Navigating a Career in Academia: Insights from Emeriti Engineering Faculty

Sylvia L. Mendez; Jennifer A. Tygret; Katie Johanson; Valerie Martin Conley; Comas Haynes; Rosario Gerhardt; Kinnis Gosha

doi:10.1007/s41979-019-00026-7

Navigating a Career in Academia: Insights from Emeriti Engineering Faculty

Sylvia L. Mendez, Jennifer A. Tygret, Katie Johanson, Valerie Martin Conley, Comas Haynes, Rosario Gerhardt, Kinnis Gosha

Educational Leadership Studies

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

This holistic single-case study design grounded by Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence explores the perspectives of renowned emeriti engineering faculty on the future of the engineering professoriate and the factors that can lead to a successful professional trajectory for early-career, tenure-track engineering faculty. The emeriti faculty also share how they observed the ways in which race/ethnicity and gender, and the intersection of the two, influence the professional paths of early-career engineering faculty. Findings indicate the emeriti faculty believe the future of the engineering professoriate will be based on faculty continuing to develop useable technology that improves the human condition. Emeriti faculty note the appropriate balance of teaching, research, and service is dependent upon one’s individual circumstances and one’s creative, analytical, and practical abilities. They also share the balance can be complicated for underrepresented minority (URM) and female faculty. A thorough understanding of the factors emeriti faculty believe are critical for achieving promotion and tenure in the engineering professoriate may have the potential to positively impact the professional trajectories of early-career faculty.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	217-231
Number of pages	15
Journal	Journal for STEM Education Research
Volume	3
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s41979-019-00026-7
State	Published - Jul 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Funding

This study is part of a larger project that focuses on the Increasing Minority Presence within Academia through Continuous Training (IMPACT) mentoring program that pairs emeriti and URM early- and mid-career engineering faculty for career mentorship. The IMPACT program and the associated research were supported by a National Science Foundation Office for Broadening Participation in Engineering award (15-42728 and 15-42524) and an INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) Design and Developments Launch Pilot award (17-44500). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations are only those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2019 American Educational Research Association in Toronto, Canada. We are grateful for the comments and suggestions provided by the AERA and Journal for STEM Education Research reviewers.

Funders	Funder number
Rental housing includes two fourplexes	17-44500
National Science Foundation Arctic Social Science Program	15-42524, 15-42728

Keywords

Case study
Early-career engineering faculty
Emeriti engineering faculty
Mentoring
URM faculty

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Education

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10.1007/s41979-019-00026-7

Cite this

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Navigating a Career in Academia: Insights from Emeriti Engineering Faculty

Abstract

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