The Impact of Social Interaction Norms and Reward System Norms on Underrepresented Faculty at a Four-Year Public Urban University. A Preliminary Report.

This study examined how social interaction norms and promotion and tenure norms effected job satisfaction, focusing on how these variables effected on underrepresented faculty at a predominantly white, four-year, public, urban university. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with a total of nine faculty (white male, white female, and female and male faculty of color), all with eight or fewer years of service at the institution. Several norms emerged from interview questions relating to issues of social interaction and reward systems, including rank-based hierarchy, silence of untenured faculty, middle class culture, individualism, collegiality, the professorial image, the importance of grants and publications, and inadequate salaries. The implications of these norms are discussed in relation to job satisfaction among majority- and minority-group faculty. Recommendations for improving underrepresented faculty satisfaction and retention are included. An appendix provides copies of the original interview protocol, a follow-up interview protocol, and a revised protocol for future interviews. (Contains 46 references.) (MDM)