Barriers for Indigenous Faculty Need to be Removed

By lorinda riley

Tenure. It’s the golden ticket that academics seek when they start their careers. Would-be tenured professors enter academia with dewy-eyed excitement envisioning their idealized career as thought-leaders and knowledge transferers. Yet, for some underrepresented minority faculty that golden ticket has proven ever elusive. This is particularly true for Indigenous scholars who currently make up approximately 1% of full-time US faculty. In our research we interviewed Indigenous faculty about their experience on the tenure track. The results shed light on how tenure impacts Indigenous faculty, Indigenous research, and ultimately equity in academia.  

Tenure requirements vary significantly based on the type of institution. In general tenure procedures are based on three elements: research productivity, excellence in teaching, and service. Several Indigenous faculty questioned how “peer-review” was defined. These faculty saw the Indigenous community, rather than other researchers, as their peers. They argue that work done in service to the community (e.g., specialized curriculum, drafting reports, evaluating Indigenous-focused programs, etc.) should receive the same recognition as a peer-reviewed publication. This is especially important because many faculty shared that their decolonial and Indigenized research methods were questioned by staunchly positivist-oriented researchers.  

Social inequities are mirrored in the tenure system. Tenure guidelines are often riddled with ambiguities that disadvantage those who are not privy to the unwritten rules associated with academia. Although everyone can benefit from mentors, they are especially valuable to Indigenous faculty. Many Indigenous faculty that we interviewed attributed their success to strong mentors who guided them, provided additional opportunities for growth, and were their cheerleaders. However, the dearth of Indigenous faculty means that many Indigenous graduate students struggle to find mentors who understand the issues that they face. One faculty shared that they were so isolated and disheartened that they realized one day that the “only way I was going to survive this was to lean in on my Indigenous values.”  

While community played a large role in grounding Indigneous faculty, balancing community expectations with the requirements of tenure is often a personal and delicate decision. Because the stakes are so high and the tenure process incentivizes maximum research productivity, many Indigenous faculty questioned their desire to use decolonized and Indigenous methods worrying that it would make achieving tenure more difficult. Thus, the pressure of tenure leads many Indigenous faculty to bifurcate their research agenda. As one junior faculty stated, “I have my pre-tenure research agenda an then I have my post-tenure research agenda . . . but my post-tenure is what sets my soul on fire.”  

Indigenous faculty we interview also held a different definition of success. This is seen in the strong sense of responsibility that Indigenous faculty have to their students. Spending additional hours on curriculum development and student advising, however, resulted in less time for research and publishing. This left several faculty ill-prepared for tenure.   

Reforming the institutional review process to align with community-engaged research practices would remove unnecessary barriers to Indigenous research. For example, providing increased flexibility to allow for co-creation of research design would reduce the need for constant modifications. These well-intentioned, but misguided policies ultimately erect barriers for Indigenous and other underrepresented faculty who engage community in their research.   

At the end of the day, having a diverse faculty is beneficial to institutions of higher education. Supporting the hiring of qualified Indigenous candidates, ensuring their continued mentorship throughout the tenure process could go a long way to reaching a critical mass of Indigenous faculty. Negatively judging Indigenous faculty involved in important community knowledge creation and knowledge transfer as being engaged in less rigorous work than those who publish peer-reviewed articles is inaccurate and biased. Administrators and faculty leaders should therefore re-consider existing policies to determine if they create systemic barriers to Indigenous and minority faculty success. If we are ever going to end the underrepresentation of Indigenous faculty, changes need to be made at an institutional level.  

Article Details
Wrangling the system: How tenure impacts Indigenous research
Lorinda Riley, Kristina Hulama, Ho‘oleia Ka‘eo, Genesia Paolo
First published December 21, 2022 Research Article
DOI: 10.1177/26349825221142290
Environment and Planning F

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