On Becoming a Scholar: What Every New Academic Needs to Know

The origins of On Becoming a Scholar lie in the realisation that there is a need for a vademecum, a handy compendium of ideas, plans and strategies for building a productive and fulfilling academic career to guide the host of prospective academics.

On Becoming a Scholar is geared to help relatively new scholars to construct personal futures and to find their way through the 21st century university. It is intended to be a map, and like any map it does not contain all the contours and details of the landscape, but rather seeks to reveal the important pathways and milestones in the journey to becoming an established academic.

Drawing on highly experienced academics and accomplished professors in their different fields, as well as promising younger academics already on their way, this book cover a concentrated resource of practical wisdom. The topics are broad and, cumulatively, they seek to answer the many questions that experienced mentors encounter every day in their work with new academics.

Table of Contents

SECTION I: INTRODUCTION

1 The New Scholar’s Journey – Daniel Visser and Jonathan Jansen

SECTION II: BECOMING AN ACADEMIC RESEARCHER

2 “Now Do Research”: Getting Started as a Novice Researcher – Lyn Holness

3 Publishing High-Impact Research – Stella Nkom

4 Writing Your First Scholarly Book – Jaqueline du Toit and Neil Roos

5 Leveraging the Research Office – Gaëlle Ramon

6 Navigating Research Ethics – Lyn Horn

7 Soft Money and the Early-Career Scholar – Valerie Mizrahi

SECTION III: BECOMING A UNIVERSITY TEACHER

8 What Does Scholarly Teaching Look Like? – Jonathan Jansen

SECTION IV: BECOMING ACADEMICALLY CONNECTED

9 Research Networks – Daya Reddy

10 Knowledge Networks – Jess Auerbach

11 Academic Duty – Jonathan Jansen

SECTION V: BECOMING AN EDITOR

12 Editing a Scholarly Journal – Michael Cherry

13 Editing a Scholarly Book – Jonathan Jansen

SECTION VI: BECOMING GOOD AT GAUGING YOUR PERFORMANCE

14 How to Manage and Monitor Your Performance Metrics – Lucia Schoombee

15 When and How to Submit Your First NRF Rating Application – Brenda Wingfield

16 Applying for Promotion – Daniel Visser

SECTION VII: BECOMING AN ACADEMIC LEADER

17 The Wisdom of Practice: An Intergenerational Conversation – Tebello Nyokong and Siphokazi Magadla

18 An Unexpected Duty: Academic Leadership as a Young Head of Department – Philippa Tumubweinee

19 Mentoring and Coaching – Ahmed Wadee and Moyra Keane

20 Supervision and Mentorship as Building Blocks for an Academic Career – Chika Sehoole

SECTION VIII: FINDING BALANCE

21 Academic Well-being – Mothomang Diaho and Chantelle Wyley

22 Balancing Academic Work and Home Life – Nthabaleng Rammile

23 The Mom Penalty Cyrill Walters