Dr. Carlos Evia, assistant professor of professional writing at Virginia Polytechnic State University won’t be up for tenure until spring 2010, but he’s already worried about the final review. He knows what’s expected, but is concerned that some of his work — federal grants and time serving on a diversity committee — won’t be seen as relevant material for an English Department.

“I’m not sitting in my office analyzing a document, which many of my colleagues do,” says Evia, whose work focuses around field research and technical writing, not necessarily the typical English Department model.

“But I’m concerned that when I go up for tenure, my personnel committee will be traditional English people who see my grants with many coauthors, and dismiss them as not being relevant,” he adds. “Or that they are not going to think that that this is English research.”

Like Evia, most faculty understand the tenure process, but that doesn’t stop them from worrying. New research is revealing just what helps retain and advance professors from underrepresented groups. Most important, is a “sense of fit” in their departments.

Diversity among senior faculty at colleges across the country is lacking. Ninety percent of full university professors are White males and that hasn’t changed much in 30 years. Recently, researchers with Harvard’s COACHE — the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education — surveyed 8,500 pretenure faculty at 96 private and public universities to understand why this disparity persists despite other socio-political changes in the United States.

The researchers found significant differences in how White faculty and faculty of underrepresented groups view the tenure process, as well as how satisfied each is with the process.

Cathy Trower, principal investigator on the study, identifies the culture of universities, not the lack of understanding about tenure that prevents many minority faculty from advancing to full professorships.