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Temporal dynamics of faculty hiring in mathematics

Author

Listed:
  • Cody FitzGerald

    (Northwestern University
    NSF-Simons Center for Quantitative Biology)

  • Yitong Huang

    (NSF-Simons Center for Quantitative Biology
    Northwestern University)

  • Katelyn Plaisier Leisman

    (Northwestern University)

  • Chad M. Topaz

    (Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity
    Williams College
    University of Colorado–Boulder)

Abstract

University faculty hiring networks are known to be hierarchical and to exacerbate various types of inequity. Still, a detailed, historical understanding of hiring dynamics lacks in many academic fields. We focus on the field of mathematics, analyzing over 120,000 records from 150 institutions over seven decades to elucidate the temporal dynamics of hiring doctoral-granting (DG) faculty at the individual and departmental levels. We demonstrate that the disparity between the number of mathematics Ph.D.s awarded and the number of DG faculty positions filled has grown over time. Even institutions with the best records of DG faculty placement have experienced a temporal decline in the probability of their graduates obtaining a DG faculty position. By quantifying the mathematical prestige of each department with a network statistic, authority centrality, we find an approximately linear relationship between the log of the prestige of one’s Ph.D. institution and the log of the probability of obtaining a faculty position. Moreover, we observe associations suggesting that the probability of DG faculty placement has decreased over time and is smaller for women than for men. On the departmental level, a group of 14 elite departments dominated the authority centrality of the entire network between 1950 and 2019. Strikingly, one department within this elite group increased its centrality scores consistently, which hints at the possibility for a department to improve its prestige. This analysis highlights the challenges of transitioning from Ph.D. holder to faculty member in mathematics.

Suggested Citation

  • Cody FitzGerald & Yitong Huang & Katelyn Plaisier Leisman & Chad M. Topaz, 2023. "Temporal dynamics of faculty hiring in mathematics," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:10:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-01708-9
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-023-01708-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robin Cowan & Giulia Rossello, 2018. "Emergent structures in faculty hiring networks, and the effects of mobility on academic performance," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(1), pages 527-562, October.
    2. Allison C. Morgan & Nicholas LaBerge & Daniel B. Larremore & Mirta Galesic & Jennie E. Brand & Aaron Clauset, 2022. "Socioeconomic roots of academic faculty," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(12), pages 1625-1633, December.
    3. Damani K. White-Lewis, 2020. "The Facade of Fit in Faculty Search Processes," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 91(6), pages 833-857, September.
    4. Zuo, Zhiya & Zhao, Kang & Ni, Chaoqun, 2019. "Standing on the shoulders of giants?—Faculty hiring in information schools," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 341-353.
    5. K. Hunter Wapman & Sam Zhang & Aaron Clauset & Daniel B. Larremore, 2022. "Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in US faculty hiring and retention," Nature, Nature, vol. 610(7930), pages 120-127, October.
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