Breaking through the glass ceiling: a survey of promotion rates of graduates of a primary care Faculty Development Fellowship Program.

BACKGROUND Academic promotion has been difficult for women and faculty of minority race. We investigated whether completion of a faculty development fellowship would equalize promotion rates of female and minority graduates to those of male and white graduates. METHODS All graduates of the Michigan State University Primary Care Faculty Development Fellowship Program from 1989-1998 were sent a survey in 1999, which included questions about academic status and appointment. We compared application and follow-up survey data by gender and race/ethnicity. Telephone calls were made to nonrespondents. RESULTS A total of 175 (88%) graduating fellows responded to the follow-up survey. Information on academic rank at entry and follow-up was obtained from 28 of 48 fellows with missing information on promotion. Male and female graduates achieved similar academic promotion at follow-up, but there was a trend toward lower promotion rates for minority faculty graduates compared to white graduates. In the multivariate analysis, however, only age, years in rank, initial rank, and type of appointment (academic versus clinical) were significant factors for promotion. CONCLUSIONS Academic advancement is multifactorial and appears most related to time in rank, stage of life, and career choice. Faculty development programs may be most useful in providing skill development and career counseling.