Reflections on Assuming Administrative Responsibilities as an Untenured Assistant Professor

Abstract

Louisiana State University. His research interests incivde international relations theory and method, as well as a substantive focus on interstate rivalry and state socialization. He has published articles in several journals including Comparative Political Studies, Political Psychology, and International Interoctions. In this short essay, I would like to share some of my experiences as an untenured assistant professor who took on an administrative position. I never imagined that I would be involved in administration, particularly as a junior faculty member, so I was not especially well prepared. However, after juggling the responsibilities of research, teaching, service, and administration for the past year and a half, I can offer some guidance to other assistant professors who may be considering an administrative post. My experiences are informed by working within a large, public research university, yet they should resonate with my colleagues at smaller universities and colleges, both public and private. Facing shrinking budgets, many schools find it more cost effective to augment the salaries of faculty rather than hire additional full-time personnel to serve in administrative positions. At many fouryear liberal arts colleges and junior colleges, new faculty may even be required to engage in administrative tasks as a matter of course without reduced teaching or additional compensation. According to the transcripts of a recent roundtable discussion, this phenomenon also occurs at community colleges. As Richard J. Daley College political science professor Constance Mixon warns potential job applicants, Keep in mind and talk to others about . . . their committee work and administrative responsibilities and especially those requirements as they relate to the tenure