Building Bridges

Abstract

This chapter expands upon the analysis of the academic career and workload, and takes this analysis to a more comprehensive level, including some insights and advice as to how practitioners can successfully construct a multifaceted academic career. Leading into this analysis is a discussion surrounding the importance of networking and building bridges between both fellow academics and with partners in industry and business. Especially for academics who do select the tenure track—and even those practitioners that do not select that specific track—having connections and colleagues outside of your home institution is critically important. Be it for promotion and review purposes, collaboration on presentations or publications, or just building a brand and narrative, establishing connections is key. In addition, a section of this chapter touches on the unfortunate rise of predatory journals, which may be uniquely positioned to take advantage of recently transitioned academics. Finally, something particularly relevant to the readers of this book is the potential and possibility for bringing real-world business practices and ideas into the classroom. These dual trends, the predatory journal industry and the applications of business education in the classroom, are both critical issues for practitioner seeking to both navigate the higher education space and create value to the largest extent possible.

Appendices

Reflection Questions

• 1. Given the fact that there is so much pressure to publish for academics, do you feel there is a role for more “business-like” journal publishers, operating on something like a pay-to-play model?

• 2. Bringing real-world experience to the classroom is a major asset that former practitioners can deliver, but what are some of the skills coming over the horizon that students will need to know to succeed in the workforce of the future?

• 3. Since there are so many internal and external forces driving change in the higher education space, does it seem that there is a role to be played for colleges and universities to continue to operate more like a “traditional” business?

Additional Readings

• 1. Nature—Predatory-journal papers have little scientific impact—https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00031-6.

• 2. Beall’s—List of potential predatory journals and publishers—https://beallslist.net/.

• 3. Real world classroom—https://www.rwc.school/.

• 4. Harvard Business Review—Why Companies And Universities Should Forge Long-Term Collaborations—https://hbr.org/2018/01/why-companies-and-universities-should-forge-long-term-collaborations.

• 5. American Progress—The Power of the Education-Industry Partnership—https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2010/10/04/8518/the-power-of-the-education-industry-partnership/.