The shift in the political environment calling for greater student retention in higher education is changing the work dynamics of higher education faculty. Despite many initiatives, the research indicates that faculty have the greatest impact on student persistence. The demands for faculty time continues to increase and to broaden. No longer do…

This semester-long discussion activity is designed for onboarding faculty at any rank or status, including new faculty or graduate teaching assistant/associate orientations, faculty learning communities, mid-career professional development programs, transition to administrative roles such as department chair or associate dean, and the like.…

Academic developers enter the field of academic development (AD) from various disciplines and at different stages of their careers. They bring with them their academic experiences, home disciplinary culture and presumptions about what AD is. These circumstances inform the initial professional identity for those working in what has been described…

Throughout the world of higher education, universities and colleges are reconceptualizing how their institutions are organized, especially in terms of faculty size related to overall programming. As adjunct rates increase and faculty positions are eliminated, many programs may be reduced to a single faculty lead. Yet, single faculty member…

Background: The landscape of higher education continues to evolve in ways that have significant implications for the academic profession, including the shaping of academic identities. In a context of increasing marketisation, it is essential to understand more about the complex relationship between academic identities and structural change within…

The principles of diversity and inclusion are valued across the higher education sector, but the ways in which these principles are translated into pedagogic practice are not always evident. Students who are first in their family to attend university continue to report barriers to full participation in university life. They are more likely to…

This paper explores the experiences of social work practitioners making a career move from front-line practice into academia. Six participants engaged in a focus group and subsequent individual semi-structured interviews to reflect on their transitional experiences. From this, factors that helped or hindered the transition were identified and…

This article focuses on identity flux and related negotiations that occur for doctoral students who start PhD programmes whilst already in post as full-time academics. Theoretically, we develop the concept of the "learned" and the "learning" academic as end points within a continuum used to explore academic identity…

A survey concerning perceptions of academic librarians was conducted at a large, 4-year university with three populations: librarians, faculty, and undergraduate students. The high response rate and the use of an instrument based on previous studies offers the possibility of longitudinal comparison and the identification of relationships between…

Based on interviews with 31 academics and 5 nonacademic partners, this article explores the experiences of academics in commuting couples, or those who live apart for work-related reasons. Using identity theory as a guide, this article explores how participants navigate their competing identities of academic and partner (and, for some, parent) to…

Little is known about the ways in which faculty members understand their role and responsibility in addressing sexual violence and how they engage in sexual violence education efforts. This qualitative study of 10 faculty members gives insight into how faculty members engage in efforts to address sexual violence. Their experiences demonstrate how…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study employee engagement in higher education by examining full-time non-tenure track faculty members' perceptions at a North East US state public university. Design/methodology/approach: The authors used semi-structured face-to-face personal interviews with 11 non-tenure track full-time university faculty.…

Many educators are also academic researchers and activists. This diversity can enrich our lives in important ways, allowing us to experience distinct domains of life and apply insights across them. Nevertheless, the responsibilities connected to these roles sometimes conflict in ways that undermine the meaningfulness of an educator's life by…

Using case study data about the emergence of the university chief wellness officer (CWO), this article discusses the purpose of this niche executive role. Borrowing from corporate wellness models, universities charge this senior leader to improve population health for faculty, staff, and students and promote organizational cultures that value…

Background: Across the globe, there have been significant reforms to improve STEM education at all levels. A significant part of this has been teacher reform. While the responses and resilience of STEM teachers to educational reforms in secondary education have received significant attention, the responses and resilience of STEM teachers in higher…