Campus Racial Climate Matters Too: Understanding Black Graduate Students' Perceptions of a President's Response

• In Event: Campus Racial Climate: Disrupting Institution-Sanctioned Violence in Postsecondary Education and Advocating for Change

Abstract

This qualitative, single case narrative study examined how a university president’s responses to racialized incidents shaped Black graduate students’ perceptions of campus racial climate at a predominantly white institution. Guided by Hurtado et al.’s (2012) multi-contextual model for diverse learning environments and critical race theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017), this study underscored a connection between the president’s responses to racialized incidents and how Black graduate students at one campus perceived racial climate. This study’s findings further illustrate the significance of the role of the presidency when addressing issues of race and racism, and how their responses have the power to disrupt or harm both the personal experiences of individuals and the broader campus racial climate for Black graduate students.

Author

• Kaleb L. Briscoe, Mississippi State University