Individual Identity and Framing or Defining the Mid-Career Experience

• In Event: 56.081 - Roundtable Session 24
  In Roundtable Session: 56.081-10 - Mid-Career Faculty Transitions: Identity and Being the "Slow" Professor

Abstract

Small group work (45 minutes): Four groups will be available for participants to select for the small and targeted discussions. One panelist will facilitate each of these groups and lead any future efforts. The groups will include: 1) Diversity of career transitions across the mid-career rank; 2) Impact of institutional type on mid-career faculty opportunities; 3) individual identity and framing or defining the mid-career experience; 4) Contemporary demands on faculty work and the impact on scholarship. Guiding questions will be crafted for each of the small groups. Each group will collect their discussion and commentary on a Google document that allows for real time construction of information and can serve as a space for a longer, extended conversation and dialogue after the conclusion of the session and the conference. The Google document will be projected during the session so individuals in all groups can see contributions even if they do not have a device with them. We will also encourage individuals to use the AERA Twitter feed to post commentary during the session. The Google document will serve as the working space for the future working groups.

Each of the four groups will have a set of questions it uniquely explores. Some of these questions may include:

3. Individual identity and framing or defining the mid-career experience
• How do individual faculty define mid-career?
• How does their familial status shape their mid-career experience and decision-making to apply for promotion?

Author

• David Horton, Ohio University