Written/Unwritten. Diversity and the Hidden Truths of Tenure ed. by Patricia Matthew (review)

ABSTRACT

The University of Michigan denied tenure to four marginalized faculty members in 2007 and while wrestling with her own tenure challenges, Patricia Matthew brings these stories together. In many ways, these persons are marginalized from the intellectual community that graduate school fosters. [...]they are effectively rendered invisible to the campus community at large. The stigma attached to them, complicated by a healthy level of historical skepticism of social workers and mental health clinicians, may prevent scholars who struggle with anxiety and depression, for example, from availing themselves of any wellness resources and counseling services available to them on campus. In the age of COVID-19, the long-term effects of the disease for those who have survived it are yet to be fully understood and the impacts of the collective trauma are likely exacerbating for those who are already struggling with isolating physical conditions and mental health challenges.