Success on the Tenure Track: Five Keys to Faculty Job Satisfaction

5. Support for Research and Teaching

* Support for Research and Teaching * Cathy Ann Trower An Ideal World The workplace demands of today’s college and university faculty are ever increasing.^^1 This is especially true for junior faculty on the tenure track, where pressure to acquire grants and to publish in top journals is mounting (O’Meara et al. 2008). Although obtaining research funding can be a painstaking process, it is critical nonetheless. Hermanowicz (2009) captures the importance of funding to faculty members by describing it as “nothing short of a lifeline that enables scientists to advance in a career” (p. 96). Despite this reality of faculty work, the percentage of faculty research funded by the U.S. government has steadily declined over the last several decades (Schuster and Finkelstein 2006). In addition, many faculty members continue to be inundated with heavy teaching loads, even at research intensive universities (O’Meara et al. 2008). The institutional support provided to junior faculty members for teaching and research varies depending on the type of institution. Some elite, well-resourced institutions provide ample sources of support and funding to their junior faculty, while others fail to meet demand. All institutions, however, struggle to identify the most effective means of support for their junior faculty, given budget restrictions (Hermanowicz 2009). This chapter begins with a discussion of protecting faculty time, followed by a look at research-specific support mechanisms such as travel funds and grant assistance. The efficacy of workshops and teaching and learning centers and support in the form of staff and facilities are addressed. Page 94 Protecting Faculty Time One of the common ways that junior faculty are supported on the tenure track is by protecting their time so that they have sufficient opportunity to obtain grant funding, conduct research, and to publish. Although considered one of the three staples of the junior faculty diet, service on committees is often given less weight during the tenure evaluation process (Rosser 2004). Rosenthal et al. (1994) found that “faculty members without tenure are often warned to concentrate on other forms of endeavor, to keep service to a minimum and to focus on activities that will count more when they are being evaluated” (p. 46). In other words, senior faculty and institutional leaders admonish junior faculty regarding too much service work but too often leave it to them to decide how much to take on. Institutions must make a concerted effort to protect their junior faculty from service work because many young academics are unprepared for the demands of the tenure track (Rosser 2004); “there may be a conflict between the socialization processes of doctoral students with the expectations (e.g., external funding, service work) and reality that confront new faculty members.… Although departments expect a new faculty member to ‘hit the ground running,’ these same departments must also protect new faculty members’ time and the amount of service activities they contribute” (Rosser 2004, p. 303). Rosser’s argument suggests that newly minted Ph.D.s may not be experienced enough to manage their service workload by themselves and that it is the hiring institution’s job to ensure that these faculty are protected. However, because explicit institutional policies and practices that place a cap on service work for junior faculty are a rarity, Beloit College dean and psychology professor Dave Burrows has suggested, in Balancing Teaching, Scholarship, and Service (2005), that senior faculty provide support for junior faculty by voluntarily taking on more committee work and the like. Burrows argues that junior faculty are a precious resource for institutions and that they bring fresh ideas and perspectives to their research. Although senior faculty espouse a culture where junior faculty have limited service work, it is up to them to take action and ensure that young scholars do indeed have their time protected. Some junior faculty also have their time protected when it comes to teaching load, one of the greatest sources of stress for tenure-track faculty. MengesPage 95 and Associates (1999) found that the teaching-related stress of junior faculty increased from the first year to the third year. “Because teaching-related activities were bound by specific dates by which classes had to be prepared, by which papers had to be marked, and by which grades had to be submitted, teaching-related activities were not tasks that could be put off” (Menges and Associates 1999, p. 315). Due to the time commitment and stress of teaching, some institutions provide release time that allows junior faculty to teach one or...