| The academic workplace in the 21st century is undergoing a period of dramatic change, and it is within this context that faculty research collaborations have become more ubiquitous. An increasing "generational divide" within the academic workforce is in place, as large numbers of faculty hired in the late 1960s and early 1970s approach retirement, and younger faculty are being hired to replace them.;The purpose of this study was to learn more about the experience of faculty who have engaged in research collaborations with faculty of a different age, life stage, career stage, or intellectual generation. The setting for this study was ten research-oriented liberal arts colleges in the mid-Western, Northeastern, and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. A qualitative research methodology was used, and 26 faculty members were interviewed over the course of two months. The central research question was: What is the nature of intergenerational research collaborations as experienced by faculty at research-oriented liberal arts colleges? Four additional questions helped build a more complete picture of how faculty understood the nature of these partnerships: (1) What attributes of individual faculty members impact their experience of the nature of intergenerational research collaborations? (2) What contextual factors impact faculty members' experience of the nature of intergenerational research collaborations? (3) What collaborative processes are a part of faculty members' experiences of the nature of intergenerational research collaborations? (4) What individual outcomes are a part of faculty members' experiences of the nature of intergenerational research collaborations?;The results of this study found three categories of individual attributes, four categories of contextual factors, four collaborative processes, and eight primary individual outcomes for the more junior and more senior participants in this study. Four key findings, as well as implications for research and practice, are presented. |
