The Junior Faculty of Color (JFOC) organization aims to provide a supportive community for racially minoritized assistant professors at UW–Madison. It was founded by Lillian Tong and Lori Kido Lopez in 2015, and continues today as an informal group that is led by junior faculty. The organization focuses on building camaraderie, sharing resources, promoting personal and career success, and providing a comfortable space for social support while navigating the tenure track. It also evolves to meet the needs of current members.
2024 Kick-off Meeting
Community activities
While activities are subject to change, in recent years they have included:
- Social gatherings on the first Friday of the month
- Weekly writing group sessions
- Email listserv with other junior faculty of color
- Book group discussions
Get involved
Our co-chairs for the JFOC in 2024–2025 are:
- Esther Kang, Assistant Professor of Design Studies
- Rachel Kuo, Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies and Gender and Women’s Studies
- Bill Limpisathian, Assistant Professor of Geography
- Mallika Nocco, Assistant Professor of Biological Systems Engineering and Extension Specialist in Agrohydrology
The group is also supported by Lori Lopez, Associate Dean for Social Sciences in the College of Letters and Science, and Percival Matthews, Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the School of Education.
If you are interested in joining or learning more about JFOC, please contact Lori Lopez at LKLopez@wisc.edu.