The purpose of this research study was to explore how a multigenerational community of practice (CoP) at a public urban university may provide doctoral students the space and the support needed to explore and develop their professional identities and find their scholarly voices. The second aim of this study was to examine how the entity of the CoP itself evolved over time. Social learning theory and generational theory provided the framework to interpret the data. Through analysis of collective autoethnographic journals, three primary themes emerged:1) psychological safety and trust; 2) diverse expectations became shared interests; and 3) the unique and shared experiences of the CoP members.

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Developing scholars sometimes struggle to situate their own position in the research and to comprehend how that affects their attitudes and behaviors. They frequently experience imposter syndrome and feelings of inadequacy, which lead to anxiety toward the research and publication processes. This paper presents a method for incorporating collective autoethnography into a graduate course context, aiming to demystify such processes and to cultivate scholarly identity. The doctoral students in a graduate seminar agreed to journal following course meetings. Following completion of the course, the journal entries were compiled. This compilation was reviewed and reflected on by each member individually, and then the group met to collectively discuss the data. Since that initial study, the developing scholars have elected to continue their work together, with each member continuing to benefit from additional scholarship creation, continued peer mentorship, and a supportive group in which to continue to develop scholarly identity. Brief reflections by the authors illustrate their experiences. Through this collective work, the journals resulting in the autoethnography empowered students to understand their positionality and intersectionality, resulting in rich and layered autoethnographic accounts of learning. Through their interests in the jointly conducted project, students gained a sense of authority and position from which to analyze their growing knowledge and identities as scholars.

This article showcases the voices of eight doctoral students and graduates, from two different universities and doctoral programs, who participated in peer mentoring through their communities of practice that were formed to support their learning and development.

In higher education, ethical principles should guide administrators to develop policies and procedures that are just and fair to faculty, administrators, staff, and students and, as well, consider the needs of the various stakeholders affected by them. One example of a process that should be planned and carried out in an ethical way is the tenure-track process for faculty members. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss ethical issues and challenges institutions of higher education face in the tenure process and in socializing new full-time tenure track faculty members into academe. The authors discuss the acculturation process into the academy, then focus on interpersonal interactions and relationships, including mentoring and other supportive relationships and gender and minority issues that may affect the tenure process and acculturation into the academy. They conclude with future concerns and discussion of the ethical considerations for socializing faculty members into academe.