Senior faculty interests, ideas, and opportunities

1. Senior faculty interests, ideas, and opportunities Brian Smentkowski, Ph.D. smentkowskib@queens.edu Director, Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence Associate Professor of Political Science Associate Editor, To Improve the Academy Queens University of Charlotte This work is based upon research presented by the author at the 2015 POD Conference

2. Why Senior Faculty? • We have a good deal of work –programming and scholarship– dedicated to junior faculty success and a surging interest in mid-career faculty. • Senior faculty operate amidst a myriad of myths and persistent, negative stereotypes based on assumptions of productivity, engagement, and reactionary attitudes. • Myths define systems and are often both wrong and harmful.

4. Why Vitality? • Vitality is a lynch-pin to individual and institutional success. • “Without sustained vitality, faculty at any level face the dangers of burnout, waning interest, and growing disengagement.” • Now, couple this risk factor with the myths about senior faculty engagement. • What do we See?

5. perceptions and reality perceptions reality

6. What can we do? • “…there does seem to be a lack of imagination in programming for senior faculty…” • “…I feel like I lost a seat at the table…” • So, what can we do? • Ask, listen, think, respond • About? • Their“mighty A.C.R.E.” (autonomy, community, recognition, efficacy), and • Their ideas for enhancing engagement in: • The life and direction of the university • teaching • scholarship • service • other

7. From a larger project The Research Questions include… • What are the self perceptions senior faculty posses, and • What are the strategies and processes that senior faculty use to maintain and regain creativity and passion in their work?

8. Some results: Percentageof faculty who “strongly agree”

9. What the data tell us • The results (from the survey and open-ended questions) identify and emphasize four factors: • Sustained relationships • Mostly Faculty-Student, but also consider Faculty-Faculty • Self efficacy • Confidence and believing in one’s own ability to accomplish goals. • Prepared for and a Desire to work on Big ideas and projects • Mindset • Think Carol Dweck, the power of a positive mindset, and what it takes to have/cultivate one • Scholarly Life • Productive, diverse, willful

10. Strategies based on the results and open-ended responses

11. Strategy 1: Separation I hate to say it…but I get a lot out of pleasing people and living up to expectations. But now I think the best strategy that’s most likely to keep me engaged is to back away: to stop trying to dot this year’s i’s and cross that initiative’s t’s, and instead devote myself to teaching and scholarship. If I keep on like I’m going—taking care of everyone else, jumping to every new bar, embracing every trendy idea, breaking my heart every time I, or a friend, or XXX itself, is let down…it’s going to kill me.

12. Strategy 2: Balance I operated for 24 years of my life in an exceptionally competitive industry before coming to academia. We operated on a basic principle: you are either moving forward or you are moving backward. Remaining in the status quo is not an option… At the end of every day I ask two simple questions: What did I do today that was really good? What did I do today that I could improve upon?

13. Strategy 3: Mindset Stick to the positive, avoid the negative; focus on the good stuff—though there’s crap, there’s plenty of good stuff … Emphasizing the positive and being a positive influence (mindset is goal oriented; not as “soft” as it sounds).

14. Strategy 4: Initiative I just enjoy what I do, and I have been able to teach new classes that I’m interested in, get involved in new projects that interest me, and research areas that I find interesting.

15. Strategy 6: Active Scholar [Engaging in] the scholarly life…teaching, reading research in my area, interacting with students, faculty, & staff, academic climate (a place where everyone is committed to lifelong learning), flexible schedule, feeling like I’m making a difference in my students’ lives and careers… Choice!

16. Strategy 5: Relationships It always comes back to the success of the students now and their continued success after graduation. I know what they can do, and I get to see how they continue to be successful. That keeps me committed to the work that I do.

17. So? • Senior faculty routinely note that… • they once helped shape institutional culture • They have experience and are up to new challenges • They are uniquely capable of contributing to the “big picture” and ”big ideas” • they prefer to be asked to help shape them, not to just buy in to or follow them • They can be great mentors, but should not be relegated to that roll by default • assuming that this is “the” role for senior faculty misses the point • We should reconnect, focus on community, celebrate and showcase success, avoid “taking senior faculty for granted”, and inquire about and address, not assume, their motivations and interests –their “mighty a.c.r.e.” • We should consider new opportunities for not-so-new faculty. • Be mindful that assumptions from either end (see slide 3, coupled with perceptions of how administrators view senior faculty) can rapidly and unintentionally create micro-aggressions. • Be mindful of career-specific identity and skills, but focus on community across the career-span