Abstract:

The success and well-being of Black and other underrepresented minority faculty in predominately White institutions of higher education in the United States is challenged by the “chilly climate” of these non-inclusive campus environments by their small numbers and racial isolation/ marginalization, lack of institutional support, lack of a community of peers who share similar research interests, lack of same race mentors, the demands of tokenism placed upon them, and the racial micro-aggressions that colorize the campus environment. These problems are particularly acute in the STEM fields where the numbers of underrepresented faculty are especially small. The nature of the structure of the academy which segregates faculty within disciplinary silos offers limited opportunities to connect with other same race faculty in other departments or divisions. These faculty are isolated from colleagues engaged in similar research activities, and isolated from faculty colleagues who share similar cultural perspectives and knowledge, who thus may have compatible research agendas which would enable cross disciplinary dialog and promote cross disciplinary research collaborations. Faculty need to devise their own strategies outside of their institution’s programs and structural bounds to ensure their successful navigation of the Academy.

Revisiting creative uses of technology in mentoring higher education faculty, and expanding the network of support beyond individual institutional borders is a compelling strategy for providing collegial support to minority faculty for whom such support is lacking at their own institution. The benefits of cross- institutional networks of professional support include that they transform the small college into a big university in terms of the extent of the broad array of human faculty resources available to each of the participating faculty members in the cross- institutional cohort. The faculty cohort becomes more complex, creating a supportive environment that is able to be more innovative. Faculty research agendas are enriched, invigorated and, and brought to the cutting edge by the cross-fertilization of human resources and the ideas that are generated across a rich and diverse cross- institutional cohort.

A cross-institutional model for the creation of Black faculty professional support networks was operationalized among a small cohort of predominately white institutions of higher education through personal contacts with individual faculty who recruited participants from within their institutions. Significant success of this model was evidenced as based on an increase in faculty scholarly productivity, as well as cohort faculty self reports of increased professional efficacy and well-being.

Technology allows for the creation and utilization of successful formulas and models of faculty support that have broad reach beyond single institutional walls. Proficient high tech versus high “touch” (in person) interactional strategies have been highly useful in providing faculty support across institutions of higher education. Such models have implications for the success of Black as well as for other minority faculty in other national/geographic and even global contexts.

Keywords:

Minority faculty, faculty support, networking, on-line mentoring.