Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explicitly link the experiences of junior faculty of color with the cultural and structural realities that surround them in academia. Specifically, the paper is divided into three parts. The first part interrogates university practices and ideologies that serve to institutionally undermine faculty diversity. The second part tackles the stereotype of junior faculty of color as “strugglers,” or as having a high likelihood of not meeting tenure expectations. Finally, we illustrate a variety of subjective experiences of junior faculty of color, stemming from these processes, including experiences of job satisfaction and commitment to the university. Throughout the paper, we supplement the theoretical analysis with preliminary data from an on-going survey of junior faculty of color.