First-Generation Faculty of Color in Higher Education: Toward a Tenure-Attaining Culture

• In Event: "First-Generation" Faculty of Color in Higher Education: Voicing Silenced Narratives in Academe

Abstract

Employing a critical race theory lens, I rely on counterstory-telling to examine how generational education status shapes and informs experiences in the professoriate for faculty of color. I posit that many of the socialization practices created for, and directed towards, first generation students continue to have relevancy for faculty of color who were once themselves first generation college students. By extension, I argue that the attainment of a doctoral degree does not nullify one’s experiences as a “first generation” student; rather degree completion may presume competency that is still being acquired. Assuming that institutions of higher education want their first generation faculty to succeed, I argue that it is imperative that postsecondary institutions foster a “tenure attaining culture.” I borrow and build on research on first generation students (Oakes, 2003), who cite the importance of fostering an explicit “college going culture” to introduce the concept of “tenure attaining culture.” I contend that a “tenure attaining culture” presumes that there is mutual accountability in fostering success for first generation faculty by coupling high expectations with specific interventions and information that emphasize mentorship, persistence, and achievement, through both formal and informal institutional support systems.

Author

• Maria C. Ledesma, University of Utah