What Could Be: A Phenomenological Examination of Leader Identity Development Among Newly Tenured Faculty of Color

• In Event: Accepting Responsibility for Illuminating Ethical Tensions and Underlying Assumptions in Postsecondary Education

Abstract

Racial diversity in higher education leadership has diversified extremely slow over the past few decades. While most research on leadership diversity examines the experiences of current or former leaders, we know less about the experiences of prospective leaders of color. This study examines the experiences of newly-tenured faculty of color (FOC) to reflect on their leadership potential through social interactionist leader identity theory. With 15 phenomenological interviews of newly-tenured FOC, results are discussed to examine the theoretical and interventional implications of developing future academic leaders of color in higher education.

Author

• Jeffrey K. Grim, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor