Tips on Navigating the Pathway to Tenure/Promotion for LGBTQ Faculty

Tom Boellstorff, Professor of Anthropology

With regard to LGBTQ tenure/promotion, there are two overlapping issues we should address in turn.

First is the issue of LGBTQ scholarship (whether or not the faculty is LGBTQ). As with other scholarship on minoritized, oppressed, and/or disadvantaged communities, a key continuing challenge is that such scholarship will be pigeonholed as “narrow.” This is dangerous because it can lead to the mistaken conclusion that such work does not have broad disciplinary relevance, a common criterion for promotion and tenure.

One way to anticipate and counter the idea that one’s scholarship is “narrow” is to publish in generalist venues as well as more specialized ones. For instance, in my own case, before tenure I published in GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, but also American Anthropologist (the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association) and the Journal of Asian Studies (the flagship journal of the Association for Asian Studies). This helped departmental colleagues and external reviewers demonstrate that my LGBTQ scholarship engaged with interdisciplinary conversations. Another tip is to seek external reviewers familiar with LGBTQ scholarship.

The second issue with regard to LGBTQ tenure/promotion involves LGBTQ faculty (whether or not they conduct LGBTQ-related research). At Irvine, such faculty are likely to find strong support and allyship, but of course that is not guaranteed. LGBTQ family forms may not be recognized as such; colleagues might treat them as “single” and assume they do not have childcare or other care commitments. LGBTQ faculty must navigate complex relationships to students; this includes the danger of negative teaching evaluations based solely on their sexual/gender identities. Furthermore, not all LGBTQ faculty are out in the workplace: they may not have disclosed their sexual/gender identities, or may have done so only to a few colleagues. It is for this reason that general, proactive support for LGBTQ inclusion and equal rights is important. Such support can benefit LGBTQ faculty who are not out. It can also help such faculty be more visible on campus, contributing to greater diversity and inclusion and providing role models and mentors for colleagues, students, and staff.