The Generation X Faculty is Arriving!
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e Generation X Faculty is Arriving! Libby V. Morris
Published online: 26 August 2011 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011
It’s that time of year again. Across small and large, urban and rural, commuter and residential institutions, students and faculty are preparing for the beginning of the academic year. Syllabi are updated, enrollments confirmed, classrooms assigned, faculty meetings set, students advised, committees formed, and the list goes on. During the summer months, some faculty members travel to distant locations for research or vacation. Others teach courses on campus or lead study abroad. I always imagine that some enjoy 8–10 weeks of leisure, reading novels and exploring new hobbies and recreation. I have yet to find that person of leisure; instead, all are busy trying to balance faculty work with personal or family time. A small percentage of the faculty are not “returning”, but rather they are “beginning”— either launching or relocating a career to another college or university. For these new arrivals, no matter how seasoned, the new location may be both exciting and frustrating as they encounter new colleagues, policies, practices, students, and culture—only the disciplinary or professional knowledge remains constant in this new location. Like many other institutions, the University of Georgia attempts to ease the transition with a faculty orientation held in the fall. These new colleagues represent various types of appointments: tenured and tenure track, lecturers, public service faculty, research associates, and so on. With 15 colleges and schools, representing virtually every discipline, field, and profession, the mix of new faculty joining the University of Georgia annually is quite diverse. Accordingly, in the orientation, we cover a wide variety of topics in short modules presented by the responsible head/leader (e.g., faculty governance, research, instruction, technology, Center for Teaching and Learning, legal affairs). If a session is totally unrelated to the faculty member’s interest, at least it is short; and everyone hears a brief overview and is pointed in the direction of web resources and people resources. Apparently, the topics were mostly relevant, for at the end of the day, the 100-plus new faculty members remained enthusiastic; and, at the reception, the deans and other administrators mixed happily among the new recruits. I did notice that a majority of the new faculty were part of Generation X (1964–1980). So, I was pleased that we had a member of our Teaching Academy to present on work/life L. V. Morris (*) University of Georgia Athens, Athens, GA, USA e-mail: [email protected]
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balance, which according to several sources (Helms 2010) is of primary importance to this younger segment of the professoriate. A panel of junior faculty also shared tips on living in Athens with advice on food (grocery stores to fine restaurants), entertainment (night clubs, sports, and the like), to child care and other quality of life issues. I must admit
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