Resistance to Change: A Collective Case Study of Four Universities Seeking to Improve Faculty Diversity

• In Event: Understanding Diversity, Resistance, and Change in Faculty and Staff Experiences

Abstract

This paper documents four research universities’ efforts to advance faculty diversity and inclusion on their campuses, with an emphasis on identifying and understanding potential points of resistance to those change efforts. Guided by a collective case study design and literature on organizational change and diversity work in higher education, we uncovered four unique stories of resistance at each campus. Resistance was connected to each campus's respective histories, missions, cultures, organizational structures, and socio-political environment.

Authors

• Stephanie M Breen, University of Maryland
  Presenting Author

• Travis Heath Olson, Michigan State University
  Presenting Author

• Leslie D. Gonzales, Michigan State University
  Presenting Author

• Kimberly Griffin, University of Maryland
  Presenting Author