Readers,
Recently, I received an e-mail from an administrator friend who always keeps me abreast of new developments/issues regarding higher education faculty.
According to this article, "32 Colleges Are Named Most Friendly to Junior Faculty", there are a few colleges in the United States that are focused on retaining their faculty. These innovative retention policies focus on the following: better policies for faculty with families, clarity of expectation for tenure, and other important issues.
So, I started to think about that policies that would matter to junior faculty from the millennial generation. Here's my list:
- Clear research and teaching expectations for the tenure process.
- Opportunities to collaborate with other junior faculty on research.
- Funds for travel to academic conferences.
- A flexible teaching policy for teaching, research, and service AND for junior faculty who are parents (maybe an option to teach online or hybrid courses).
These would be the faculty benefits that I would look for in a department if I were on the academic job search.
What items would YOU add to the list?
Sincerely,
Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
I would also add opportunity for faculty development onsite. For instance, a brown bag series run by more experience faculty to talk about hot topics in education or the institution. I think it is important for millennials to have professional development at "home" rather than only at conferences.
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