Fiona Griffiths

Stanford University

Fiona Griffiths, Ph.D.

2024-25 Role: Stanford FAN Mellon Fellow

Fiona Griffiths will work within the office of the Senior Associate Dean for Humanities and Arts in the School of Humanities and Sciences to develop initiatives designed to support and enhance the experiences of Associate Professors across their period in rank.  Her project considers the challenges and opportunities specific to the rank of associate professor: the increased demands on service, mentoring and teaching, and the challenges of developing, sustaining, and completing major research projects.  

Working under the direction of Senior Associate Dean Gabriella Safran, Prof. Griffiths will focus on the career trajectories, research engagement, and institutional wellbeing of Associate Professors within the twelve departments that constitute the division of Humanities and Arts.  The goal of her project is to develop a data- and research-driven plan for the care and development of associate professors that could be piloted within one cluster in the following academic year and that might ultimately be rolled out across the School of Humanities and Sciences.

Desired sub-goals of the project include: (1) a clear sense of the Associate Professor trajectory, from tenure to promotion (with attention to median timelines and outliers by discipline or department); (2) the identification of common pathways and critical moments in the “life” of the Associate Professor, with a view to supporting and sustaining research enthusiasm and productivity; (3) a plan to encourage institutional engagement, including enhanced intellectual community as well as meaningful and rewarding service portfolios; (4) identification of resources to support and engage associate professors at three pivotal moments: immediately following tenure, at “mid” career, and (where relevant) in the years beyond average time to promotion.

Prof. Griffiths will meet with Safran on a monthly basis to discuss her work, report on her findings, and receive valuable feedback; she will meet regularly, too, with Susan Drange, Associate Vice Provost, Faculty Development, Diversity, & Engagement, for research-driven advice on faculty career development.

Supervisor: Gabrielle Safran, Senior Associate Dean, Humanities & Arts, Stanford University

Mentors: R. Lanier Anderson, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Stanford University; Robin Kelsey, Professor of Photography, Dean Emeritus of Arts & Humanities, Harvard University