The Design of Academic Advancement: Dissecting Tenure and Promotion

Abstract

Racial disparities have long characterized Canadian higher education, and nursing academia is no exception. Persistent underrepresentation of racialized groups within nursing faculties contributes to lower enrollment of Indigenous and Black students and limits the racial and ethnic diversity of the nursing workforce. This lack of representation continues to shape inequitable access to healthcare and contributes to documented disparities in health outcomes. Research consistently demonstrates that Indigenous and Black students, staff, and faculty encounter ongoing negative experiences—ranging from subtle exclusion to overt discrimination—that affect their retention, sense of belonging, and overall quality of academic and work life. Among faculty members, one critical space where these experiences often surface is within tenure and promotion committees, which play a central role in shaping career advancement and academic culture. The purpose of this review was to apply Gibbs’ (1988) reflective cycle to examine a specific experience within a Tenure and Promotion Committee, focusing on how such processes intersect with efforts to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Using an adaptive leadership lens, the review considers how entrenched norms within academic structures can impede meaningful progress, even when institutions express commitments to EDI. Adaptive leadership highlights the need for cultural change, emotional resilience, and collective responsibility—elements often challenged within traditional academic settings. The findings suggest that organizational change within a nursing faculty can provoke significant emotional distress. This distress may manifest as heightened defensiveness, reduced openness to new perspectives, and an increased propensity toward unkind or exclusionary behaviours. Such reactions can erode empathy, compassion, and cognitive flexibility—qualities essential to fostering psychological safety. Because psychologically safe environments are foundational to both faculty well‑being and student success, recognizing and addressing the emotional dimensions of change is crucial. Without deliberate attention to these dynamics, efforts to advance EDI risk being superficial, resisted, or unsustainable.