How to be a Good Academic Citizen: The Role and Importance of Service in Academia

Although graduate students and new faculty members are told that service is an important and necessary part of academe, many are warned not to take on too many service commitments because doing so will interfere with their scholarship and teaching. Consequently, many graduate students and junior faculty members come to perceive service as both less meaningful and less important to their careers. Unfortunately, this attitude is detrimental because many service activities can help enhance professional development, facilitate professional connections, and strengthen one’s scholarship and teaching. This essay provides a framework for graduate students and junior faculty to use to help develop a strategic service agenda early in their career that will help advance their professional goals.