Faculty Peer Networks

Authors: Culpepper, D., Liu, B. F., & O'Meara, K.

Mid-career faculty are the backbone of the college and university workforce and represent the largest population of faculty in the academy, yet they face myriad challenges that hinder career satisfaction and advancement.

Authors: O’Meara, K., Templeton, L. & Nyunt, G.

Little research has focused on how legitimacy is understood and conveyed through interactions between faculty colleagues, despite its importance to faculty careers. Not all faculty experience an even playing field in trying to access professional legitimacy. This is especially true for women, underrepresented minority (URM), and non-tenure-track (NTT) faculty. These groups experience common dilemmas in their pursuit of professional legitimacy in research university environments, though each group also faces distinct challenges of its own.

Authors: O'Meara, K. & Stromquist, N.P.

This study explores the role of faculty peer networks in supporting faculty agency and advancing gender equity in higher education. Using data from a multi-institutional, NSF ADVANCE–IT initiative, we examine the ways peer networks contribute to faculty members’ capacity to set goals, make decisions, and act to influence their professional trajectories. Findings highlight the importance of intentional design in fostering networks that provide emotional support, career guidance, and opportunities to challenge institutional norms that perpetuate inequities.

Authors: Niehaus, E. & O'Meara, K.

The benefits of professional networks are largely invisible to the people embedded in them (O’Reilly 1991), yet professional networks may provide key benefits for faculty careers. The purpose of the study reported here was to explore the role of professional networks in faculty agency in career advancement, specifically focusing on the overall relationship between the social capital gained from networks and faculty agency in career advancement.

Authors: O’Meara, K., Nyunt, G., Templeton, L., & Kuvaeva, A.

This paper examines the potential of faculty learning communities (FLCs) to serve as spaces for transformation and inclusion in higher education. Drawing on qualitative data from faculty participants across multiple FLCs, the authors analyze how these communities support critical reflection, relationship building, and collective action to challenge inequitable institutional norms. The findings suggest that well-facilitated FLCs can empower faculty to engage in collaborative change efforts and foster more inclusive organizational cultures.