AJE Feature | Sinking, then swimming: Challenges and successes for junior faculty navigating the waters of tenure and promotion by Summer Koltonski, Sarah Straub, and Kevin Jones

Most individuals have been affected socially, personally, professionally, or financially by the Covid-19 pandemic. Faculty members in higher education are not exempt from the impact of COVID-19 as they have experienced drastic changes in their workload expectations. Junior faculty members especially have experienced negative impacts across the areas of research/scholarship, teaching, and service (Johns Hopkins University, 2020). Shillington, et al., (2020) found junior faculty members reported becoming increasingly anxious about tenure and promotion due to feeling less productive. They reported concerns of negative perceptions of being allowed to submit fewer substantial records, especially regarding research/scholarship (Misra, 2020). The authors acknowledge that junior faculty are at an increased disadvantage and seek to use this article as a means of sharing lessons learned and suggestions for moving forward.

Summer’s Lessons

In my second year in higher education, our college restructured our departments, I had a high-risk pregnancy, and then I had a baby during fall 2019.  Consequently, I already felt isolated when COVID-19 hit in spring 2020. Because of these circumstances, I no longer felt part of the university or my department. During the COVID-19 shutdown, I had low motivation for research and writing; I was in mom mode and survival mode. In spring 2021, I received feedback from Pre-Tenure Review, and it was recommended that I increase my research and publication efforts. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sawarkar, et al., (2019) recognized that people, including faculty, are more productive when they feel part of a community. How could I increase my research and publications when I felt so isolated? I had no energy or time for creativity. Research shows that women academics experience more hardships when balancing family duties and research related tasks (Forster, 2006; Santos, et al., 2008, & Woodward, 2007). It became clear that I was experiencing a work-family conflict. To cope with the work- family conflict and work demands brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, I – like many other women in the academy – prioritized teaching at the expense of research (Minello, et al., 2021).

My first suggestion to increase productivity and creativity is to simply reach out. In fact, this article started from a simple email sent to a colleague. During the pandemic, all meetings were held via video conference. This was a blessing and I still take advantage of video conferencing now. Video conferencing helps with time management and the work-family conflict. Since most professional development is held both in-person and via video conference, I feel like I have more flexibility and I can attend more trainings. To address the lack of research and creativity, I have prioritized that area. I intentionally carve out time in my schedule to read research and write. While I do feel like I am back on track, I still fear that motherhood and the COVID-19 pandemic will negatively affect my career. It is comforting to know that I am not the only one anxious about my career. Research indicates mothers in academia report being fearful about the future (Minello, et al., 2021). To continue on the path to success I must keep working and prioritizing my time to fill the gaps of my tenure portfolio.

Sarah’s Lessons

The 2020-2021 academic year was a critical moment for me as a junior faculty member. I would be deciding if I wanted to go up for early promotion. I reached out to a few people invested in my professional career for their input and decided to pursue this route. I was confident in my decision until I received my review from the year prior. The first confirmed what Guarino and Borden (2017) described about the overtaxation of women faculty regarding service expectations. I was doing too much according to the review. But, what could I cut? And why was I being asked to do more? What I have noticed throughout my time at my current institution is that the advice is there and there are people willing to take time from their workloads to invest in their colleagues. An associate professor agreed to review my materials. Honestly, it reminds me of my time as a first-generation high school student having to navigate the college application process without a counselor or being at the undergraduate level and having to plan my courses before getting approval from a major advisor, or even navigating the dissertation process without a cohort. It has taught me that I am responsible for my career and I cannot wait for support. I must ask for it.

One recommendation that has been helpful for me so that I do not overburden myself is my tenure/promotion one-pager that I update each semester, see Figure 1. My idea is that I can handle everything that is on that one page. I cannot, and do not need to, handle more. If I am asked to serve on additional departmental, college, or university committees, I know what my tenure and promotion documentation says, and I can see that I have met that expectation, so I do not have an issue declining. This is my way to combat the burnout described by Settles and Linderman (2020) regarding junior faculty.

Figure 1 shows how I make my commitments at the beginning of each semester. I know what is on this paper meets my tenure/promotion guidelines. This allows me to focus on the quality of endeavors I have decided to focus on, rather than filling my CV with as many appointments as I can. Additionally, I intentionally schedule time for professional development, student meetings, service commitments, grant applications, research, writing, and grading. I have intentionally scheduled my structured work time and held that time for myself. Figure 2 is my calendar system. When I look at each week, I see a balance of research, teaching, and service that aligns with my promotion and tenure expectations. This has been incredibly helpful for me.

Kevin’s Lessons

As a junior faculty in a new academic space, COVID-19 has presented some unique challenges such as exposing racism and illuminating a work-life imbalance. Systemic racism has intensified the impact of COVID-19 (Barber, et. al. 2020). Traumatic events throughout America surrounding racism such as the murdering of George Floyd, Eric Garner, Michael Brown and many more have unearthed structures designed to hinder growth in people of color. The trauma of racism accompanied by a pandemic has placed Black junior faculty in a precarious situation. When I first inquired about my present university, I immediately searched the faculty directory to see if there were any other Black male faculty members who could be a possible mentor. I soon realized there were no other male faculty of color in my department. Since Black professors represent only a small number of professors in comparison to their White counterparts at Historically White Institutions (HWI) (Jones, 2021), it makes it increasingly more difficult to create a mentor relationship with someone who understands the unique situation of faculty of color. Fortunately, this would not be my first time in this position of being the only Black male faculty. During my first experience teaching at an HWI, I faced several challenges and overcame those challenges with the help of mentorship.

Additionally, junior faculty members are now facing the challenge of working from home and in the midst of a pandemic, establishing a work-life balance. This has created new roadblocks such as: connectivity, appropriate environment for home, work, and family. While it is common for junior faculty members to have familial responsibilities, those responsibilities have been strained as a result of the pandemic. I have two young children, a newborn and a working wife. This situation has increased the level of anxiety regarding research completion dates, course meeting dates and times, and work-life balance.

I have focused on a solutions-oriented approach. COVID-19 has provided opportunities for technological growth with the support of additional access to online resources for research. I have found tremendous support through the library staff and other university staff in regards to instructional and research databases. Junior faculty members’ familial responsibilities will change throughout the pandemic. One solution would be for the university to develop partnerships with local businesses that facilitate childcare. These partnerships would alleviate some anxiety regarding time focused on research.

Looking Forward

How do we move forward? First, simply reach out, we found there are many resources available. To help alleviate time management issues create a calendar that addresses teaching, service, and research. Try to follow the schedule but also build in flex-time to work on projects that did not get completed because of childcare or health issues. Finally, carve out time to read research about the effects of COVID-19. We know we overlook the references – until we need supporting evidence, that is. But we felt a validation as we embarked on this investigation. This validation was freeing and led us to push forward in our scholarly work. Hopefully, those resources can be of some aid to you, as well.

About the Scholars

Dr. Sarah M. Straub is an assistant professor and antibias, antiracist educator in progress. While teaching K-12 in southwest Houston, she earned her doctoral degree from the University of Houston in curriculum and instruction with a focus on social justice education. She values critical pedagogy and social justice education, which is embedded throughout her courses and in her activism with student groups like the Bilingual Education Student Organization and her service with the Texas chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education. Dr. Straub’s research interests include multicultural education, culturally responsive teaching and antibias/antiracist education.

Dr. Kevin L. Jones is an Assistant Professor in the Education Studies Department Stephen F. Austin State University. He has been working to advocate for diversity, inclusion, and social justice at SFA through equity pedagogy. As a teacher and teacher educator, He is well versed in combining his lived experiences and research to the classroom setting. Dr. Jones has influenced students and developed teachers to be dynamic scholars who “teach all” young people and be their best in a culturally, ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse and global society.

References

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