Date of Graduation

12-2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Public Policy

Advisor/Mentor

Zajicek, Anna M.

Committee Member

Kerr, Brinck III

Second Committee Member

Morimoto, Shauna A.

Third Committee Member

Hunt, Valerie H.

Fourth Committee Member

Mamiseishvili, Ketevan

Keywords

Social sciences; Family-friendly policies; Genderized organizations; Tenure expectations; Women in academia; Work-life balance

Abstract

This dissertation studies how higher education policies and practices can affect faculty retention and proposes changes that higher education institutions need to make to retain their faculty. Faculty assessment of reasonableness of tenure expectations is explored in the first manuscript and faculty perceptions of clarity of tenure expectations are explored in the second and third manuscripts. Job satisfaction data from a sample of 2438 tenure-track assistant professors at research universities is used.

The first manuscript investigates the reasonableness of tenure expectations as it relates to work-life balance. The focus is on whether women’s and men’s appraisal of departmental and institutional support for family-work balance and satisfaction with family-friendly policies influence their perceptions of reasonableness of tenure expectations. Bivariate results reveal that women are less likely than men to report that tenure expectations are reasonable. Multivariate results show that for both women and men assessment of departmental and institutional support for family-work balance and satisfaction with family-friendly policies have a positive influence on their perceptions of reasonableness of tenure expectations.

The second manuscript explores whether women’s and men’s assessment of tenure related departmental practices influence their perceptions of clarity of tenure expectations. Findings reveal that women are less likely than men to perceive the expectations for getting tenure as clear. Other results show that for both men and women assessment of fairness in tenure decision- making and in tenure evaluation, and assessment of received messages about the requirements for tenure have a significant and positive effect on their perceptions of clarity of tenure expectations.

The third manuscript looks at how the intersection of gender and race influences faculty perceptions of clarity of tenure expectations. The study also seeks to identify predictors of perceptions of clarity for the intersectionality defined groups (minority women, minority men, white women, and white men). Bivariate results reveal no significant differences in minority women’s perceptions of clarity compared to all other faculty. The multivariate results show that the model does not explain minority women’s perceptions of clarity of tenure expectations as well as it explains white women’s and white men’s perceptions of clarity of tenure expectations.

Download

Share

COinS