Now open for Spring 2027!
What It Is
If you are on the tenure track and worried about all the assistant professor things like relations with colleagues, keeping up with publications, handling students, and maintaining a work-life balance, then join Dr. Nica Davidov (Full Prof, Anthropology and long-time Professor Is In coach) for our ongoing Pre-Tenure Coaching Group! The group is a small, safe, confidential space for candid, open Q&A on any anxiety, challenge, or decision related to your tenure track position.
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Who You Will Work With
As of Spring 2027 I (Karen Kelsky) have turned the group over to Nica because I realized that the person leading needs to be someone working in the current climate and familiar with the current pressures on faculty. She will run the program just as before, while contributing her own special brand of brilliance, savvy, skepticism, and warmth.
Nica Davidov Bio: I am Full Professor of Anthropology at Monmouth University in New Jersey. I received tenure in 2018, and between then and now have served on my university’s Tenure and Promotion committee for several multi-year terms. I have also served as an external reviewer for peers at other institutions going up for tenure. Through these experiences and multiple vantage points I have developed a deep understanding of both the formal and unwritten rules of the tenure process and empathy for the very real emotional stakes of navigating it. I have deep compassion for how stressful and consuming the pre-tenure years can be, but also a no-nonsense strategic perspective on how to get through them practically: how to protect your time, navigate departmental and campus politics, and recognize which demands actually matter and which can be resisted in an academic landscape that increasingly asks faculty to do more and more with less and less.”
As an anthropologist, I see tenure as a rite of passage. And rites of passage can be difficult and exhausting: they can test you and sometimes break you down before you emerge on the other side. But rites of passage also have rules, guides, and – crucially – are easier to get through with a community of people going through them together. This group is designed to create such a community where we will strategize about the challenges along the way in the current higher education landscape that has become increasingly bleak and demoralizing – and support one another through the vulnerable years between starting as a new faculty member and submitting your tenure dossier.
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Plus, Dr. Karen Kelsky, Founder of the Professor Is In, will make a special coaching appearance once during the semester.
The group also draws from excellent texts like “Candid Advice for New Faculty Members” (Gasman) and “Being Well in Academia: Ways to Feel Stronger Safer and More Connected” (Boynton)
The coaching will answer any and all questions about topics like…
*what to do in the first year
*managing department politics
*managing political attacks on your work
*managing job insecurity/closing programs
*getting your writing done
*strategizing service demands
*understanding how tenure cases are run
*understanding the role of external reviewers
*recognizing unhealthy work environments and taking action
*learning to say no
*fostering a healthy work/life balance
*challenges for white women and BIPOC scholars
*and anything else you want to know
Coaching also covers the stressors, anxieties, and dilemmas associated with the academic career under Trump’s multi-level assaults, whether that is your program or institution closing, cancelled grants, political threats to your work, or immigration/visa anxieties.
Here is a testimonial from an earlier group
“I participated in the Pre-Tenure group during the Spring 2025 semester. I was able to attend each meeting and found them to be VERY helpful. I am not sure words can express it. Karen provided so much valuable information and advice during each session. Her knowledge and lived experience is vast and expansive. I have worked with Karen before and find her feedback to be very effective. I have recommended to many and will continue to do so. If you are on the tenure track, I would highly recommend joining this group and am hoping to join it again in the future” ~ Assistant Professor, STEM field, R1 institution
We are committed to making sure this group is a HUMANE and non-competitive space where everyone can reach their fullest potential as healthy humans first, tenured faculty second. Nica is also open to specific requests and new ideas for engagement–the group is here to serve you.
Spaces limited to 10.
The group runs on an ongoing basis; Live meeting dates/times will be decided by consensus once registration deadline is past.
What It Costs
$400
But if finances are an issue please get in touch–we always make efforts to work with your budget!
Also remember that your department will often cover the cost – suggestions and scripts for that are here]
If you have any questions or difficulty joining, please email Karen ASAP at gettenure@gmail.com and we’ll get you sorted.