FirstGen Program: Looking Back on Three Years of Learning, Support, and Growth
“Supporting first-gen scholars means creating an awareness that first-gen scholars continue to pay a price for their academic career even if they have ‘won the lottery’ and snatched a tenure track position.”—Micaela Soyer, author of Lost Childhoods: Poverty, Trauma, and Violent Crime in the Post-Welfare Era
The FirstGen Program at University of California Press was launched in November 2021 to support the work of first-generation scholars — those who are the first in their family to receive a college degree. In alignment with the goals and mission of the larger University of California system, we recognize the important and unique perspectives first-gen scholars bring to the world of scholarship. However, the pathway to an advanced degree and faculty appointment can be especially difficult for first-gen scholars, who are often navigating academia without a compass and with fewer resources at their disposal.
That’s why we’ve developed a program that provides first-gen authors publishing with University of California Press with financial assistance and augmented support throughout the publishing process. Our program also contributes to the larger first-gen community by disseminating publishing resources via our listserv, blog, and public presentations.
With three years under our belt, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the program’s growth and achievements.
New Voices, New Perspectives
“Working with the FirstGen Program at UC Press has been phenomenal. We—my book co-author and I—never felt alone or ignored, as can sometimes happen in the world of publishing.”—Miroslava Chávez-García, coauthor of Is Grad School for Me?
Since November 2021, we’ve signed 104 first-gen projects. Sixty-nine of these are from first-book authors. These projects range across disciplines, from sociology to musicology, science and technology to history and anthropology.
“Thanks to the FirstGen program I felt particularly supported in preparing my first monograph for publication, a process that at first looks daunting and inscrutable.”—Dustin Klinger, Being Another Way: The Copula and Arabic Philosophy of Language, 900–1500
Thirty of these projects have now officially been published, with six more titles forthcoming this spring. Many of these books have won awards in their disciplines.
Importantly, these numbers represent new voices, stories and perspectives that we hope will shift dynamics in higher education and beyond.
Building Support and Community
”I felt a strengthened sense of the supportiveness of the team at the press, was appreciative of their confidence and encouragement, and once again just felt so grateful that my book has found such an excellent home.—-FG author
UC Press FirstGen authors receive an outright grant from the press to help offset costs associated with publishing. Based on feedback from our authors, these funds have been used to pay for indexing and permissions, map creation and open access fees, and childcare to allow for more writing time.
Our authors also receive enhanced support through a series of virtual “brownbag” sessions hosted by UC Press staff. In this three-part informational series authors learn best practices about working with editors and editorial assistants, project editors and copyeditors, marketing colleagues and publicists. They also have an opportunity to share their own experiences with others and foster connections.
“Getting to attend this event made me feel better connected to the process, and supported by the press.”—FG author
Another major objective of our program is to contribute to the larger first-gen scholarly community. Through outreach to academic associations and institutes of learning, an active listserv with over 1300 subscribers, and monthly posts sharing original content about publishing and writing, we aim to provide tools and insights to anyone interested in publishing their work.
Reflecting back on these last three years, thanks to the hard work of UC Press staff and our authors, we’ve grown an idea into real results. Whether it’s in the subject of their work or their methodology and style, first-gen scholars bring unique perspectives that make an impact. We’re proud to provide space and support for these stories to be told.
As we look ahead to the next three years, we hope to reach more first-gen scholars and increase our impact on first-gen communities. Stay tuned for more updates on how you can help us grow!
—FirstGen Program Lead Coordinator, Raina Polivka
Help us grow our FirstGen Program