Overcoming Barriers to African American Women Ascending to the College Presidency Quincy Martin, III
Governors State University Journal of Higher Education Management, 36(2), 32-38 (ISSN 2640-7515). © Copyright 2021 by the American Association of University Administrators. Permission to reprint for academic/scholarly purposes is unrestricted provided this statement appears on all duplicated copies. All other rights reserved.
Despite a diverse population of college communities, higher education institutions have historically failed to yield the desired outcome of diversity in the college presidency. Specifically, African American females in higher education are systematically disadvantaged by gender and race. It is not uncommon for these women to be targeted for racism, sexism, and classism that sometimes discourage them from seeking and ascending to the college presidency. According to Weisman and Vaughan (2007), Caucasian males who are 58 years old were the dominant community college presidents by 2006. By 2011, women made some strides towards college leadership; however, white men continued to lead most colleges as presidents (American Council of Education [ACE], 2012). Conversely, most elite colleges have made significant strides towards opening gateways for minority faculty and staff into leadership. More recently, Dr. Elmira Mangum was appointed the 11th president of Florida A&M University from 2014 to 2016 and the only African American woman to assume the institution’s permanent position. Dr. Mangum proceeds to pioneer African American female leaders in colleges such as Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, who in 1999 became the first African American woman to lead a national research college after an appointment as a college president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Likewise, Dr. Ruth J. Simmons became the first African American woman to lead a major college when she was selected as president of Smith College in 1995 and was later appointed the president of Brown University in 2000, the pioneer woman to hold such an Ivy League college position. Though uncommon, Dr. Mangum, Dr. Shirley, and Dr. Ruth are not the only African American women to reach the college presidency. Research shows that the representation of women of color as college presidents from all post-secondary institutions increased to 30% in 2016 compared to 9% in 1986 (ACE, 2017). While the number of African American women as college presidents has gradually improved over the last 30 years, the group continues to be underrepresented in this pivotal leadership role. In 2016, the number of African American women in the college presidency reduced by 5% (ACE, 2017). But what has it taken for some African American women to overcome the odds in a male, white-dominated college environment while others fail to ascend to the highest leadership role? Aspiring African American women can emulate the strategies of previous successful African American women leaders. As a result, they can break the social constructs of gender and race in higher learning environments and society in general. Purpose of the Study While the literature of women in higher education leadership has advanced in recent years, few studies have gone beyond the barriers African American women face in ascending to the college presidency that reports on enablers of their pursuit to such a coveted leadership role. This study acknowledges that despite the underrepresentation of African American women in the college presidency, some women have found means to survive and prosper in the stereotyped principles present within higher education to become successful college presidents. The purpose of this study 32
