"This Is Fine": Faculty Transitions Amid COVID-19

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Seven
  In Roundtable Session: Racial Realism: COVID-19, State Bans on Critical Race Theory, and the Retention of Racially Minoritized Faculty (Table 2)

Abstract

This study examines the intersecting impact of race, gender, geography, and the pandemic on early-career faculty. Within the larger literature on Women of Color faculty, navigational capital, community, and mentorship are critical components for success, especially on the tenure track. Yet, with tCOVID-19, many of these aspects receded as higher education institutions grappled to change their infrastructure and modes of delivery. Utilizing duoethnography, through interviews, conversational dialogues, and prompted reflections, we highlight the tensions, challenges, and multifaceted nuances of starting faculty positions at the onset of COVID-19. Findings illuminate the compounding effect of newness given the quarantine isolation, the loss of being able to celebrate milestones in community, and the creative strategies to hold space for one another.

Authors

• Katherine S. Cho, Loyola University Chicago
  Presenting Author

• Berenice Sánchez, Idaho State University
  Presenting Author