Tenure Webinar Series (Part 1): Achieving Tenure: Advice for Early Career Faculty
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Webinar Series
View the webinar recording >
Diversifying the professoriate has long been voiced as a priority
on many campuses, and goals around faculty diversity have become
increasingly emphasized over the past year in light of the
national conversation about race. However, most higher education
institutions have not significantly increased the diversity of
the faculty, particularly the diversity of their tenured faculty.
For early career faculty of color, especially those who are
first-generation students, navigating the tenure process can be
complex and perplexing.
In Part 1 of our Tenure webinar series, SREB-State Doctoral
Scholars Program alumni panelists discussed the basics of the
tenure and promotion process, answered common questions, and
provided insights based on their own experiences.
Panelists:
Dr. Veronica G. Martinez Acosta,
Ph.D., is a professor of Biology and director of the Honors
Program at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio,
Texas. She earned a Ph.D. in Zoology from Texas A&M
University in the laboratory of Dr. Mark J. Zoran. She then
completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas
under the direction of Dr. Bing Zang (now Professor of Biological
Sciences, University of Missouri). Dr. Martinez Acosta has
studied systems-level neural plasticity in the annelid
worm, Lumbriculus variegatus and in Drosophila
melanogaster. Her lab continues to study molecular mechanisms
governing neural regeneration and wound healing and the role of
stem cell populations in these regenerative processes. She has
been supported by the National Science Foundation and the
Department of the Army in support of the research she carries out
primarily with undergraduates.
Dr. Martinez Acosta serves has won numerous awards for
university teaching and service and has provided educational and
professional development of faculty in diversity and inclusion at
national meetings. In 2020, Dr. Martinez Acosta was named one of
the 100 Inspiring Hispanic/Latinx scientists in America by Cell
Mentor. She is a 2005 SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program
graduate. More
about Dr. Martinez Acosta >
Dr. Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead
is an associate professor of communication and African and
African American Studies at Loyola University Maryland and, the
founding director of The Karson
Institute for Race, Peace & Social Justice. She is the host
of the award-winning radio show Today with Dr.
Kaye on WEAA,
88.9 FM and the 2021 recipient of a Regional Edward R. Murrow
Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
She is the author of several books, including RaceBrave: new and selected works; Notes from a Colored Girl: The Civil War Pocket Diaries of Emilie Frances Davis; and Letters to My Black Sons: Raising Boys in a Post-Racial America. She is a K-12 master teacher in African American history; an award-winning curriculum writer and lesson plan developer; and an award-winning former Baltimore City middle school teacher.
In 2021, Dr. Whitehead was selected by the Baltimore Business Journal to receive the Leaders in Diversity Award. Prior to her work in academia, Dr. Whitehead was a documentary filmmaker with MetroTV, a PBS-affiliate, and a senior producer for Music Television Networks (MTV). More about Dr. Whitehead >
