5: At Your Service: Building Community and Professional Identity Through Service

Today’s faculty face increased expectations in all facets of their professional lives. Faced with tight budgets, larger class sizes, the impending enrollment cliff, and declining public support, institutions generally expect more from their faculty. Consequently, overworked faculty, particularly new-career faculty, are likely to meet service expectations with a sense of apprehension. However, service need not be the ever-ravenous hydra waiting outside the office door. Early in one’s academic career, institutional service can provide valuable opportunities to gain knowledge about institutional culture and develop beneficial relationships with colleagues that will support a sense of belonging and increase job satisfaction. This chapter will highlight my experiences with service as well as the benefits from service. These benefits include identifying committees that align with an individual’s interests, developing their leadership abilities, building community, and yielding important networking connections with campus decision-makers. Connection, camaraderie, and community: beyond meeting the third leg of the tenure stool, these three intangibles are the true rewards of service and keys to success in academia.