The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSIs) has released a new report that highlights the unique challenges and needs of early-career faculty at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).
“Supporting Early Career Faculty at Minority Serving Institutions,” examines CMSI’s ELEVATE program launched in 2015, which supports professional development, mentorship, and retention for MSI faculty.
While MSIs play a key role in promoting faculty diversity by consistently employing more educators of color than other institutions, MSI faculty also face pressures, such as heavy teaching and advising loads, high expectations for research and publishing, and limited resources for career development. These stressors are often heightened by a lack of clarity around tenure expectations and a reluctance among junior faculty to speak up for fear of jeopardizing progression in their career.
“Educators of color gravitate towards MSIs because they offer a family-like atmosphere, a commitment to equity and student success, and the opportunity to both give back and nurture the next generation of leaders," said Dr. Marybeth Gasman, one of the report’s authors and the executive director of the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions and the Samuel Dewitt Proctor Endowed Chair at the university. “That’s why professional development and mentorship play a critical role in fostering a diverse and dynamic faculty at MSIs.”
Since its inception, the program has seen promising results, with 70% of ELEVATE fellows going on to achieve tenure and promotion.
Dr. Cheron H. Davis, an associate professor in the Department of Elementary Education at Florida A&M University, attests to the success of ELEVATE after taking advantage of the program’s benefits to aid in her own career.
