Although The University of Alabama prides itself on molding good thinkers and workers, department heads are reluctant to hire their own doctoral students as professors.

Thirteen percent of all faculty with Ph.D.s earned their doctorate from The University of Alabama, and 87 percent earned their doctorates from other institutions, according to Cathy Andreen, director of media relations.

“Most universities do not hire their own Ph.D. graduates,” said Clark Midkiff, interim department head of the UA mechanical engineering program. “It’s not a bias, but it is a widespread unwritten rule.”

He said the mechanical engineering department avoids hiring its own recent Ph.D. graduates to prevent ‘academic inbreeding’ within the department.

“Academic inbreeding occurs when the only ideas you have been exposed to is the local university’s, and you haven’t had much experience with different universities and systems,” Midkiff said. “If graduates have gone out outside and worked for another university for a number of years, they have a different set of experiences. Then we would view them as an acceptable candidate, and they will be held to the same standards.”

Catherine Davies, chair of the English department, said it is enriching for her department to bring in someone who is educated in a different environment.

“We like spreading ideas and perspectives, because it allows us to grow,” Davies said.

In the psychology department, one of 34 tenured or tenure-track faculty earned a doctorate from the University, whereas two of the three current clinical-teaching faculty — non-tenure track — earned their doctorate here, Beverly Thorn, chair of the psychology department, said. However, several UA Ph.D. graduates are hired on as part-time, temporary instructors.

“Most research-intensive institutions value heterogeneity in faculty,” Thorn said. “If we hired many of our own graduates, we would be considered too insular.”

There are exceptions, though, if a really outstanding UA applicant has special research expertise that the department needs, Thorn said.

Davies and Midkiff said their hiring processes benefit their students.

For Davies, hiring other graduates motivates UA students to work hard in their field. She said that if students could always depend on getting a job at the University, they may not put as much effort into their work. The uncertainty pushes students to do well.

Also, Davies said the tight job market for the English literature-oriented creates pressure for graduates to publish as many works and get as much exposure as possible before earning their doctorates.

In mechanical engineering, working at a research lab, military lab or an industrial research lab gives graduates experience they would not have received if they worked with the Capstone right after graduation, Midkiff said.

“It helps broaden our students,” he said.

Additionally, Midkiff said the transition from student to professor may be difficult at the same university when one’s professors become colleagues.

“The faculty should have different perspectives,” Davies said. “We want access to others’ ideas, because we are an intellectual enterprise.”