Assistant professors arrive on campus with a belly full of fire. After years of writing papers, they have been freed from the supervision of their faculty & want to have an impact on their new place.
Because assistant professors have been research focused for so long, they often make a simple, avoidable, mistake in how they approach their new academic home.
What is that mistake?
Assistant professors assume that frequent high-level publications equate to power in the Department or College. As a result, they pay attention to prolific, senior faculty & fail to attend to the remainder of their colleagues.
While it is a good idea to pay attention to prolific faculty, it is a terrible idea to not pay attention to every faculty member.
Only one of the three institutions where I have worked, did research translate to power. The endowed chairs wielded power at one institution - there was a clear hierarchy. In another, the longest-serving faculty called the shots - research didn't matter much. In the third, all of the faculty - regardless of rank or tenure-track status - had a voice in how the place was run.
I only sorted out the institutional logic after some time at each school. Sometimes, not understanding the logic & distribution of power created challenges, social & political.
My experience suggests that faculty are a heterogeneous group with competing priorities & a sometimes inscrutable hierarchy. If you only attend to prolific faculty, you will miss subtleties of the context, opportunities to learn & make your life harder.
So what to do?
First, be nice to everyone.
I've seen new hires discount teaching faculty, be openly dismissive of terminal associates, & not pay attention to the soon-to-be emeritus faculty.
These are mistakes.
You will need the entire faculty's help navigating the professional and social facets of your job.
Second, learn how the faculty pieces fit together.
Each faculty member plays an important roles - from delivering instruction to serving on uni committees to quietly calling the shots on dept committees.
Research record has nothing to do with the soft power a faculty member exerts over the curriculum or committee work.
Third, take time to learn from people. Sort out where resources sit, tacit knowledge, and rules for interaction.
You will find that prolific faculty often can't offer much help. Endowed chairs tend to be particularly clueless about admin processes & teaching.
If asked, "regular" faculty will often share helpful information.
Finally, do not mistake faculty life for the Game of Thrones.
Swearing fealty to a prolific scholar will not assure you of tenure.
You need the support of the full faculty to tenure - so treat everyone with respect.
If you are nice & pay attention, your path to tenure will be much smoother.
Best of luck.
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