Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in US faculty hiring and retention

This paper analyzes the academic employment and doctoral education of tenure-track faculty at all PhD-granting US universities from 2011-2020, quantifying inequalities in faculty production, prestige, retention, and gender. The analysis reveals stark inequalities, with a small minority of universities supplying a large majority of faculty, exacerbated by attrition and prestige hierarchies. Higher attrition rates are found among faculty trained outside the US or employed by their doctoral university. Gains in women's representation are attributed to demographic turnover and prior changes in hiring practices, suggesting limited progress towards long-term gender parity. The study quantifies the dynamics of US faculty hiring and retention to support efforts to improve the academic workforce.

K. Hunter Wapman, Sam Zhang, Aaron Clauset, Daniel B. Larremore