Flying solo: professional isolation and role complexity in solo faculty programs

Abstract

ABSTRACT Throughout the world of higher education, universities and colleges are reconceptualizing how their institutions are organized, especially in terms of faculty size related to overall programming. As adjunct rates increase and faculty positions are eliminated, many programs may be reduced to a single faculty lead. Yet, single faculty member programs are not well understood in the literature, nor are their roles in the larger higher education structure. This qualitative study explores the experiences of 12 university professors in the United States who coordinate single faculty programs, defined as academic programs employing only one tenured or tenure-track faculty member. Using the conceptual frameworks of Role Theory and Social Isolation, we explored the experiences of single faculty and how those experiences were influenced by the policies and practices of their institutions. Participants’ experiences of isolation included disciplinary/collaborative isolation, physical isolation, ownership isolation, and identity isolation. Participants described their roles as complex, unclear, and often unrecognized by others. Results indicate that faculty in single faculty programs may appear invisible within the current structure of academia and that revising existing practices could better support these faculty and their programs. Institutions must question whether single faculty programs should exist and the conditions under which these programs can succeed. Finally, policy and practice recommendations are offered for institutions, and even non-solo faculty peers, to support flying solo professors as they navigate serving their students and keeping their programs afloat.