Overview
This session provides an overview and sample chapters from Thriving in an Academic Career: An International and Interdisciplinary Guide for Early Career Faculty, a book that will be published by Taylor & Francis in late 2024 or early 2025. Edited by geographers Michael Solem, Ken Foote, Shannon O’Lear, LaToya Eaves, and Jong Won Lee, the book is aimed at helping graduate students and early career faculty get a quick, successful start in an academic career. Even the best graduate training can leave faculty with questions as they start new jobs: What are the expectations for research, teaching, and service; and what are effective strategies for meeting and exceeding these expectations? This book helps answer these questions with concise, to-the-point chapters focusing especially on the issues that are often the greatest source of stress for new faculty, including the ways academic responsibilities sometimes intersect with their personal lives. The book encourages faculty to adopt a healthy and balanced perspective in their life and career that accounts for the interconnections between teaching, research, and service. This session will overview the book, provide sample chapters, and discuss ways it can be used in workshops, classes, and seminars.
Session Focus
Higher Education | College and University Faculty at All Career Stages | Career Guide
Conference Room
Covetto
Meet the Presenter
Dr. Ken Foote is a professor in the Department of Geography, Sustainability, Community and Urban Studies at the University of Connecticut. Much of his work focuses on improving professional development for early-career academics and department leaders. His research focuses on historic preservation, heritage tourism, and the commemorative landscapes of the U.S. and Europe, especially the way events of violence and tragedy are interpreted and memorialized. Ken is a past president of the NCGE (2006) and a past president and fellow of the AAG (2010-11). He has received awards from the NCGE, AAG, University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS), and the Royal Geographical Society. He has taught at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Colorado Boulder and holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Chicago. Among his books are Shadowed Ground: America’s Landscapes of Violence and Tragedy, Teaching GIScience and Technology in Higher Education, and Aspiring Academics: A Resource Book for Graduate Students and Early Career Faculty.