Edna Martinez - Böcker

Attrition among doctoral students has become a perennial issue in higher education (Gardner, 2009; Golde, 2000) as 40 to 60 percent of doctoral students do not complete their program of study (Bair &Haworth, 2005). Such outcomes are inconsistent with the rigorous evaluation that occurs prior to being accepted into a doctoral program (Bair & Haworth, 2005). Despite deemed levels of student excellence, promise and efforts made by programs to counter student departure (Offerman, 2011), attrition rates remain alarmingly high (Bair & Haworth, 2005; Gardner, 2009). The purpose of this book is to provide a view into doctoral student work-lives and their efforts to find a balance between often seemingly conflicting responsibilities. In addition to contributing to the ongoing dialogue on work-life balance in doctoral studies (Brus, 2006; Golde, 1998; Moyer, Salovey, & Casey-Cannon, 1999), the intention of this book is to provide other doctoral students with potential coping mechanisms, guidance, and assurance that they are not alone in this process. Lastly, we anticipate that these doctoral student narratives will help illuminate potential strategies that doctoral programs, departments, and institutions can incorporate in their efforts to help students successfully complete their program of study. As such the intended audience is doctoral students, higher education professionals, faculty members, and educational leaders.

Attrition among doctoral students has become a perennial issue in higher education (Gardner, 2009; Golde, 2000) as 40 to 60 percent of doctoral students do not complete their program of study (Bair &Haworth, 2005). Such outcomes are inconsistent with the rigorous evaluation that occurs prior to being accepted into a doctoral program (Bair & Haworth, 2005). Despite deemed levels of student excellence, promise and efforts made by programs to counter student departure (Offerman, 2011), attrition rates remain alarmingly high (Bair & Haworth, 2005; Gardner, 2009). The purpose of this book is to provide a view into doctoral student work-lives and their efforts to find a balance between often seemingly conflicting responsibilities. In addition to contributing to the ongoing dialogue on work-life balance in doctoral studies (Brus, 2006; Golde, 1998; Moyer, Salovey, & Casey-Cannon, 1999), the intention of this book is to provide other doctoral students with potential coping mechanisms, guidance, and assurance that they are not alone in this process. Lastly, we anticipate that these doctoral student narratives will help illuminate potential strategies that doctoral programs, departments, and institutions can incorporate in their efforts to help students successfully complete their program of study. As such the intended audience is doctoral students, higher education professionals, faculty members, and educational leaders.

Building on the work of Guillaume (2021), the collection of autoethnographies and testimonios in this book highlight positive coping mechanisms, strategies, and healthy boundaries that early, middle, and late-career Faculty of Color at comprehensive universities have deployed to negotiate home and work.As beautifully stated by Aeriel A. Ashlee, whose story you will find in chapter two: 'It is not a formula, a blueprint to copy, or a recipe to repeat;' however, we hope that the stories about relying on faith, family, mentors, culture, and community presented in the following chapters will support Faculty of Color in their own well-being and work-life integration efforts. Certainly, work-life balance or integration is not the solution to deeply entrenched systemic issues in higher education; however, research in the area of work-life balance/integration has affirmed the need for postsecondary institutions to place significant importance on the topic of work-life, in particular the need for increased support at both the department and institutional levels (Denson et al., 2018). Thus, it is also our hope that this book will serve as a resource for educational leaders in the area of faculty development, as well as academic administrators whose role is to recruit, retain, and evaluate Faculty of Color at comprehensive universities.