What Happens after Tenure? Exploring Stimuli of Promotion to Full Professor in Top-Ranking Criminology and Criminal Justice Programs in the United States

AbstractThis research addressed how research productivity and scholarly influence may contribute to associate professors’ promotion to the full professor rank. In 2017, we collected vitae of tenure-track faculty employed at top Ph.D.-granting criminology and criminal justice programs in the U.S.A. In this paper, we used the data for 213 associate and full professors and employed survival analysis to examine their time to promotion and factors that stimulated the process. Results showed that the number of sole-authored articles and citation counts positively predicted faculty’s likelihood of being promoted to full professors. We also found faculty members who graduated after 1996 were promoted approximately twice as fast as those who graduated before the year; however, neither race nor gender influenced faculty promotion trajectories. Finally, limitations and implications were discussed.Keywords: Academic careerprofessorshiphigher educationcriminal justice educationtenure and promotion Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 The choice of prestigious journals is based on Sorensen et al.’s (Citation2006) list. The list includes Criminology; Justice Quarterly; Crime & Delinquency; Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency; Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology; Criminology & Public Policy; Law & Society Review; Journal of Quantitative Criminology; Theoretical Criminology; Advances in Criminological Thought; Journal of Criminal Justice; Deviant Behavior; and Law & Human Behavior.2 Though the journal impact factor is a commonly used proxy of scholarly influence (Adler et al., Citation2009; Gardner & Veliz, Citation2014; McKiernan et al., Citation2019; Niles et al., Citation2020), it is beyond the scope of the current study to include the measure.3 A small portion of the sample (n = 32) graduated on or before 1977, and as early as 1966. These faculty members have been in service for 40–50 years and are past the standard retirement age of 65. They also differ considerably in time of promotion and publication records. We decide not to include a third cohort and remove these cases from analyses.4 To avoid confusion, we do not use the common statistical/scientific language where Full Professors would have been labeled “failures.”Additional informationNotes on contributorsYang Vincent LiuYang Vincent Liu, M.S., is a Ph.D. Candidate in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. His research broadly examines migration, sexuality, and public opinions of crime and justice. His work on gender violence and sexual offending in Chinese societies has been featured in the Journal of Sex Research and Asian Journal of Criminology.Sanja Kutnjak IvkovichSanja Kutnjak Ivkovich, Ph.D., S.J.D., is a Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. She serves as the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Policing: An International Journal. Her research focuses on policing and comparative/international criminology and criminal justice. She received the 2017 Mueller Award for Distinguished Contributions to International Criminal Justice from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences’ International Section.Jon MaskályJon Maskály, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of North Dakota. His research interests revolve broadly around policing and quantitative methods of inquiry.Yongjae NamYongjae Nam, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His research focuses on procedural justice, organizational justice, police training, police legitimacy, and interpersonal violence. His recent work has appeared in Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Policing: An International Journal, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Victims and Offenders, Journal of Criminal Justice Education, Criminal Justice Review, Police Practice and Research, and Journal of Family Violence.Richard R. BennettRichard R. Bennett, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Justice, Law and Criminology at American University. He has conducted research and published one book and over 65 articles in the areas of police attitudes and behaviors as well as comparative crime and criminal justice. Earlier he has served as a police officer, a police trainer, a criminal investigator, and is currently a criminal justice consultant to national and international governmental commissions, universities, and contract research organizations. He has been both a Senior Fulbright Scholar and President of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He has won several national awards for his research and work in the field.Skyler MorganSkyler Morgan, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Emergency Management at California State University, Long Beach. His research interests include developmental and life-course criminology, corrections, and gender/sexuality in the criminal justice system. His previous work has been featured in Crime & Delinquency, Homicide Studies, and Journal of Crime and Justice.Katherine DunnKatherine Dunn, Ph.D., is a graduate of the Department of Justice, Law and Criminology at American University. Her research investigates the interface of psychology and the criminal justice system, with specific interests in legal decision-making, plea-bargaining, sentencing outcomes, and wrongful convictions.