This project organizes a three-day workshop for young political scientists from underrepresented minority groups. The workshop will be held at Duke University in February 2011, and will consist of panels devoted to mentoring, developing networks, publishing, teaching, and the tenure process for faculty members in higher education. A dozen panelists will present to 36 junior faculty participants.
While the numbers of underrepresented minorities with doctorates in political science are increasing slowly, the numbers receiving tenure are not increasing proportionately. This workshop will offer guidance to help participants in their professional development. The workshop will thus help ensure that a diverse group of scholars is conducting political science research.
In addition to its intellectual merits, the workshop has significant and substantial broader impacts. It is expressly designed to broaden the participation and retention of underrepresented groups in political science as a profession. The workshop deliberately focuses on enhancing scientific networks and collaboration. It actively engages in the training of young political scientists who are members of underrepresented groups, and is intended to increase the probability that they will be able to contribute to advancing the field and to teaching future generations. The workshop thus enhances the diversity of the discipline of political science, making important contributions to scholarship, teaching, learning, and society at large.
"Enhancing Research: A Workshop for Political Scientists from Underrepresented Groups Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Gender In the Social Sciences (REGSS) NSF Award #SES1068930 Dr. Paula D. McClain, Principal Investigator This proposal was for a grant to host a conference/workshop on research and tenure and promotion for young scholars from underrepresented groups in political science at Duke University. While the numbers of underrepresented groups with doctorates in political science are increasing slowly, the numbers making it over the tenure bar are not proportionate to the numbers in tenure track assistant professor positions. 1. Intellectual merit of proposed activity: This workshop discussed issues related to publishing in the discipline, mentoring, institutional barriers to tenure and the host of issues related to institutional and disciplinary standards for tenure. 2. Broader impacts resulting from proposed activity: The aim of the workshop was to plug the "leaky" pipeline at the assistant professor level. If the workshop was successful, more young underrepresented scholars in political science will be positioned to achieve tenure. Results With support from the National Science Foundation ($49,616), the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Gender in the Social Sciences (REGSS) hosted a workshop for underrepresented scholars in political science to discuss issues related to research productivity, tenure and promotion processes and professional and life balance. The workshop was held February 3 to 5, 2011 at Duke University’s Social Science Research Institute. The workshop brought together 20 senior scholars and 51 junior scholars from around the nation at Duke University for a series of candid discussions. REGSS Graduate Fellows were also included, so students from sociology participated in the workshop. Five panels were held covering a variety of topics: Panel 1 addressed questions of how young scholars identify the norms of their department and institution, how they go about identifying potential mentors, and how to develop professional networks; Panel 2 focused on the balance of teaching and writing for tenure track faculty, the burden of service for scholars of color and how to handle it, and balancing family with pressures of the academy, among other topics; Panel 3 discussed issues related to tenure and promotion, such as, how to determine what your department will be looking for at tenure time, the importance of pre-tenure review and following advice given at that point in time, and the role of the departmental review committee, departmental faculty, and chair in tenure decision making process, role of the Dean, role of the Provost; Panel 4 consisted of senior scholars who have written and continue to write letters of evaluation for promotion and tenure. They talked about what they look for in files they review, and that different departments ask for different types of evaluations in the request letters—some ask explicitly for recommendations, others want only an evaluation of the work, among other things; Panel 5 was a discussion with young scholars who had not successfully cleared the tenure hurdle and what they wish they had known at the time about the tenure process that would have helped them be successful. In June, 2011, REGSS constructed a survey instrument and sent a link to all participants and senior scholars. Forty (n=40) individuals responded. The overwhelming majority of participants felt the workshop was a success and answered many of their questions and met their needs. We are pleased with the results from the survey and were very, very pleased with the workshop. If this workshop is held again, we will take the comments on ways to strengthen the conference into our programming.
