Paths to the Professorate Strategies for Enriching the Preparation of Future Faculty, Donald H. Wulff, Ann E. Austin, and Associates
Reviewed by Betsy Price, University of Texas Brownsville and Texas Southmost College

About seven years ago during the height of the Genome project I opened a class for graduate students on how to teach genetic science to teachers. Few people signed up so you can imagine the surprise when I walked into the class and found it well populated.  They didn't register for the class because they didn't want their advisors who were micro focused on research to know they were taking time away from the labs.  But word was filtering in from the real world that tenure track positions in large research universities were scarce and highly competitive. The students were clearly worried.  These clever students had taken an inventory of their skills, found them lacking, and were trying to fill in their resume gaps.   

Paths to the Professoriate is a must read for college faculty and administrators who are concerned and question the adequacy of graduate programs to produce the next generation of faculty. The book is a collection of descriptions of research projects that have investigated the status of current graduate education and discussions of their impact on the effectiveness of programs.  It is an important topic on the eve of the baby boomers reaching retirement and the professorate thus opening up many new hires.  The quality of graduates and the versatile skills they bring with them will have a large influence on changes in higher education, a culture that is also adjusting to the growing number of diverse students and the high cost of education. 

The authors first discuss what factors have been identified that indicate graduate education is not fully preparing students.  As an example, one attention-grabbing factor is the student attrition rate - only 50% of students complete their program.  To many this is a surprising figure because of the filtering system of graduate admissions.  The students know it is going to be a challenge and initially look forward to that.  So, why do they leave?   

In the following chapters the authors present research from twelve teams of contributors who have investigated the current status (what are we doing) or have acted on improving the system (how can we make it better).  The second part of the book describes research that has taken a reflective look and tested some factors that might improve the system.

For example one of the discussions the contributor's present is that faculty advisors, like the ones my students had, were positive that the brilliance of a student's research would walk them into a position. But Golde and Dore's contribution suggests that, although research is the dominate focus for graduate students, the reality is that it is not necessarily the professional activity that will dominate their career.  Therefore their training may be missing important components like grant writing, pedagogy, working with students, curriculum management, and scholarship.

At the end of the book the authors summarize the lessons learned and lead a thought provoking discussion about the future of graduate education.  As a coordinator for part time faculty, for me, this discussion occurs daily.   I counsel many recent bewildered and dazed Ph.D.'s who find themselves in the ranks of part timers.  For many of them their plight is not related to their lack of academic abilities or scholastic achievements but to their savvy (or lack of it) with regard to the system.  Some abandoned an academic career only to try to return as a part timer when they realized they missed the academic culture.  For too many the system they were in was not truly reflective about producing new faculty. 

This simply is an important book on important issues that graduate programs in colleges must face.  And it is a complicated one because the fabric of colleges is changing.  For graduate students this book can alert them to be more conscious about the completeness of their education and, hence, proactive for securing the skill sets they need.  For advisors and graduate program coordinators, the book can open awareness to what needs to happen to change program subject matter, advising, and management in order to meet the needs of tomorrow's professors.