Succeeding in an Academic Career - (Greenwood Educators' Reference Collection) by Mildred Garcia (Hardcover)

About the Book

Faculty of color are entering the academy at a time when colleges and universities are undergoing significant transformations. Demographic shifts promise the most diverse student body in the history of higher education. The technology explosion is transforming the way we experience teaching and learning. Public expectations that higher education institutions put students at the center of learning have never been higher. Administrators and faculty throughout the country proclaim that they want to diversify their faculty in order to be able to meet these new challenges. When they are successful, they hire faculty of color who bring an abundance of talent. Armed with the new knowledge they acquired in their life experiences and in pursuit of their advanced degrees, these faculty members not only promote diversity, but also offer different ways of knowing their field and different lenses through which to examine their disciplines.

Yet, when faculty of color enter the academy, they all too often receive little guidance about what it takes to carve out a career in higher education. The present volume is a collection of success stories contributed by faculty of color that share their lessons of survival. It offers thoughtful analyses, multiple blueprints, and specific strategies for shaping a successful and satisfying academic career.

Book Synopsis

Faculty of color are entering the academy at a time when colleges and universities are undergoing significant transformations. Demographic shifts promise the most diverse student body in the history of higher education. The technology explosion is transforming the way we experience teaching and learning. Public expectations that higher education institutions put students at the center of learning have never been higher. Administrators and faculty throughout the country proclaim that they want to diversify their faculty in order to be able to meet these new challenges. When they are successful, they hire faculty of color who bring an abundance of talent. Armed with the new knowledge they acquired in their life experiences and in pursuit of their advanced degrees, these faculty members not only promote diversity, but also offer different ways of knowing their field and different lenses through which to examine their disciplines.

Yet, when faculty of color enter the academy, they all too often receive little guidance about what it takes to carve out a career in higher education. The present volume is a collection of success stories contributed by faculty of color that share their lessons of survival. It offers thoughtful analyses, multiple blueprints, and specific strategies for shaping a successful and satisfying academic career.

Review Quotes

"Succeeding in an Academic Career: A Guide for Faculty of Color, is a wonderful resource for the field of higher education....Provides a seamless and engaging journey through the faculty experience. It is well written, scholarly, persuasive and compelling."-Daryl G. Smith Professor of Education and Psychology Claremont Graduate University

"For any academic institution that cares about retaining and nurturing faculty of color, this book is illuminating. It should be required reading for every academic administrator who should, in turn, purchase copies for every department chair. For faculty, of color, it may keep you in the profession--and will certainly help you thrive there despite the persistent residue of racial asymmetries that continue to encumber our college campuses."-Carol Geary Schneider President Association of American Colleges and Universities

"Just at the point when support for affirmative action and direct efforts to increase diversity in higher education seems to be at its lowest, Professor Mildred Garcia has put together a highly readable and engaging collection of essays by and about faculty of color negotiating the travails of the academic jungle....The tools provided by this carefully crafted volume are essential for the success of faculty of color as researchers, scholars, teachers and community leaders....The highly personal and extremely revealing essays in this volume provide a vitally needed road map for maintaining diversity in the academy."-Samuel L. Myers, Jr. Roy Wilkins Professor of Human Relations and Social Justice Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs University of Minnesota

?Succeeding in an Academic Career: A Guide for Faculty of Color is a much-needed book, and makes an important contribution to the knowledge base surrounding academic careers for faculty of color....this book is a must read for ALL faculty and graduate students aspiring to an academic career.?-Journal of College Student Development

?This useful and readable collection includes a foreword, by cultural anthropologist Yolanda Moses, and an index.?-Multicultural Review

"This useful and readable collection includes a foreword, by cultural anthropologist Yolanda Moses, and an index."-Multicultural Review

About the Author

MILDRED GARCÍA is Professor and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Arizona State University, West Campus Phoenix, AZ.