There is a nursing faculty shortage in the United States today and projections are that over the next decade nurses will retire at a rate faster than they are being replaced. The projected shortage at a time when the largest part of the population will begin to retire and enter the ranks of the elderly could potentially cause serious problems within the country's health care system. This nursing shortage coupled with a very large and aging baby boomer population makes it imperative that more new nurses are admitted into nursing schools, allowing more nurses to be graduated. Tied to the need to admit more students into nursing schools is a recognized shortage of qualified nursing faculty. Historically, nurses have transitioned into the role of faculty late in their career leaving only a few years of productive teaching. To begin to turn the tide on the projected nursing shortage, health care leaders must come to understand why nurses do not elect to enter the role of nursing faculty much earlier in their career. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe, explore, and seek a deeper understanding about the reasons that nurse educators do not transition into the faculty role earlier in their nursing career. This phenomenological study utilized in-depth interviews of faculty from a new College of Nursing in Central Texas. The study attempted to develop an understanding of the perceptions and perspectives of the role of nursing faculty. A description of the essences of participant's experiences was obtained through the process of phenomenological reduction, analysis of themes and statements, and integrations of the textural and structural descriptions of the participant's lived experiences. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]