Career Consultants - getting recognized as a faculty member of color - Brief Article

Dear BI Career Consultants: As a faculty member of color, how do I get my research recognized and appreciated?

PDR. DONNA M. TALBOT, Associate Professor Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology, Coordinator, Student Affairs in Higher Education Graduate Programs, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Mich.

Unfortunately, there's not one "right answer" that fits all disciplines, situations or universities. My immediate gut-level response to this question makes me feel a little like Obi-Wan Kenobi: "The answer is within you." If you are a person of color who has attained a faculty position, you already know many of the skills you need to negotiate the political landscape of higher education; you've been doing it now for many, many years. Rely on these skills as you think about getting your research recognized.

In her book, Succeeding in an Academic Career, Mildred Garcia emphasizes three main points for faculty of color: (1) know the landscape, (2) know your stuff, and (3) know yourself. I think that these are important lessons for getting your research recognized and appreciated as well. Before taking on a certain research agenda, know how well your colleagues, both at your university and in your professional area, will receive it. If it is controversial research, do some groundwork to prepare your colleagues. For me, having my work "sanctioned" or aligned with (by co-authorship) some "big names" in my field helped to legitimize some of my work. In other words, find allies.

In Garcia's book, faculty of color shared their beliefs that they had to do more than their White counterparts to be recognized. This is often tree in scholarship as well. As a faculty member of color, your research may be scrutinized more closely. Though I am angry (at the system) and myself for saying this, your scholarship (data collection, sample and sample size, methodology, analysis, interpretation, etc.) may have to be unquestionable in order for the type of research you are doing to be considered legitimate. Unfortunately, any flaws or limitations in your research may be the rationale for dismissing it.

Another option is to choose a more visible format for disseminating your initial work; i.e., book chapters, conference presentations. Use this visibility as a jumping-off point. This may be a way of connecting with others in your field who recognize the importance of your research agenda, as well as

a way of getting invitations to do work/writing in the area. This is clearly a trade-off since book chapters and presentations may not weigh heavily in the tenure review process.

My last "bottom-line" response may not seem supportive even though it is meant to be. If you are in a place that does not support and acknowledge your work, perhaps it is time to look elsewhere!

DR. MICHAEL J. CUYJET, Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Professor, University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky.

Get people to recognize and appreciate your research by getting your writing published. Essential to this outcome is making key decisions about what kind of material to submit and selecting the appropriate publications to which you submit your work. In both of these decisions, a mentor is invaluable. Be certain to find a senior faculty mentor whose work you admire and who respects yours, and seek his or her advice often. In lieu of a mentor's guidance, consult with trusted colleagues. Bear in mind, however, that the advice you receive from faculty colleagues is frequently not uniform and sometimes contradictory.

Discuss conflicting feedback with your mentor. Not only will his or her advice probably weigh more heavily than that of other colleagues, but also he or she can later intercede for you if someone whose advice you failed to follow challenges you.

Before seeking an audience for your work, take an assessment of what it is you have to offer the profession. Using the aforementioned mentor and trusted colleagues, be certain your research agenda is clear, focused and current. If you are dabbling in more than two or three topics, you may want to limit your interests until after you have established a reputation as a researcher. While an eclectic array of research interests may keep you energized, it is most likely to stretch you too thin and may prevent you from giving any single topic the attention it might deserve. Too broad an agenda also may confuse some of your colleagues as to your development of "expertise" in a particular aspect of your field.

A related issue develops when researchers of color find that their areas of interest is not "mainstream" enough to find a wide audience among their White peers or among the editorial boards of mainstream journals. This often occurs when people of color study topics specific to people of color. In such situations, one must seek out support specific to one's research topic. This includes identifying journals or other publications that specialize in alternative research topics and building a network of colleagues with similar research interests to yours.

It is also important to understand whose recognition and appreciation you are trying to obtain. Abraham Lincoln is credited with the admonition that "you can't fool all of the people all of the time." To paraphrase him, recognize that there are several constituencies that will examine your scholarly work and you may not be able to please all of them. In that case, you need to prioritize those constituencies. If you are a tenure-track faculty member, your primary constancy consists of your fellow unit faculty members who will judge your work and recommend you for tenure. Seek and use the feedback you can get from these colleagues regarding your research and where to get it published. There is plenty of time for being a maverick after you are tenured.

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