Despite decades of effort by federal science funders to increase the numbers of women holding advanced degrees and faculty jobs in science and engineering, they are persistently underrepresented in academic STEM disciplines, especially in positions of seniority, leadership, and prestige. Women filled 47% of all US jobs in 2015, but held only 24%…

Ten years ago higher education scholars predicted a major faculty turnover in the late 1990s and into the twenty-first century--a prediction based on demographic data on an aging faculty. The turnover is under way, accelerated by early retirement policies. Currently blocks of faculty positions are opening up at regional colleges and universities,…

A study found few gender differences in young college faculty's (n=115) reasons for acceptance, rejection, or resignation of academic positions. Results imply academic recruiting should focus on quality of academic life in the department or institution, accommodating family members' needs, and job security in the form of longer, tenure-track…

A celebrated economist discusses the employment of college faculty in the modern university focusing on two primary issues: (1) tenure and promotion; and (2) recruitment, payment, and retention. Additional issues addressed include the role of faculty, academic authority, democracy in the classroom, and allocation of society's resources for higher…