We’ve now presented the results of the Faculty Survey to many faculty. We’ve discussed the results with the Board of Directors. We have sought reactions both informally from many.
Most agree that the clearest message from the survey was concerns about the tenure and promotion processes among tenure-line faculty, the mentoring of associate professors, the lack of support for interdisciplinary scholarship, and needed improvements in support for external research funding.
We in the provost’s office want to use the faculty survey to guide our agenda over the coming months and then repeat the survey as a way to keep us accountable for our actions.
In this regard, we have segmented the various messages from the survey into those for which we need more consultation with the faculty, to clarify the nature of the concerns, and those that might yield themselves to quicker solutions. We will act on all the concerns listed above, but some will take more time than others.
We’ve chosen one concern to act on immediately. We believe the mentoring of associate professors is an issue for which we might make progress more quickly than others. Some departments and units already have effective mentoring programs, recognized by others as effective tools. If key aspects of those programs can be transported to other units, then associates in other programs can take advantage of them.
There are key features of a mature academic’s career that can always profit from interaction with more senior colleagues:
• Assessment of multi-step plans for scholarly work
• Techniques at extending the impact of earlier work by extensions with new developments
• Assessing new collaborative opportunities
• Stimulating effective activity in professional organizations, synergistic with one’s scholarly career
• Reviewing and critiquing grant applications for external funding or fellowships
New skills and outlooks are necessary for associate professors that were not needed for successful navigation of the road to a positive tenure decision.
For example, the assurance of tenure among associates often allows them to choose important, but risky projects to take on–ones with high payoff but imperfect chances of success. For such endeavors, assessing the chances of success is worthy of discussion with wise others. A trusted mentor is very valuable on choosing the “next big thing.”
Success in the next step of one’s career after tenure also often requires juggling more balls simultaneously. The possibility of increasing professional activities comes frequently at this stage of a career. Such professional activities can be useful to build one’s professional network and to identify potential collaborators. How does one wisely choose which professional activities to pursue? A good mentor with relevant experience can help answer that question.
The successful garnering of tenure at the university does not end one’s need for good career advice. All associate professors at Georgetown deserve the best support we can garner to assist them in achieving their next level of excellence.