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Faculty Turnover: Discipline-Specific Attention is Warranted

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Abstract

This study investigated the importance of discipline variations in understanding faculty turnover behaviors. A representative sample of university faculty in Research and Doctoral universities was obtained from a national database. Faculty members, self-identified into a primary academic area, were grouped into eight discipline clusters according to an established framework. Multiple regression models were constructed to examine within each cluster the relative importance of a list of factors that have been identified to be related to faculty turnover. Cross-discipline comparisons of within-cluster variable prioritization revealed substantial discipline variations with regard to the major factors that are critical to faculty turnover. The findings produced evidence that discipline-specific information was indispensable to institutional administrators and policy makers for effective faculty retention.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Mr. James C. Allen, my graduate assistant, for his editorial assistance and valuable feedback in producing this manuscript. I am also deeply grateful to Dr. John C. Smart for his tremendous support and guidance in the last three years.

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Correspondence to Yonghong Jade Xu.

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Xu, Y. Faculty Turnover: Discipline-Specific Attention is Warranted. Res High Educ 49, 40–61 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-007-9062-7

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