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| Experiences of Hispanic/Latina/o Professors | ||||||
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| Questions 1) Who would you consider to have been an influential figure in your life that inspired you to pursue higher education? What characteristics of this individual do you value most? 2) To what extent did your Latino community support your educational pursuits? 3) What would you consider to have been critical points in your academic career? 4) Did you have a Latina/o mentor during your graduate school career? What was the official university role of that person (for example, advisor, tenured faculty)? What messages did he or she convey to you concerning Latinos/as in academia? a) If the person serving as a mentor was not your academic advisor, what type of support and guidance did you get from your advisor? 6) What other factors influenced your decision about to what institution(s) to apply for an academic position? 7) Do you feel that you have community support for your professional goals outside of your job? Was the greater Latino/a community near the universities to which you applied (e.g., availability of cultural experiences) a factor that influenced your job selection? 8) Please describe how your experience with the interview process (e.g., when applying for your first university teaching position) influenced your perception of that institution? 9) What was your experience like as a new faculty member in your first university job? 10) What were the main concerns/pressures you dealt with as you pursued tenure? How and when did you make the decision to apply for tenure? 11) What stands out in your mind about those years when you were pursuing tenure? 12) Please describe any person(s) that served as mentor or role model that positively influenced your academic career. 13) Why did you choose your specific professional field of expertise? 14) To what extent have you felt the need to create your own support network? How did you go about doing that? 15) What would you consider to be your personal attributes that have enabled you to be successful in your academic career? 16) What stands out in your mind about your post-tenure career in academia? 17) What has your academic success meant to you personally and professionally? 18) What advice would you give Latina/o students who are considering a career in academia? |
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Cover Letter Dear Latina/o Professor, I am an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Social Foundations at the University of South Florida studying the experience of Hispanic/Latina/o professors in the United States. I am examining the personal experiences, the barriers and challenges they have faced, and the coping skills and problem solving strategies they have employed throughout their career in academia. Their stories and perspectives will provide invaluable insight about their journey in striving for full professorship. According to Harvey (2002), Hispanic/Latina/o full-time faculty (16,498) represent 2.9 percent of all U.S. faculty. Despite a recent increase in numbers, Hispanic/Latina/o faculty remain at the bottom of the academic hierarchy (Alien et al., 2002). A review of Hispanic/Latina/o faculty data reveals a pyramid structure. Data indicate that there are more instructors, lecturers, and non-tenure line faculty (6,187) than tenure-track assistant (4,237), associate (3,161) or full (2,913) professors. The few Hispanics/Latinos in assistant through full professor academic positions are creating their own personal pathways as well as preparing a roadmap for Hispanics/Latinos who aspire to enter academia. The experiences of these accomplished professors can serve as a valuable learning resource that can be utilized by hiring institutions as well as by Hispanics/Latinos considering a career in the academy (Delgado-Romero et al., 2004). As one of a select group of Hispanic/Latina/o professors, I invite you to participate in this research. Your input would be of significant value to Hispanics/Latinos interested in a career in academia. Also, this information may be highly relevant for institutions of higher education seeking to attract and retain Hispanic/Latina/o faculty. Furthermore, understanding the factors that enhance or reduce Hispanic/Latina/o faculty success may help these institutions become more culturally competent. A qualitative methodology will be used to analyze the personal narratives. Qualitative methodology lends itself to understanding and examining the personal narratives of Hispanic/Latina/o faculty because the barriers and enablers to success in the academic environment can be better understood. A set of questions have been created to help guide the writing of the narratives. Please see Attachment 1. Also, you can visit the following site to access the questions at any time: http://www.coedu.usf.edu/zalaquett/questions.html I would value your participation in this study and will be glad to share my findings with you. Results would be reported in summative form without specific identifiers to protect the privacy of the participants. I would greatly appreciate receiving your response to the attached questions by March 28th, 2005. I will send two reminder emails if you have not responded by the specified time. Please feel free to share this invitation with other Hispanic/Latina/o professors you know. Thank you very much in advance for your contribution. I look forward to your input. Respectfully, Carlos Zalaquett, Ph.D.
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