Attracting top academic talent is only the first step—retaining early-career faculty is essential. These junior scholars represent the future of research, teaching, and institutional reputation, yet many face overwhelming pressures that drive them away from academia. In fact, nearly half of early-career faculty consider leaving their positions within the first five years, often due to burnout, unclear expectations, or insufficient support, and many will eventually do so.

For university leaders, retention isn’t just a numbers game—it’s about building an environment where early-career faculty can thrive. This means crafting thoughtful policies, implementing strong mentorship, and maintaining a culture that supports long-term growth.

Why Early-Career Faculty Retention Demands Immediate Attention

The challenges facing junior faculty today are more complex than ever. Unlike their senior colleagues, they must simultaneously establish a research trajectory, secure funding, excel in teaching, and navigate often-opaque tenure processes—all while balancing personal and professional demands. Without adequate support, many become disillusioned, leading to attrition that costs institutions talent, resources invested in recruitment, and lost research productivity.

When institutions fail to retain early-career faculty, the effects reach far beyond the loss of individual team members. High turnover can destabilize departments, disrupt vital mentorship pipelines for graduate students, and harm the institution’s ability to recruit top talent in the future. On the other hand, universities that prioritize the development of junior faculty position themselves for long-term success, benefiting from increased research productivity, stronger success in securing grants, and a growing reputation as a supportive, sought-after environment for academic careers to flourish.

Five Key Strategies to Strengthen Retention

1. Build a Robust Mentorship Ecosystem

One of the most consistent factors in faculty satisfaction and retention is access to meaningful mentorship. Yet too many junior scholars report feeling isolated or receiving only superficial guidance. A well-structured mentorship program goes beyond assigning a single senior faculty member—it should provide multiple touchpoints for professional growth.

Effective mentorship ecosystems include:

• Dedicated senior mentors who offer career advice, help navigate tenure requirements, and provide feedback on research and teaching.

• Peer mentoring networks where early-career faculty can share challenges and strategies with colleagues at similar stages.

• External mentors from other institutions to broaden perspectives and expand professional networks.

To maximize impact, institutions can formalize expectations for mentors and mentees, including regular meetings, goal-setting frameworks, and training for mentors on how to provide constructive, bias-aware guidance. Some universities have found success with “mentoring contracts” that outline mutual responsibilities, ensuring accountability on both sides.

2. Demystify Tenure and Promotion Processes

Ambiguity around tenure expectations is a major source of stress for junior faculty. Without clear benchmarks, they may misallocate effort, overinvesting in low-impact service work while neglecting critical research milestones. Transparent, well-communicated tenure criteria help faculty focus their energy where it matters most.

Concrete steps institutions can take include:

• Providing detailed, written guidelines that specify expectations for publications, teaching evaluations, and grant funding.

• Conducting annual reviews that offer candid, constructive feedback on progress toward tenure.

• Adjusting timelines for faculty with caregiving responsibilities, such as automatic tenure-clock extensions for parental leave, and defining other metrics that can capture effort when factors beyond their control (e.g., funding agency budget cuts) hamper progress in achieving traditional milestones.

• Ensuring that “unspoken expectations” are either eliminated or formally communicated.

Some departments have implemented “tenure workshops” where senior faculty clarify the process by sharing anonymized examples of successful (and unsuccessful) tenure cases. This transparency reduces anxiety and helps junior scholars make strategic decisions about where to invest their time.

3. Protect Faculty from Service Overload

A common pitfall for early-career faculty is becoming overburdened with committee work, student advising, and administrative tasks—responsibilities that are essential to university operations but can derail research productivity if unchecked. While service is important, junior faculty often lack the authority to decline requests, leading to burnout.

Institutions can address this by:

• Establishing formal policies that limit committee assignments for pre-tenure faculty, allowing them to prioritize research and teaching.

• Encouraging department chairs to help faculty decline non-essential requests gracefully (e.g., by providing templates for polite refusals).

• Recognizing service contributions in tenure evaluations without overemphasizing them, ensuring faculty aren’t penalized for strategic prioritization.

4. Invest in Research Support and Resources

Publishing and securing grants are essential to sustaining and advancing an academic career, yet many early-career faculty face significant challenges in these areas without strong institutional support. While competitive startup packages provide a critical foundation, they are only part of the equation—ongoing support is just as vital to ensure long-term success and growth.

Effective research support includes:

• Guaranteed funding for preliminary research, conference travel, and lab equipment.

• Grant-writing workshops and internal review programs, where senior faculty provide feedback on proposals before submission.

• Facilitated interdisciplinary collaborations through research incubators or seed funding initiatives that help junior faculty connect with potential co-investigators.

Some universities have also created “research sabbaticals” for pre-tenure faculty—short-term teaching reductions that allow dedicated time for high-impact projects.

5. Prioritize Work-Life Integration and Well-Being

Early-career faculty are especially impacted by academia’s “always-on” culture, where the pressure to prove oneself can feel relentless. Over time, this constant grind takes a toll, draining energy, stifling creativity, and pushing talented researchers to the brink of burnout or out of the field entirely.

Institutions can foster healthier work environments by:

• Normalizing flexible work arrangements, such as hybrid teaching options or adjusted office hours.

• Expanding access to mental health resources, including counseling services tailored to academic stressors.

• Celebrating achievements beyond traditional metrics (e.g., mentorship excellence, public engagement) to reinforce a broader definition of success.

The Long-Term Value of Retention Efforts

When universities commit to supporting early-career faculty, the dividends are substantial. Retained faculty develop deeper institutional knowledge, stronger research programs, and more effective teaching practices over time. They also become mentors themselves, thereby promoting future benefits.

Ultimately, retention isn’t just about keeping faculty—it’s about empowering them to do their best work. By implementing these strategies, academic leaders can build institutions where early-career scholars don’t just survive, but thrive and lead with impact.

 

What retention strategies has your institution found most effective? Share your experiences in the comments.