A Black Professor’s Leadership Journey in a Justice-Centered College of Education

• In Event: Leading From the Third Space: Pathways to Authentic DEI College of Education Leadership

Abstract

Abstract
The literature confirms that Black women continually endure marginalization and isolation while striving for tenure. This paper examines the pathway to leadership for one Black woman professor. The author utilizes scholarly personal narrative to illuminate experiences on the pathway to an associate dean role in a College of Education. While examining the leadership journey and strategic systems of support, this work employs Black feminist thought (Collins, 1986) as a theoretical framework to analyze the personal narrative presented. In addition, the EDJE Framework (Education Deans for Justice and Equity, 2019) provides a lens for analysis of critical experiences that led to the creation of an inaugural associate dean for faculty development and educational justice in our college.
Theoretical Approach
Black Feminist Thought (BFT) is one of two critical frameworks employed in this work because it encourages Black women’s interpretations and definitions of themselves inside and outside of the academy. “Black female intellectuals have made creative use of their marginality-their outsider-within-status to produce Black Feminist Thought that reflects a special standpoint on self, family, and society” (Collins, 1986, p. S14). Collins (1986) identified three key features of BFT: (1) Black women's self-definition and self-valuation, (2) attention to the interlocking nature of oppression along the lines of race, gender, and class, and (3) redefining and explaining the importance of Black women's culture, a process that uncovers unexplored areas of the Black woman experience. Additionally, the Education Deans for Justice and Equity (EDJE) Framework identifies essential priority areas and critical questions for guiding the work of advancing equity and justice in education. In this paper, EDJE provides a lens for examining significant experiences related to leadership in DEIB spaces.
Combined with the literature, the personal narrative presented in this paper offers insights and strategies to support and increase the number of Black women leaders, and other women leaders of color, in higher education. Institutions must create structures which support diversified leadership and center the voices of minoritized campus community members. Higher education institutions must also develop frameworks and action plans for becoming anti-racist institutions. Through such initiatives, institutions must build capacity for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) and ensure strong leadership to support DEIB integration across every aspect of campus life. These institutional structures have contributed significantly to my preparation for impactful leadership in the academy. Black women mentors, other faculty women of color, and unapologetic co-conspirators supported my tenure track journey and leadership appointment. In an antiracist structure, strong mentoring relationships and systems of support are critically necessary for Black women seeking tenure and leadership positions.
Conclusion
With the EDJE Framework and mentors who embrace Black women’s intersectional positions, mentors are poised to pave the pathway to tenure and leadership. In understanding the multi-dimensional oppression that Black women face, rising Black women leaders and their allies can expand the safe spaces for minoritized women on similar career pathways.

Author

• Charisse Cowan Pitre, Seattle University