An Administrator’s Perspective: Coloring Outside of the Tenure-Track Line

An Administrator’s Perspective: Coloring Outside of the Tenure-Track Line

By Renita Miller, Princeton University

My path in academia has been atypical in that it has not followed the standard tenure-track path but instead one in which I have the opportunity to fully use much of my legislative studies training in racial and ethnic politics on a daily basis in a position that I absolutely love. More specifically, my deep understanding of racial and ethnic representation and its impact on substantive representation (Bratton and Haynie 1999; Hero and Tolbert 1995; Karnig and Welch 1980; Mansbridge 1999; Meier and Stewart 1991; Pitkin 1967; Stewart, England, and Meier 1989; Tate 2003; Whitby 1997), the inherent impact that institutional policies have on inequitable outputs and outcomes, and the influence of diverse deliberative bodies on policy outcomes (Gamble 2011; Mansbridge 1999; Minta 2011) have all translated well in a higher-education administration context—particularly in the area of diversity and inclusion, the path that I am currently traveling.