Building Capacity for Promotion and Tenure From a Branch Campus

• In Event: 16.048 - Breaking the Code: Developing a Mentorship Network for Minority Faculty in Academic Settings

Abstract

1. Objective: To provide a view for the unique characteristics that faculty face when situated on a branch/satellite campus.

2. Theoretical Framework:Social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) concerning the role of learning and development through observation and modeling.

3. Modes of Inquiry: Auto-ethnology (Ellis, 2004/2009) and informal focus groups (Krueger & Casey, 2008)

4. Data Sources: Narratives, stories and reflections, and Literature Review

5. Point of View: Faculty assigned to branch or satellite campuses of a main research university may be presented with unique circumstances for faculty participation and growth (Altbach, 2015). While there are a number of opportunities afforded to faculty on branch campuses, there does remain a number of challenges particularly for faculty that are on the tenure track. Most of these challenges are related to the isolation and separation from the main campuses where decisions regarding tenure and promotion are discussed and decided. These issues are becoming more prevalent due to the rapid growth of distance and e-learning that is occurring in Institutes of Higher Education, thereby providing more opportunities for faculty to be situated at a distance from the main campus.

Branch campus faculty are many times tasked with forging partnerships and research agendas that are located at sites off campus without the resources that are available to faculty on the main campus, such as the library, research support centers, and other faculty networking opportunities. Thus making it imperative for branch campus faculty to seek out alternative paths for support and resources. Informal mentoring groups and community-based research support are some of the ways these faculty members can build capacity and thereby enhance opportunities for professional growth and success.

The presenters will share some of their unique ways they were able to build a professional and scholarly CV that enabled them to gain tenure and promotion in a timely manner.

6. Scholarly Significance of the study or work: Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) continue to struggle with recruitment and retention of minority faculty, especially women in academia (Turner, Viernes, & Myers, 2000; Wu, Thorsos, & Kern, 2016). There is a disparity between the percentages of men and women faculty with tenure (48.6% and 34.6% respectively) and the low rate (28%) of women faculty who advance in rank to full professors (Curtis, 2011). The importance of mentoring networks for minority faculty in supporting their successful advancement toward tenure, promotion and leadership has been well documented (Agosto et al., 2015; Allen, Eby, Poteet, Lentz, & Lima, 2004; Bottoms et al., 2013; Esnard, et al. 2015; Unterreiner, Four-Babb, Kern, & Wu, 2015).

Author

• Anne L. Kern, University of Idaho