First-Year Faculty of Color: Narratives about Entering the Academy

ABSTRACT

The experiences of first-year, tenure-track faculty have been missing in the literature about new or junior faculty. Furthermore, the extant literature about new faculty does not offer a critical outlook on how oppressive institutional structures shape how first-year faculty of color approach faculty work. Drawing from analytical narratives, the authors reframe how doctoral student socialization and new-faculty support systems are discussed, especially pertaining to first-year faculty of color. In doing so, and utilizing narrative inquiry as a methodological framework, the authors draw out the distinct voices of new faculty of color. The implications offered are important for scholars who study faculty experiences and for faculty advisors to doctoral students interested in the professoriate.

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Notes on contributors

Eddie R. Cole

Eddie R. Cole is an assistant professor of higher education at The College of William & Mary. His primary focus is on the history of higher education, specifically college presidents and civil rights in the 1960s.

Brian L. McGowan

Brian L. McGowan is an assistant professor of higher education in the School of Education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His scholarly expertise focuses on Black men's achievement, engagement, identity development, and interpersonal relationships in higher education.

Desiree D. Zerquera

Desiree D. Zerquera is an assistant professor in the Department of Leadership Studies in the School of Education at the University of San Francisco. Her research centers on examining the structuring of access and opportunity in higher education.