Week 1 – Isabel Fajardo

Isabel Fajardo
AO3
Week O1

Life is tough, but Professor Valverde is tougher.

After reading “Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia,” I was initially floored by how much suffering was endured before Professor finally got tenure. Though it is only my second year at Davis, I have taken at least one class from a professor who was scared about their tenure. They urged us to fill out our course evaluations, since part of their tenure review rested on it. I did not think much of it at the time – though I did fill out my evaluation – and thought they deserved tenure at the school. At the end of spring quarter, I got an email stating that the professor did not get tenure here, and was leaving the school to find work elsewhere. After finishing this reading, I am horrified to think that the same treatment given to Professor Valverde was also given to the professor looking for work.

As someone who is Asian-American and suffers from a disability that is not visible, I know Professor’s Valverde’s struggle is something that I know will resonate within me as I look for a job in the future. It pains me to read how she struggled before she got tenure, but I found her fight, her stubbornness, her ability to overcome adversity extremely inspiring.

Question: Could you press charges against those who purposely did not give you a fair tenure review?

References:

1.     Valverde, K., (2013) “Fight the Tower”: A Call to Action for Women in Academia, 12(2), 367-419. Retrieved October 1, 2017.

2.     Percentage of doctoral scientists and engineers employed in universities and 4-year colleges (S&E occupations) who are tenured, by race/ethnicity and gender (2008) [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2017, from http://www.80-20initiative.net/pdf/asian-women-in-science-double-bind.pdf