Launching successful beginnings for early career faculty: Ten tips for new professors of recreational therapy

Authors

  • Bryan P. McCormick, PhD, CTRS, FDRT, FALS
  • David R. Austin, PhD, FDRT, FALS

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/ajrt.2019.0179

Keywords:

recreation therapy, faculty shortage, career tips

Abstract

A number of previous authors have identified concerns about a shortage of future PhD graduates to assume recreational therapy (RT) faculty positions to educate future recreational therapists and contribute to the profession’s body of knowledge. While some recreational therapists have decided to pursue their terminal degrees and assume faculty positions, there is relatively little information to guide those transitioning from graduate student to new faculty member. Drawing upon the experiences of senior faculty reported in the literature as well as our own experiences, this article presents a series of tips to help those recreational therapists transitioning from practice to strategically navigate the beginning of new faculty careers. These tips cover careers across the spectrum of types of institutions of higher education.

Author Biographies

Bryan P. McCormick, PhD, CTRS, FDRT, FALS

Professor, Rehabilitation Sciences, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

David R. Austin, PhD, FDRT, FALS

Professor Emeritus, Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

References

Austin DR, McCormick BP: Recreational therapy scholarship: A necessary contribution to the future of recreation therapy. Am J Recreat Ther. 2011; 10(2): 5-6.

Van Puymbroeck M, Austin DR: The recreational therapy faculty shortage: A crisis for the profession. Am J Recreat Ther. 2015; 14(1): 35-42.

American Association of University Professors: Tenure. n.d. Available at https://www.aaup.org/issues/tenure. Accessed October 18, 2018.

Austin A: Creating a bridge to the future: Preparing new faculty to face changing expectations in a shifting context. Rev High Educ. 2003; 26(2): 119-144.

Conn VS, Anderson CM, Killion C, et al.: Launching successful beginnings for early career faculty researchers. West J Nurs Res. 2018; 40(2): 153-174.

Goodrich RS: Transition to academic nurse educator: A survey exploring readiness, confidence, and locus of control. J Prof Nurs. 2014; 30(3): 203-212.

Campbell CM, Meara K: Faculty agency: Departmental contexts that matter in faculty careers. Res High Educ. 2014; 55(1): 49-74.

Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research: The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. Available at http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/. Accessed October 18, 2018.

University of Michigan: Giving and getting career advice: A guide for junior and senior faculty. 2009-2010. Available at http://graduate.iupui.doc/faculty-staff/mentoring-lit-2.pdf. Accessed March 19, 2018.

Potter D, Tolson D: A mentoring guide for nursing faculty in higher education. Int J Caring Sci. 2014; 7(3): 727-732.

Zambrana RE, Ray R, Espino MM, et al.: “Dont leave us behind”: The importance of mentoring for underrepresented minority faculty. Am Educ Res J. 2015; 52(1): 40-72.

University of Wisconsin-Madison: Best Practices for Mentoring Early-Career Faculty. Madison, WI: School of Veterinary Medicine, 2014. Available at https://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/MentoringBestPracticesUW-SVMDec20141.pdf. Accessed March 19, 2018.

Early Career Faculty Advice: Carving out a time to keep up with the literature. 2017. Available at https://sachristopher.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/early-career-faculty-advicecarving-out-a-time-to-keep-up-with-the-literature/. Accessed March 19, 2018.

Samble JN: Female faculty: Challenges and choices in the United States and beyond. New Dir High Educ. 2008; 2008(143): 55-62.

Green AG, Hawley GC: Early career psychologists: Understanding, engaging, and mentoring tomorrows leaders. Prof Psychol Res Pract. 2009; 40(2): 206-212.

Miller FQ: Experiencing information use for early career academics learning: A knowledge ecosystem model. J Doc. 2015; 71(6): 1228-1249.

Cristancho S, Varpio L: Twelve tips for early career medical educators. Med Teach. 2016; 38(4): 358-363.

Sorcinelli MD: Principles of Good Practice: Supporting Early-Career Faculty. Washington, DC: American Association for Higher Education, 2000.

Gappa JM, Austin A: Rethinking academic traditions for twenty-first-century faculty. AAUP J Acad Freedom. 2010; 1(1): 1-20.

Published

01/01/2019

How to Cite

McCormick, PhD, CTRS, FDRT, FALS, B. P., & Austin, PhD, FDRT, FALS, D. R. (2019). Launching successful beginnings for early career faculty: Ten tips for new professors of recreational therapy. American Journal of Recreation Therapy, 18(1), 31–37. https://doi.org/10.5055/ajrt.2019.0179

Issue

Section

Articles

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>