Expanding the Leadership Pipeline in Community Colleges: Fostering Racial Equity

• In Event: 67.029 - Institutional Change for Racial Equity in Higher Education: Recommendations for Necessary Action

Abstract

Community colleges have more racial diversity in leadership positions of all institutional types, but equal representation in leadership remains elusive. Top positions remain stubbornly filled by Whites and men, and those in the pipeline indicate scant interest in pursuing top leadership positions. Changing access to the leadership pipeline and the traditional ways leaders have been identified and developed provides a critical step in fostering racial equity in community college leadership. New visions of leadership require questioning who can be considered for leadership and where leadership occurs. Institutional policies can help create a climate that fosters leadership that is more diverse and addresses structural barriers. Development of mid-level leaders and changing norms that control access to leadership development provide leverage for change. Real change can occur with focused efforts and questioning of historical norms of leadership.
To explore this issue of equity further, this article first outlines a portrait of the diversity in public community colleges over time. This review includes a look at the positions of the president, chief academic officer, and faculty. Next, exploration of definitions of leadership occurs to understand how conceptions of ideal leaders are based on masculine norms, which historically emerge from the experiences of White men, and how these perspectives limit conceptions of who can lead. Finally, suggestions are made for ways to broaden the leadership pipeline to achieve opportunities for racial equity in leadership.

Author

• Pamela L. Eddy, College of William and Mary