Assuming Agency: Taking Ownership of the Mid-Career Stage
 
Plagued with growing service expectations, particularly for women and other underrepresented faculty members, misalignment between workload and reward systems (including vague and unclear criteria for advancement to full professorship), increased responsibilities, and varying expectations and demands on their time, many associate professors feel “stuck in the middle” rather than experiencing success or elation from earning tenure (Rockquemore, 2012). Although we acknowledge that the challenges facing the mid-career stage are numerous and varying and there is much to be critical about, the goals of this pre-conference workshop are to: 1) offer a counter-narrative of the mid-career stage by looking at the ways in which faculty members and/or institutions can assert themselves to find opportunities to support mid-career faculty within challenging contexts, and 2) to provide the needed scaffolding and supports to help mid-career faculty members assume personal agency over this ill-defined stage of the faculty career.
 
The current political and social climate, while alarming, creates opportunities for higher education, particularly the faculty, staff, and administrators who work there to inform effective, sustainable change. We believe mid-career faculty are particularly poised to assume leadership roles and responsibilities, and to be focal (and vocal) leaders on their respective campuses with the appropriate development and resources.  The mid-career stage highlights priority mentoring opportunities, and the need for new and innovative faculty development supports that contribute to outcomes at the institutional, departmental, and individual levels.
 
This workshop brings together leading scholars and practitioners engaged in research and practice on and professional development programming for mid-career faculty members. Over the course of this workshop, participants will engage with one another, and senior scholars in the field. Topics include:
 
Write it Down, Make It Happen: Goal Setting
Knowing the Process to Full Professorship on Your Campus
Controlling your Narrative
Developing your Voice as a Mid-Career Faculty Member and Campus Leader
Managing your Research Pipeline
Mapping your Mentoring Network
Assuming Agency and Work Life Balance
Tips, Tools, and Hacks to get to Full Professorship


 
This pre-conference workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, April 4th from 12:30-4 through Thursday, April 5th ending at noon.  

The Mid-Career Workshop co-chairs are Vicki L Baker and Jaime Lester. Any questions about the workshop should be forwarded to Vicki L Baker at vbaker@albion.edu