The Sista Network: African–American Women Faculty Successfully Negotiating the Road to Tenure

The "Sista′ Network" is a term used to describe the relationships between and among professional African–American women which enable them to assist one another in learning the unwritten rules and protocols of various professions. In the context of higher education, the Sista′ Network can help new African–American women faculty negotiate the road to tenure.
A qualitative inquiry into the lives and experiences of nine African–American women faculty during various stages of the tenure process, the heart of this book is a synthesis of the collected data into a roundtable discussion. This format provides an ideal forum in which to tell the women′s stories, and it engages the readers in the sharing of their experiences. Also included are 12 guiding principles for new African–American women faculty members embarking upon the tenure process. And throughout, the book weaves in African–American feminist thought with the literature on academic tenure and minority and women faculty experiences in the academy.

Spis treści:
About the Author.
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
1. Introduction:The Challenges of African–American Women Faculty.
2. Tenure.
The Tenure Process.
Requirements for Tenure.
3. African–American Women Faculty in the Academy.
The Statistics.
Isolation, Mentoring, and Networking.
The Tenure Process.
African–American Feminist Thought.
4. The Research Results.
The Methodology and Structure.
A Roundtable Discussion.
The Tenure Process.
Collegiality.
Service and Mentoring.
Isolation.
Networking.
Highlights and Lessons Learned.
5. The Game of Tenure.
Learning the Rules of the Tenure Game.
Negotiating the Balance Among Teaching, Research, and Service.
Collegiality as the Fourth Category of the Tenure Process.
Finding a Mentor.
The Trilogy: Racism, Sexism, and the Politics of Singularity.
The Sista’ Network.
Guiding Principles for African–American Women Faculty.
6. Conclusion: Six Years Later.
Appendix A: Research Design and Methods.
Appendix B: Sample Interview Questions.
Bibliography.
Index.

Nota biograficzna:
TUESDAY L. COOPER is associate dean of the school of Education/Professional Studies and Graduate Division at Eastern Connecticut State University. Before joining Eastern in August 2003, she served on the faculty at Springfield College. She holds a Doctorate of Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a law degree from Western New England College School of Law, and a Bachelors of Science in political science from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. In 2001, she was awarded a Connecticut Community Technical Colleges’ Board of Trustees Minority Administrative Fellows position with Asnuntuck Community College. In addition, she has been awarded the American Association for Higher Education’s Nellie Mae Scholarship and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Teaching and Learning in the Diverse Classroom Fellowship.
Dr. Cooper is coauthor of Diversity on Campus with David Schuman and Carolyn M. Pillow (2004, Kendall/Hunt). Her research interests include tenure, faculty and department chair development, education law, civil rights law, and Critical Race Theory. She is a member of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education.

Okładka tylna:
The "Sista′ Network" is a term used to describe the relationships between and among professional African–American women which enable them to assist one another in learning the unwritten rules and protocols of various professions. In the context of higher education, the Sista′ Network can help new African–American women faculty negotiate the road to tenure.
A qualitative inquiry into the lives and experiences of nine African–American women faculty during various stages of the tenure process, the heart of this book is a synthesis of the collected data into a roundtable discussion. This format provides an ideal forum in which to tell the women′s stories, and it engages the readers in the sharing of their experiences. Also included are 12 guiding principles for new African–American women faculty members embarking upon the tenure process. And throughout, the book weaves in African–American feminist thought with the literature on academic tenure and minority and women faculty experiences in the academy.