Advice & News  |  by Alison Herget

Monday, December 21, 2015

During her early years in a tenure-track position in anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Kathryn Clancy would often find herself reading papers while snuggling with her daughter. She and her husband defined "quality time" as working next to each other on the couch while watching TV.

Not only did Clancy find such multitasking unproductive, she constantly felt like she was shortchanging those who mattered most in her life. Several years later, and now approaching the tenure milestone, Clancy thinks she has finally figured out how to make things work.

"Multitasking is just not efficient for me," says Clancy, "I try to have it be that when I'm at work, I'm at work. When I'm at home, I'm at home."

The struggles that Clancy has faced as a tenure-track faculty member are not uncommon. How is it possible to get published in top-tier research journals, hone grant-writing skills, and efficiently grade a seemingly endless stream of student papers and homework assignments -- all while having a fulfilling personal life and raising a child?

"The only thing I wish I would have told myself is that everything is cyclical," Clancy said. For her, the "darkest years" of the tenure process were years two, three, and four, because she was still learning how to do her job well and finding good mentors can be difficult. Thankful for the continued support of her family and institution, once she learned the ropes, everything became much easier.

"I wish I had known to be more generous with myself," she said.

Navigating the tenure process can be particularly challenging for women because the process often coincides with childbearing years. Some women choose to opt out of the tenure race early on, as they don't want to have to make the choice between a baby or tenure. Others, like Clancy, approach it with caution, realizing that the decision to have a child and career can often have perilous implications on future job prospects. As one report noted in 2013, among tenured faculty, only 44 percent of women are married with children compared to 70 percent of men.

Not only does research output add to heightened anxiety during the tenure-track process but so does teaching. Being a successful teacher -- and having a record of that success for presentation to the tenure committee -- can also be a challenge for some professors, particularly in a higher education landscape that is changing how student evaluations are conducted.

According to Craig Vasey, chair of the Committee on Teaching, Research, and Publications for the American Association of University Professors, the shift to online evaluations has made it harder for faculty to demonstrate that they are effective teachers. Response rates have decreased, and students may feel more comfortable leaving negative feedback since their name is no longer attached to the evaluation.

Having colleagues or members of your department visit your class a few times a semester to review it and having that feedback included in your credential file can alternatively be a good way to demonstrate teaching effectiveness for the tenure committee, said Vasey, also a professor of philosophy and chair of the Department of Classics, Philosophy, and Religion at the University of Mary Washington. Additionally, such review provides the added bonus of strengthening relationships with colleagues, which can be useful for creating a more amicable and less taxing work environment.

Since specific criteria for tenure can vary based on institutional type and academic discipline, Vasey recommends that to relieve some of the stressors of the tenure process, faculty should ask questions each step of the way.

It's important for faculty to not shy away from asking questions of the tenure committee and other colleagues who have successfully achieved tenure, while learning what specific strengths and weaknesses of tenure applications might be, he said.

According to Estela Bensimon, professor of higher education at the University of Southern California, relationships with peers in the field are essential for feedback throughout the tenure process, particularly when it comes to research and publications.

"Given the ambiguity of (tenure) criteria, a good practice would be to look at the CV of recently tenured faculty in the department or school in order to get a sense of what counts in terms of publications, grants, and doctoral advisement," she said. By examining the quantity of articles and in what journals he or she published, as well as other work such as books, conference presentations, and grants, you can gain valuable insight into the tenure process, she said.

Additionally, pre-tenure faculty members should be cautious about devoting time to activities that are not likely related to the tenure process, such as advising students, serving on committees or other kinds of service. If those demands are asked of you, do not be afraid to ask how they will count for tenure, she said.

"In the long run, what really counts is the quality of the work and demonstrating the potential to become a leading scholar in the field," she said.