Jr. Faculty Happiness at Harvard Trails Peers

While Harvard garners the top spot in many national rankings, the University lags behind other institutions in terms of junior faculty satisfaction, according to a recent study from the Graduate School of Education.

The study, conducted by the Education School’s Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education, asked some 7,000 tenure-track faculty members at 78 institutions to evaluate their employer institution’s performance in 12 categories.

Among the categories used to gauge junior faculty satisfaction—including the reasonableness of the tenure process, support available for faculty members with families, and compensation—Harvard only received an exemplary rating in one area: teaching.

Stanford and Brown University both received exemplary status on eight of the criteria, followed by Duke with seven, and Dartmouth with six.

Patricia P. Jones, vice provost for faculty development and diversity and a biology professor at Stanford, attributes some of the disparities in faculty satisfaction to differences in the relationship between schools and their parent universities.

“Schools within Harvard are very independent,” says Jones. “At Stanford, we have seven schools, but the schools are not as independent of the central university. All of the policies that pertain to faculty pertain to all faculty.”

Jones also cited a difference in tenure policy as a potential cause for the differences.

“At Stanford, every faculty member who is hired has a tenured position waiting for them if they meet the requirements,” she said.

Despite the results of the study, some junior faculty members said they are pleased with their Harvard experience.

“I couldn’t be happier here at Harvard,” said assistant professor in government Eric Beerbohm in an e-mailed statement. “The students are superlative, and my colleagues have been unflaggingly supportive.”

In its end-of-year report for 2007, Harvard’s Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity outlined changes geared towards junior faculty.

Among the changes were “pilot programs aimed at addressing faculty development and diversity issues” and the expansion of child care for faculty members.