Date of Award
Fall 11-22-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Organizational Unit
Daniels College of Business
First Advisor
Andrew Schnackenberg
Second Advisor
Melissa Akaka
Third Advisor
Cecilia Orphan
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Collaborator strategies, Diversification of the professoriate, First-generation college graduate faculty, Identity theory, Research collaboration, Scientific and technical human and cultural capital
Abstract
This inductive study examined the intersectional experience within research collaborations of tenure-track faculty who are both first-generation college graduate students and from racial and ethnic groups (as defined in the United States) that are underrepresented in STEM fields (as defined by the National Science Foundation). I interviewed twelve current and former faculty members from doctoral-granting universities in the United States. I used identity as the theoretical lens to explore research collaborations at the individual level. The interviews revealed three themes reflecting identity's role in selecting and being selected as a collaborator and working with a collaborator. The themes are: an authentic identity of self that is shaped through lived experience from both inside and outside the academy that is simultaneously obvious and revealed in collaborative environments; intentional attention to an external identity that connects the individual to their community while creating and enhancing pools of collaborators; and finally, identity informed and non-identity informed engagement as a collaborator and during collaboration. I contribute to the expansion and application of identity theory within collaboration. I found evidence that identity is an individual, reflexive process involving intentional decision-making before and during collaboration. I provide a conceptual model of identity-informed collaboration that includes identity alignment and evaluation of the value and cost of the collaboration. I move variables from social capital to cultural capital and add the following variables to cultural capital: language(s), ethnicity, and geographic location, as part of the specification of cultural experience within the Scientific and Technical Human and Cultural Capital (STHC) model. I provide recommendations for supporting and encouraging identity-informed collaboration that can accelerate the necessary diversification of the professoriate.
Copyright Date
11-2024
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Faye Farmer
Provenance
Received from author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
246 pgs
File Size
1.2 MB
Recommended Citation
Farmer, Faye, "My Superpower: Research Collaborator Strategies Among Faculty Members Who Are First-Generation College Graduates" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2500.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2500
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Higher Education Administration Commons
