Black women and Hispanic/Latina faculty are underrepresented in tenured science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) positions at research universities. Despite this fact, this demographic group is increasingly recognized at the national level as a key source of underutilized talent that may significantly contribute to the nations' STEM talent pool. As a result, resources continue to be allocated to higher education institutions to support the successful career advancement of women of color in STEM. Yet, little empirical data currently exists about how these faculty members successfully navigate the promotion and tenure process based on the salient challenges they face as probationary faculty. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that contribute to the successful career advancement of tenured Black women and Hispanic/Latina STEM faculty from assistant to associate professors at predominately White, research institutions. A sub-focus of this study is to identify the challenges faced by the participants during their early career. This qualitative study is guided by social cognitive theory and the literature on faculty development. A purposeful snowball sampling technique (n=13) is utilized. Respondents filled out an online demographic questionnaire and participated in one round of telephone interviews (90-120 minutes). The findings show that the participants faced five key challenges as probationary, early career faculty. Seven personal and external strategies enabled the participants to mitigate these challenges and contributed to their successful promotion and tenure. Suggestions for future research and implications for policy and practice are presented.
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