The Coach's Guide for Women Professors - Career Development & Leadership Strategies for Female Academics | Perfect for University Teaching, Research & Professional Growth

(Disclosure: I worked with Rena as a client when I was in the first few years of my first tenure-track job, and I found her one-to-one advice invaluable. The book is almost as useful as having her at my elbow, encouraging me and cheering me on.)The thing I love most about this book is that Seltzer has done a ton of research on faculty career trajectories, so her advice is solidly grounded in empirical evidence (of gender gaps in advancement, salary equity, and student evaluations; data about which work habits and patterns contribute to productivity and professional advancement). She's especially scrupulous in covering the challenges that face minority faculty, on all fronts, and gives some space to the challenges facing interdisciplinary or jointly-appointed faculty. She has a great knack for quickly distilling the research, but then goes beyond to show you how to put that advice to good use in your own career. You don't need to go out and read 6 books about negotiating the job offer; just read the chapter in this book and then work through some of the what if scenarios and role playing exercises that she proposes. (Yes, having a helpful friend or mentor available for those role playing exercises is key to using this book, I think.)As a pre-tenure faculty, I was surprised to find that I really appreciated the chapters on leadership and life after tenure. It can be hard while you're mired down in the day to day to think that there's anything on the other side of that hurdle. (And most of what I hear from newly-minted female associate professors is hair-raising--about escalating demands for service that completely derails your research productivity.) Seltzer confirms some of those rumors (again: more data), but also suggests concrete and specific ways to manage the burden. I was especially gratified by the chapter on leadership. It's encouraging to think that if/when I get to the other side, I'll be in a position to argue for diversity and help other women colleagues thrive in this crazy system.