Erik Porfeli

Dr. Porfeli Faculty Insight

Erik J. Porfeli, PhD is a Professor and Chair of Department of Human Sciences in the College of Education and Human Ecology at the Ohio State University. His scholarship is devoted to lifespan career development and he has been awarded several million dollars in grant funding to support underserved and underrepresented youth to pursue academic and career pathways devoted to enhancing community health. A current grant-funded project engages the Department of Human Sciences, OSU Extension, and the OSU College of Public health to deploy up to AmeriCorps members across Ohio to empower youth to identify and tackle health concerns in their community as they explore and pursue post-secondary educational opportunities in the health professions. As a Department Chair, Dr. Porfeli leads over 120 faculty and staff to advance human health, wellbeing, development, and economic vitality across a diversity of contexts. He also serves as the Vice Chair of the Board on Health and Human Sciences of the Association of Public and Land Grant University and the Vice Chair of the Advancing Holistic Principles committee for Association of American Medical Colleges. His leadership roles focus on initiatives that enhance access and opportunities for students in health and human sciences fields to advance the health, education, and economic vitality of underserved and marginalized communities.

PhD, Pennsylvania State University, Human Development and Family Studies, 2004

Med, Kent State University, Rehabilitation Counseling, 1998

BS, University of Pittsburgh, Psychology, 1992

• Access and Equity
• Adolescent and At-Risk Youth
  • Community engagement to support youth from underserved and marginalized communities to advance community health and pursue degrees in the health professions
• Child Development
• Educational Achievement
• Educational Statistics and Research Methods
• Equity
• Human Development and Family Studies
• Pre-medicine
• Social Justice
• Work and Family Studies
• Workforce Development and Education
  • Career Assessment
  • Lifespan career development with a focus on childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood

Lifespan career development with a focus on the childhood, adolescent and young adult periods and with a focus on programs to support underserved and underrepresented youth to pursue academic and career pathways devoted to enhancing community health.

• Nakae, S., Porfeli, E. J., Davis, D., Grabowski, C. J., Harrison, L. E., Amiri, L., Ross, W. (2021). Enrollment Management in Undergraduate Medical School Admissions: A Complementary Framework to Holistic Review for Increasing Diversity in Medicine. Academic Medicine, 94(4), 501-506. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000003866
• Vondracek, F. W., Porfeli, E. J., & Ford, D. E. (2019). Living systems theory: Using a person-incontext behaviour episode unit of analysis in career guidance research and practice. In J. Athanasou & H. Perera (Eds.), International Handbook of Career Guidance. (pp. 497-512). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. ISBN 978-3-030-25152-9
• Savickas, M. L., Porfeli, E. J., and Hilton, T. L., (2018). The Student Career Construction Inventory. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 106, 138-152. 
• Porfeli, E. J., Ferrari, L., & Nota, L. (2013). Work Valence as a predictor of Academic Achievement in the Family Context. Journal of Career Development, 40(3), 370-388.
• Porfeli, E. J., Lee, B., & Vondracek, F. W. (2013). Identity development and careers in adolescents and emerging adults: Content, process, and structure. In M. L. Savickas and W. B. Walsh (Eds.) Handbook of vocational psychology. (pp. 133-154). New York, NY: Routledge Press.
• Savickas, M. L., & Porfeli, E. J. (2012). Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80, 661- 673. doi:10.1016//j.jvb.2012.01.011
• Porfeli, E. J., & Savickas, M. L. (2012). Career Adapt-Abilities Scale-USA Form: Psychometric properties and relation to vocational identity. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80,748-753. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2012.01.009
• Porfeli, E. J., Lee, B., & Weigold, I. K. (2012). A multidimensional measure of work valences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(2), 340-350.
• Porfeli, E. J., & Lee, B. (2012). Career development during childhood and adolescence. In K. Hynes & B. J. Hirsch (Eds.), Career programming: Linking youth to the world of work. (pp. 11-22). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Porfeli, E. J., Lee, B., Vondracek, F. W. And Weigold, I. (2011). A multi-dimensional measure of vocational identity status. Journal of Adolescence, 34 (5) 853-871.
• Porfeli, E. J., Richard, G. V., & Savickas, M. L. (2010). Development of specialization scales for the MSPI: A comparison of empirical and inductive strategies. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 77, 227-237.
• Porfeli, E. J., & Mortimer, J. T., (2010). Intrinsic work value-reward dissonance and work satisfaction during young adulthood. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73 (1), 143-158.
• Porfeli, E. J., & Vondracek, F. W. (2009). Career development, work, and occupational success. In M. C. Smith & N. DeFrates-Densch (Eds.) Handbook of research on adult learning and development (pp. 412-436). New York: Routledge.
• Porfeli, E. J., Hartung, P. J., & Vondracek, F. W. (2008). Children’s vocational development: A research rationale. Career Development Quarterly, 57 (1), 25-37.
• Porfeli, E. J. (2007). Work values system development during adolescence. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 7 (1), 42-60.
• Hartung, P. J., Porfeli, E. J., & Vondracek, F. W. (2005). Child vocational development: A review and reconsideration. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 66 (3), 385-419.