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What New Faculty Need To Know

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Conference

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Austin, Texas

Publication Date

June 14, 2009

Start Date

June 14, 2009

End Date

June 17, 2009

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

Been There, Done That: Advice for NEEs

Tagged Division

New Engineering Educators

Page Count

8

Page Numbers

14.1367.1 - 14.1367.8

DOI

10.18260/1-2--4834

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/4834

Download Count

427

Paper Authors

biography

Susan Murray Missouri University of Science and Technology

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Susan L. Murray is an Associate Professor in the Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Department at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Dr. Murray received her B.S. and Ph.D. in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University. Her M.S. is also in industrial engineering from the University of Texas-Arlington. She is a professional engineer in Texas. Her research and teaching interests include human systems integration, productivity improvement, human performance, ergonomics, and engineering education. Prior to her academic position, she spent seven years working in industry including two years at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

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biography

Elizabeth Cudney Missouri University of Science and Technology

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Elizabeth Cudney is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology. She received her B.S. in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University. She received her Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering with a Manufacturing Specialization and Master of Business Administration from the University of Hartford, and her doctorate in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri – Rolla. Her major areas of interest are in quality engineering and lean enterprise, more specifically Mahalanobis-Taguchi System, Robust Design, Lean Enterprise and Six Sigma.

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Suzanna Long Missouri University of Science and Technology Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-6589-5528

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Suzanna Long is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology. Prior to joining Missouri S&T she was an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Management and Marketing, Missouri Southern State University and Coordinator of the transportation-logistics program. She holds a PhD and an M.S. in engineering management, B.S. in physics and a B.A. in history from the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) and an M.A. in history from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Her research interests include strategic partnering, sustainable supply chains and infrastructures, and engineering education.

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Katie Grantham Lough Missouri University of Science and Technology

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Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

What New Faculty Need to Know, B

Abstract A smooth transition to life at an academic institution and the surrounding community is essential to the professional careers of new faculty members. The transition begins during the hiring process and startup package negotiations. Once at an institution, aspects of academia including teaching, proposal writing, and the tenure process inevitably generate issues and concerns for new faculty members. Research has shown that mentoring new faculty members early in their academic career can have significant impact on professional success. This is especially true at a research-based institution where the demands of funded scholarship add an extra level of complexity. A survey was conducted of faculty members at Missouri University of Science & Technology (Missouri S&T) in their first three years of a tenure track appointment to determine areas of concern for new faculty members. This paper presents the survey results, discusses the issues raised by the survey, and makes recommendations for effective mentoring relationships. Specific questions for new faculty members discussed in this paper include: What to look for in a hen to

for teaching? concerns. This paper evaluates issues that are critical to forming effective mentoring relationships. Guidance offered provides value to mentors in understanding which areas are of greatest concern to new faculty. It provides information to protégés as well in determining key characteristics of an effective mentor.

1 Introduction The purpose of this paper is to address the transition to life at an academic institution for new faculty members and provide tools for success to these professionals. This academic transition has common characteristics at both research-based and teaching institutions although the priorities will shift based on the primary focus of the institution. This article explores the topic from the perspective of new faculty at a research-based institution with the understanding that some issues will have general application. At a research-based institution, the transition begins during the hiring process and startup package negotiations4. Discussions with various levels of faculty members, new through emeritus, reveal that each recalls that the transition to academic life is challenging. Productivity quotas to ensure tenure at universities are increasing; it is critical that the challenging or opaque aspects of transition to an academic career are removed or made transparent. The goal of this paper is to identify the challenges facing new faculty members and provide tools to ease some of those challenges during the first critical years of faculty development. Many useful books and articles have been written on the importance of mentoring. Countless researchers have explored a variety of issues related to mentoring including how the mentor is assigned, individual vs. group mentors2, unique issues for non-majority faculty members5, and countless others. Understanding how to get assistance in a safe, comfortable environment is a key concern for new faculty members facing the challenges of launching a productive career that balances the right level of funded scholarship, effective teaching, and

Murray, S., & Cudney, E., & Long, S., & Grantham Lough, K. (2009, June), What New Faculty Need To Know Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--4834

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2009 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015