Exploring Who We Are: The Emotional Themes of Female Full Professors

• In Event: Female Faculty: Response to Challenges in Higher Education

Abstract

The study examines the emotional themes of female full professors. Five female full professors from various institutions across the United States participated in the study. Three in-depth phenomenological interviews conducted over several months were used as the primary method to gather data. The finding revealed that female academics emotional lives were complex and multifaceted as each woman discussed her emotions in relation to herself, to others, and to the academic institution. Embedded within these areas were the emotional themes of passion/purposefulness, goodness/doing good work, and frustration/loneliness. This research has implications to help illuminate how women navigate the emotional terrain of academic life and considers the importance of emotion in higher education.

Authors

• Samara D. Madrid, University of Wyoming

• Michelle Buchanan, University of Wyoming