Thriving in Academia: Building a Career at a Teaching-Focused Institution

Veteran professors synthesize their combined + years of expertise at primarily undergraduate, teaching-focused universities into easy‑to‑follow advice for graduate students and current faculty seeking to build thriving careers at similar institutions.

Writing in a friendly tone that includes their personal reflections, the authors guide readers through the entire career trajectory: finding and applying for positions, developing essential knowledge and skills over the course of one amp rsquo s career, seeking tenure and promotions, and continuing to thrive in the mid- to late-career stages while preparing for retirement.

The authors offer detailed insights for becoming a successful academic who can meet all the expectations of a teaching-focused institution. They explain how to develop core teaching competencies choose advising philosophies for mentoring individual students, groups, and clubs perform high-quality faculty service and achieve scholarly, creative, and research goals-all while managing a high teaching load.

Strategies for obtaining scarce yet crucial resources-time, money, and mentors-are also provided.