University faculty have many responsibilities, including teaching and research, that call for long periods of work before a significant payoff. Grit, the passion and perseverance towards long term goals, may help explain why some faculty attain their goals more frequently than others. The goal of this study was to examine the role of grit and emotions in faculty teaching and research success. Counseling psychology faculty (N = 131) from US universities completed an online survey, which included and validated a revised grit scale. Findings showed, more so in the domain of research than teaching, grit correlated positively with enjoyment, negatively with anxiety, and positively with success. In the research domain, the structural regression paths revealed grit to be more relevant for faculty success and emotions. In the research models, persistence of effort predicted perceived control while consistency of interest predicted value. Research value predicted enjoyment and anxiety, and in turn success. In the teaching model, there were no significant paths from grit to control or value; however, value predicted enjoyment, and in turn success. These findings have implications for faculty development as grit has been a relatively understudied construct in this population.