An Examination of Departure Trends among Pre-Tenure Faculty at Virginia Tech: 2003-2013

Abstract

Recruiting, hiring, and retaining tenure-track faculty members is critical to the health of an institution of higher education. Colleges and universities invest significant resources in the faculty members they hire, in order to ensure their success as a tenure-track faculty member. Retaining faculty members allows the institution to create continuity along the lines of teaching and research, enhances an institution’s reputation, and creates stronger faculty morale (O’Meara, Lounder, & Campbell, 2014). While some turnover is expected due to retirement, changes in personal life, or dissatisfaction with the organization, too much turnover can create many problems for a college or university (Rosser & Townsend, 2006). Therefore, it is imperative that institutions of higher education find ways to not only hire excellent, diverse faculty members, but to foster an institutional culture where those faculty members can be successful.