> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • Student-Success Resource Center
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
News
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

On the Road to Tenure, Minority Professors Report Frustrations

By  Audrey Williams June
December 5, 2008

Minority professors on the tenure track aren’t as satisfied with their academic workplace as their white counterparts are, says a new report.

Native American junior faculty members, for instance, felt that most aspects of the tenure process were less clear than did white faculty members, and they were less satisfied with their institution’s culture.

“Mixing lack of clarity about the tenure process and criteria with dissatisfaction about the workplace culture and climate is not a recipe for success,” said Cathy A. Trower, research director at the group that released the report, the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education, or Coache. It is based at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. The report stems from a Coache survey that measures the attitudes of junior faculty members in several areas, including tenure, the culture of their institution, and policies and practices. More than 8,500 junior faculty members at 96 institutions answered questions for the survey.

We're sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network.

Please allow access to our site, and then refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, please contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

Minority professors on the tenure track aren’t as satisfied with their academic workplace as their white counterparts are, says a new report.

Native American junior faculty members, for instance, felt that most aspects of the tenure process were less clear than did white faculty members, and they were less satisfied with their institution’s culture.

“Mixing lack of clarity about the tenure process and criteria with dissatisfaction about the workplace culture and climate is not a recipe for success,” said Cathy A. Trower, research director at the group that released the report, the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education, or Coache. It is based at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. The report stems from a Coache survey that measures the attitudes of junior faculty members in several areas, including tenure, the culture of their institution, and policies and practices. More than 8,500 junior faculty members at 96 institutions answered questions for the survey.

On many questions—including one on whether their academic department treats pretenure faculty fairly and equally—Native American faculty members were less positive than their white colleagues. On a five-point scale, with 5 meaning “strongly agree” and 1 meaning “strongly disagree,” the mean rating for Native Americans was 3.33, the lowest of all minority groups surveyed. The mean rating for Asian faculty members was 3.83, slightly higher than the 3.81 rating from white faculty members. Hispanic faculty members’ mean rating was 3.75, compared with African Americans at 3.6.

African-American faculty members tended to agree with white faculty members on statements related to work-life balance. But the gap between the two groups widened when they were asked about whether they agreed that tenure decisions were based mainly on their performance.

ADVERTISEMENT

White faculty members’ mean rating in response to that statement was 3.62, a more positive response than the mean of 3.23 for African-American faculty members. African Americans also were less satisfied with workplace collegiality.

Meanwhile, Hispanic faculty members’ tended to be just as satisfied as their white peers about key institutional and departmental variables of climate, collegiality, and culture, the report said.

Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with their institution as a place to work on a five-point scale, with 5 meaning “very satisfied” and 1 meaning “very dissatisfied.” The mean for white faculty members was 3.67, compared with 3.47 for Native American faculty members and 3.65 for Asian faculty members. The mean for Hispanic and African-American faculty members was basically the same at 3.7.

Minority faculty members were more satisfied with their individual departments than with their institutions, with the lowest mean rating coming from Native Americans at 3.69. The mean for white faculty members was 3.91.

Would minority junior faculty members choose to work at their institutions if they were on the market again? Most likely they would. The mean ratings from each of the minority groups surveyed hovered around 4 on the five-point scale.

ADVERTISEMENT

The full report, “Highlights Report 2008: Selected Results from the Coache Tenure-Track Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey,” can be found on the group’s Web site.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Audrey Williams June
Audrey Williams June is the news-data manager at The Chronicle. She explores and analyzes data sets, databases, and records to uncover higher-education trends, insights, and stories. Email her at audrey.june@chronicle.com, or follow her on Twitter @audreywjune.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Accessibility Statement
    Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin