5. Retaining your New Faculty Member
Scholarship reveals higher turnover rates and lower promotion rates for women and minoritized faculty–a distinct failure of higher education to facilitate the success of all of its community members. To break this pattern, departments, programs, and colleges can take several important steps, with most starting several months before the new faculty member sets foot on campus:
Negotiation Support
Upon making an offer, it is in the department’s interest to provide a potential candidate mentorship to help negotiate their startup and compensation packages.
Clarifying Expectations
Teaching commitments, administrative/service requirements, and research expectations should be communicated to new faculty in their offer.
Prompt Resolution of Package Discrepancies
If any aspect of the new faculty member’s package fails to materialize, the department chairperson or a senior faculty member should notify the new faculty member immediately and work diligently to correct the oversight.
Proactive Inclusion Efforts
Academic units should be aware of their shortcomings when it comes to the potential inclusion of a new faculty member and address those shortcomings many months before the arrival of the new faculty member. The Office of Inclusion and Diversity can provide training to improve their climate and raise critical consciousness.
Microaggressions can have a significant psychological impact on an individual, especially in the first year. Consequently, departments should “frontload” their support for new faculty and maintain a positive connection moving forward. As Damon Williams writes in Chief Diversity Officer, “To heighten a newcomer’s sense of belonging, the chair or a designated senior faculty member might visit the new faculty member’s classes on the first day of the semester to briefly welcome and introduce the new member to his or her students. This will help students better appreciate, understand, and respect the new faculty member. New women and minority hires often particularly appreciate these overtures since they traditionally face more challenges to their authority than their White male peers.”1
In the first year, departments must review all steps towards promotion, such as annual reviews, mid-probationary reviews, the timeline for applying for tenure, and the expectations of the tenure package. Afterward, these expectations should be placed in the then-new faculty member’s file in writing to prevent any instability that could occur with a new department/program chair or college/school dean.
Academic units must help new faculty have a healthy and productive balance that allows them to move forward with the scholarly demands for promotion. Departments should recognize that women and minoritized faculty are often asked to serve as diversity representatives across the University and often have a higher student advising burden. Departments should reward new faculty for these contributions in annual assessments and promotions.
Departments should connect new faculty to the many internal resources USC has for faculty support, including:
Additional Resources Supporting Diverse Faculty Retention
Retention: The ability to maintain employees and minimize turnover which contributes to organizational sustainability.
Connect to Resources:
- National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD): USC has an institutional membership, and faculty can access trainings and support programs. NCFDD has been shown to support tenure and retention for faculty from marginalized identity groups.
- USC Centers for Excellence in Teaching: Faculty and course design at USC are supported by the Center for Excellence in Teaching.
- USC Employee Resource Groups: Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and Affinity Groups unite individuals with a common background, identity or cause, facilitating community, personal and professional development, and outreach.
Evaluate your Practices:
- Analyze turnover rates and look for patterns
- Conduct Exit interviews
- Adjust your practices based on data
- Address your “climate”