
The Road to Tenure
Interviews, Rejections, and Other Humorous Experiences
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published on 2. April 2014
Book
Hardback
152 pages
978-1-4758-0797-4 (ISBN)
Description
The Road to Tenure offers humorous recollections of the messiness and confusion that fill the days of a pre-tenure academic-from graduate school through the postdoc and into the assistant professor days. The book's three sections roughly map onto the chronology of academic life, beginning with graduate school and the job search experience; followed by teaching, research, and service; and finally the challenges of family and academic identity.
The book is not a how-to, nor does it emphasize "lessons learned" on the way to tenure. Instead, the collection earnestly, and with good humor, captures a significant and meaningful slice of the experience of pursuing academia in contemporary colleges and universities. For the doctoral student or newly hired faculty member, these essays will provide some comfort with their implicit suggestion that, while it's certainly hard work, you are not alone.
The book is not a how-to, nor does it emphasize "lessons learned" on the way to tenure. Instead, the collection earnestly, and with good humor, captures a significant and meaningful slice of the experience of pursuing academia in contemporary colleges and universities. For the doctoral student or newly hired faculty member, these essays will provide some comfort with their implicit suggestion that, while it's certainly hard work, you are not alone.
Reviews / Votes
Learning from your mistakes is good, but learning from other people's hilarious mishaps is much better. While laughing and cringing, you'll get some wise advice and perspective from this gem of dark comedy. -- Paul Silvia, associate professor of psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and author of "How to Write A Lot" There are precious few resources for new faculty members that get real about the messiness of academic life. The Road to Tenure is an irreverent window into the academic world that mentors in the best possible way: with honesty, humility and humor. I will be giving a copy to ALL of my mentees. -- Kerry Ann Rockquemore, Ph.D., president, National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity Warm, funny, and strikingly true stories about what it is like becoming and being a junior faculty member. This book made me feel like I was having a beer with a group of good friends telling battle stories of academic life. It stands as a reminder that winning the academic pie eating contest is rewarded simply - with more pie. -- Scott McDonald, Ph.D., associate professor of science education, Penn State UniversityMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
384 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4758-0797-4 (9781475807974)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Erin Marie Furtak | Ian Parker Renga
The Road to Tenure
Interviews, Rejections, and Other Humorous Experiences
E-Book
04/2014
1st Edition
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
€29.49
Available for download
Persons
Erin Marie Furtak is Associate Professor of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She holds degrees in Biology (B.A., University of Colorado), Education (M.A., University of Denver), and Curriculum and Teacher Education (Ph.D., Stanford University). She currently studies reforms in middle and high school science teaching, exploring different ways that teachers can be supported to improve their teaching practice and how this relates to student learning. She lives in Golden, Colorado, with her husband and two young children, and spends a fair amount of her free time trying to have a sense of humor about her profession.
Ian Parker Renga is a doctoral candidate in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He earned a B.S. in biology and B.A. in fine art from Indiana University (2001) and a Masters degree in education from Harvard University (2005). Before returning to graduate school to study teaching and teacher education, he was a paraeducator and autism specialist in Bellingham, Washington and a middle school science and math teacher in Blacksburg, Virginia. He and his wife, Katie, and their dog, Tumble, live in Lafayette, Colorado.
Ian Parker Renga is a doctoral candidate in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He earned a B.S. in biology and B.A. in fine art from Indiana University (2001) and a Masters degree in education from Harvard University (2005). Before returning to graduate school to study teaching and teacher education, he was a paraeducator and autism specialist in Bellingham, Washington and a middle school science and math teacher in Blacksburg, Virginia. He and his wife, Katie, and their dog, Tumble, live in Lafayette, Colorado.
Content
Introduction
By Erin Marie Furtak and Ian Parker Renga
Section 1: Startup Costs
Warning: Scholarship Can Be Hazardous for Your Health
By Ian Parker Renga
Lucy and the Football: My Search for a Job in a Charlie Brown World
By Steve Newton
Chocolate Frosting & The Art of Interviewing
By Heather M. Bandeen
Changing Clothes in the Phone Booth
By Jessalynn Strauss
Section 2: Occupational Dissonance
Whose class is it anyway?
By Julie C. Mitchell
When Homer Simpson Writes Homer's Iliad: Preventing Plagiarism while Keeping Your Promotion
By Troy Appling
How Not to Teach a Class
By Andrew Shtulman
Publish, Perish, or Apply for Social Security: Reflections on the Tenure Process
By Logan Greene
The Life of the Mind...In the Company of Others
By Amanda Jansen
Section 3: Professors Are People, Too
The Village Idiot
By Erin Marie Furtak
Hot Mess Times Three
By Hindi Krinsky
Who's Pro-creating Now?: Two Sides of Parenting in the Academe
By Lara Narcisi and Scott Dimovitz
How I Got Dismissed from Jury Duty: A Reflection on Philosophy and Public Life
By Rick Anthony Furtak
Acknowledgements
By Erin Marie Furtak and Ian Parker Renga
Section 1: Startup Costs
Warning: Scholarship Can Be Hazardous for Your Health
By Ian Parker Renga
Lucy and the Football: My Search for a Job in a Charlie Brown World
By Steve Newton
Chocolate Frosting & The Art of Interviewing
By Heather M. Bandeen
Changing Clothes in the Phone Booth
By Jessalynn Strauss
Section 2: Occupational Dissonance
Whose class is it anyway?
By Julie C. Mitchell
When Homer Simpson Writes Homer's Iliad: Preventing Plagiarism while Keeping Your Promotion
By Troy Appling
How Not to Teach a Class
By Andrew Shtulman
Publish, Perish, or Apply for Social Security: Reflections on the Tenure Process
By Logan Greene
The Life of the Mind...In the Company of Others
By Amanda Jansen
Section 3: Professors Are People, Too
The Village Idiot
By Erin Marie Furtak
Hot Mess Times Three
By Hindi Krinsky
Who's Pro-creating Now?: Two Sides of Parenting in the Academe
By Lara Narcisi and Scott Dimovitz
How I Got Dismissed from Jury Duty: A Reflection on Philosophy and Public Life
By Rick Anthony Furtak
Acknowledgements