How to Attract and Retain Excellent Faculty

• Published in: PsycCritiques Vol. 52; no. 27; p. No Pagination Specified
• Main Author: Kramer, Thomas J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Psychological Association 04.07.2007
• Subjects: Colleges; Demographic Characteristics; Diversity in the Workplace; Educational Personnel; Higher Education; Human; Job Characteristics; Organizational Change; Personnel Selection; Trends
• ISSN: 1554-0138; 1554-0138
• DOI: 10.1037/a0008646

Reviews the book, Rethinking faculty work: Higher education's strategic imperative by Judith M. Gappa, Ann E. Austin, and Andrea G. Trice (see record 2006-23348-000). Has the role of faculty changed much over the years? Will changes in societal values, demographics, technology, and global competition force institutions of higher education to rethink how the work of faculty needs to become more diversified? Or will higher education be relatively isolated from the effects of these changes, at least as it relates to the role faculty play, including the way faculty are recruited and retained? The purpose of the book revolves around developing an answer to the following question: "How can colleges and universities make academic work and workplaces attractive to diverse faculty in diverse appointments and ensure that all faculty are supported in their efforts to work effectively?" (p. xiii). The authors' intent is to develop a vision for how institutions of higher education can do this. The book is laid out in three parts. The first part of the book lays the foundation for the later parts. It is partly historical, focusing on demographic trends of faculty, how faculty roles and appointments have become somewhat more diversified, and the challenges of attracting and retaining faculty given these trends and changes. The second part of the book focuses on developing and describing what the authors identify as five fundamental elements of the work experience for faculty. A discussion of these elements and recommendations for how institutions can develop and maintain them makes up the third part of the book. The book provides a very nice framework for consideration of faculty roles and responsibilities. Given the purpose, it covers the topic reasonably well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)