The Predominately Undergraduate Institution in this study identified a sharp decline in external grant seeking during the 2007-2014 academic years. During these years some faculty applied for grants on a regular basis, but some faculty stopped seeking grants altogether. The first author interviewed 15 of the most persistent grant seekers to…

Faculty in their early careers discover unique and unanticipated concerns in navigating academia and attempting to create life balance. These needs must be addressed to ensure retention and success in the tenure process. This exploratory study found the creation of first-year faculty learning communities (FLCs) provides needed, integral, and…

This study examined the experiences of the "AcaDames," a faculty support group of five female pre-tenure faculty members, including two women of color. Qualitative analysis of a sample of meeting transcripts suggests that the peer mentorship group afforded accountability, professional and emotional support, collaboration, and…

Nationwide, over half of higher education faculty are mid-career. While they play vital roles sustaining their institutions, relatively little systematic attention has been paid to meeting their particular needs. This paper describes a professional renewal retreat program tailored to this "keystone" group of faculty (Chang, 2006). It is…

In light of recent interest in the limitations of early and mid-career mentoring (Driscoll et al 2009; Trowers 2011), this case study of a women's scholarly activity and goal setting Community of Practice (CoP) indicates that such groups can offer extensive peer mentoring at one teaching-oriented state university in the United States. Using a…

This study explores the climate for teaching at a major Midwest research university. Teaching climate is generally defined as the shared perceptions of current organizational processes that affect the institutional environment for teaching (Peterson et al., 1991; Tagiuri, 1968). Three types of distinguished teaching awards were used to select…

This study explores the interpersonal faculty development interactions of university faculty as a function of their demographic representation (with regard to gender and ethnicity) in their home departments. For one academic semester, a small sample of 30 tenure-track junior faculty participated in a weekly diary checklist study in which they…

In the context of increased expectations for accountability and growing controversy surrounding sabbatical leave programs, it is important to address seemingly simple questions of who is or should be awarded a sabbatical and what the rationale is for the award. The study attempted to offer some insight on these issues by examining the factors that…