarding overall participation and perceptions of the PACE program.
Will I be asked to give feedback on my experience with the program?
Yes! Your feedback is integral to program improvements and helping to ensure it meets faculty members’ needs. You will receive two brief surveys from ADVANCE, one after you have completed your third coaching session and one after your last session. This feedback, in de-identified, aggregate form only, will be included in program reporting.
Contact Us
For questions about the PACE Coaching Program or the InfoReady application website, please contact [email protected].