Erik Porfeli

Dr. Porfeli Faculty Insight

Erik J. Porfeli, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Human Sciences (HS) and interim dean of the College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE). He served as chair of HS since joining the college in 2017. In those eight years, he enacted a leadership agenda that has allowed the department to thrive in terms of its mission impact, financial health and supportive climate and culture.

In his new role as interim dean, Porfeli will continue to devote himself to uniting public and land-grant universities with Pre-K-12 school districts, industry and community partners.

Porfeli’s scholarship is focused on lifespan career development with a focus on career adaptability, vocational identity and work values. In a current project, he is translating prior work with The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and The Ohio State University Extension to establish the Appalachian and Rural Center for Health. The center will serve as a platform to launch a new Ohio State Healthcare Extension service across Appalachian and rural Ohio in the coming years.

At the national level, Porfeli is the immediate past chair of the Board on Health and Human Sciences of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU). He also chairs the Advancing Holistic Principles committee for the Association of American Medical Colleges.

In addition, he serves as a member of the Cooperative Extension Health Leadership Committee. 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 communities.

• PhD, Pennsylvania State University, Human Development and Family Studies, 2004
• Med, Kent State University, Rehabilitation Counseling, 1998
• BS, University of Pittsburgh, Psychology, 1992

• 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.

• Porfeli E.J., Nakae S., Amiri L., Harrison L.E., Ross W. (Aug. 25). A Holistic Ecosystem Model to Diversify the Physician Workforce and Enhance Health. Health Equity, 9(1):405-411. doi: 10.1177/24731242251371526
• 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.