Success on the Tenure Track: Five Keys to Faculty Job Satisfaction by Cathy Ann Trower (review)

In Success on the Tenure Track: Five Keys to Faculty Job Satisfaction, Cathy Ann Trower tackles the problematic topic of whether holding a tenure-track position and being satisfied with one's job are compatible. She believes that job satisfaction on the tenure track is possible but that achieving such satisfaction requires a supportive institution that thinks about tenure policies and related issues carefully.

Trower highlights what she refers to as "exemplary" tenure policies and practices at seven public universities that positively influence faculty job satisfaction. To underscore what these seven institutions do well, Trower offers action plans for administrators to utilize as they examine and revise their own tenure policies and practices. Further, she provides suggestions and advice for how colleges and universities can reenvision the tenure track with the goal of increasing faculty job satisfaction.

Trower's data are drawn from a larger study by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) at Harvard's Graduate School of Education that took place in 2005-2006. The larger study surveyed over 15,000 tenure-track faculty members at 200 colleges and universities. However, Trower's book primarily draws on 104 interviews that the COACHE researchers conducted at seven "exemplary" public universities that participated in the larger survey. In addition, the COACHE researchers conducted a detailed examination of tenure-related policies and procedures at these seven institutions.

The seven institutions that COACHE viewed as "exemplary" in terms of how they handle various aspects of the tenure process are Auburn University in Alabama, University of Kansas, North Carolina State University, Ohio State University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Iowa, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Chapter 1 introduces the book and provides a helpful overview of the state of the professoriate in the United States today. In Chapter 2, Trower provides the particulars on the study background and methodology, including detailed overviews of the seven "exemplary" public universities that are featured in the study.

Chapters 3 through 6 all follow a similar format but address different topics or issues related to tenure-track faculty and job satisfaction. In each of these chapters, Trower begins with an overview of the key literature on the specific topic addressed. She follows this literature review with an analysis of the COACHE data, with a focus on the effective practices that can be discerned from the interview data at the seven exemplary institutions. In Chapter 4, she presents these practices as "factors that matter most" (p. 82.) At the conclusion of each chapter, Trower offers an action plan (presented as "policy and practice implications") derived from her analysis of the study data.

Chapter 3 focuses on the tenure process in general, including the overarching debate about what should count toward tenure and how colleges and universities can provide the necessary resources to support tenure-track faculty (i.e., faculty orientations, sample dossiers, feedback, etc.).

In Chapter 4, Trower jumps into the thorny debate about how (and even if) tenure-track professors can achieve a work-life balance, with a detailed look at issues related to child-rearing during the tenure-track process and the availability of flexible work options.

Chapter 5 examines more closely what teaching and research-related policies and procedures are successful at supporting tenure-track professors, including start-up support for research, travel funds, and research leaves. In Chapter 6, Trower tackles campus culture, campus climate, and issues of collegiality, which she describes as "the toughest topic of all" (p. 122). This chapter includes a discussion about the value of mentoring and the importance of institutional and departmental support structures for encouraging success on the tenure track.

In Chapters 7 and 8, Trower deviates from the previous chapters both in topic and in format. In Chapter 7, Trower "offers ideas for university leaders (the president and provost, department heads and chairs...