Resilience in Leaders of Color in Higher Education

• In Event: AERA Research-in-Progress Roundtable Session 1
  In Invited Roundtable: Leadership, Race, and Well-Being in Elementary, Secondary, and Postsecondary Education (Table 8)

Abstract

This qualitative study explores how leaders of color in higher education cultivate resilience amidst systemic and institutional challenges and the strategies they use to overcome adversity. Using Charmaz’s Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT), the research examines personal, cultural, and institutional factors that shape resilience as a dynamic process rooted in lived experiences. CGT’s co-constructive approach amplifies these leaders’ voices, uncovering how they interpret, adapt to, and find meaning in setbacks. Through in-depth interviews and artifacts analysis, the study identifies key elements these leaders use to build resilience, investigating whether vulnerability, radical love, and gratitude are among them. It aims to offer insights that help institutions support and retain leaders of color while equipping emerging leaders of color to thrive.

Author

• Dulce Elizabeth Caldino DeNovellis, University of San Diego