Because colleges, universities, and professional
schools are increasingly using vigorous and comprehensive faculty recruitment strategies, they are hiring a greater number
of women and under-represented U.S.
minorities. Some of those new hires will find themselves placed in puzzling and demanding “solo” roles. They will find that they are the only one or one of only a few women in a predominantly male department
(in a science or engineering area, for instance). Or they find they are the only one or one of only a few under-represented
U.S. minorities in a majority department (in any academic
field). In this booklet, I will focus on the special stresses and “extra taxes”—exacted at both the individual
and the organizational levels—that many solo/pioneer faculty discover they have to deal with.
Unless such stresses and taxes are addressed and
solos come to enjoy a sense of welcome and belonging, they understandably will not thrive and they may be relegated (often
unintentionally) to the margins of the professional and community lives of their departments and campuses. In some cases,
solos will decide to transfer to more hospitable departments at other campuses. In the worst-case scenario, they may become
deeply demoralized, conclude they are a “bad fit” for academe, and leave the professoriate altogether.
This publication will illuminate the following
topics:
What are the extra stresses and bewildering
social dynamics that often await a faculty member in a solo role (or in a numerically-few role)?
In a solo situation, why does a minority
faculty member who is not an immigrant usually have more demanding dynamics to deal with than an international or immigrant
minority?
How can the stresses of the solo be pro-actively
reduced by:
· the
department chair?
· the
solo’s department and especially senior members of the department?
· the
solo’s faculty mentor(s)?
· departmental
or campus-wide faculty developers? teaching and learning centers?
· the
solo him/herself?
Why do some senior faculty who are solos
shy away from lobbying to bring about the increased hiring of women or underrepresented minorities? Why do senior solos sometimes
seem fearful and resist mentoring or befriending junior colleagues who share their group membership? What risks and losses
could be awaiting senior solos?
In my consulting work, administrators and faculty
sometimes say to me that their own personal way of interacting with solos is this: be distant but friendly and do no harm
(a kind of passive-bystander approach). Unfortunately, their approach is good-intentioned but short-sighted: it withholds
collegial support to the solos and it makes no attempt to ameliorate the departmental dysfunctions sure to bewilder and at
times hurt them. This booklet will clarify why and how to take pro-active steps to improve the departmental climate and professional
life for solo faculty members.
Organization of the Publication
Ten “Discussion Scenarios” and my analysis
of each of them form the backbone of this booklet. The ten scenarios will acquaint readers with several dimensions of soloism.
As a consultant, I routinely use problem-based dialogues that contain issues and situations commonly occurring in academe.
Each scenario compresses a number of these issues and situations into a tight time frame, for pedagogical purposes. Why use
such scenarios? They jumpstart the workshops and retreats I run for faculty, administrators, committees, trustees, and other
groups. Together, the participants and I analyze and discuss each scenario and then move on to brainstorm concretely about
remedies—by whom, what, and how?—for the problems suggested in each scenario. Such a practical, highly interactive
approach allows me to tap into the participants’ wisdom as well as promote collective problem-solving.
Your Assignment as an Active Reader
You the reader will be given a similar opportunity
to ponder various aspects of the “solo phenomenon” illustrated in the forthcoming ten scenarios. As you consider
each scenario, please ask yourself:
What good practices do I see, at both the
individual and organizational levels?
What bad or negative practices do I see at the individual level? What dysfunctions
do I see at the organizational level?
What could be done to remove the bad practices
and dysfunctions or at least diminish the severity of them? By whom and how?
After you’ve pondered and perhaps
dissected a scenario, you can then move directly to the section following each scenario entitled “Analysis, Discussion,
and Some Remedies.” There you can compare your insights, hunches, and answers to the three questions above with the
analyses I have generated. My perspectives and findings are drawn from several sources: research about soloism done by numerous
scholars; my interviews of dozens of solo faculty, their department chairs, and mentors; and my in-the-field consulting with
a broad variety of campuses and professional schools, as I assist them in recruiting, retaining, mentoring, and advancing
women and under-represented minority colleagues.
