Volume 1

Volume 1, Number 23

December 27, 2003

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11 pages616 K bytes

Cultivating an MIS Faculty for a Tenure-Eligible Position at a Small Private College


Liang Chee Wee
Luther College
Decorah, IA 52101

Julie Jensen
Luther College
Decorah, IA 52101

Charles Christianson
Luther College
Decorah, IA 52101

Abstract: One of the key difficulties faced by many small colleges in recruiting for tenure-eligible management information systems (MIS) position is the ability to attract those candidates with doctoral qualification. The competition for those candidates is intense because the demand for them exceeds the supply. There has been a gradual decline in the number of information systems doctoral students since 1993 while the number of tenure-eligible positions has grown dramatically. Besides pursuing an academic career, doctoral students are also enticed by career opportunities in the industry. The purpose of this paper is to share how a small, private liberal arts college supported the recruiting, nurturing, and mentoring of a female MIS faculty member for a tenure-eligible position after the search for a candidate with the required qualifications was unsuccessful. This initiative is in its fourth year of a six-year time frame. The college and the home department supported the faculty member by issuing longer-term contract, allowing course releases, helping her to obtain external funding, scheduling classes to facilitate her travel to attend graduate classes, giving mentoring support, providing funding to conferences, and providing monetary support for textbooks and tuition for her graduate program. Outcomes, perspectives, and lessons learned of various stakeholders are also presented.

Keywords: MIS faculty, doctoral qualification, tenure-eligible, small college

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Recommended Citation: Wee, Jensen, and Christianson (2003). Cultivating an MIS Faculty for a Tenure-Eligible Position at a Small Private College. Information Systems Education Journal, 1 (23). http://isedj.org/1/23/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2003: §2411. ISSN: 1542-7382.)