Personal Experiences of Faculty of Color and White Female Faculty in the Criminal Justice Field

• In Event: 1184 - Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 11. Higher Education

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the common issues and factors associated with personal identity and experience from the viewpoints of faculty of color and white female faculty in the criminal justice and sociology fields who participated in the Racial Democracy, Crime and Justice Network (RDCJN)’s Summer Research Institute (SRI). The sample of this study consisted of 30 faculty members from teaching, research, or research-extensive universities across the United States. Analysis of the data revealed that there are a number of common themes associated with the personal identity of faculty of color and white female faculty. As a result of the analysis, five main themes and a number of sub-themes emerged: definitions of the term “underrepresented” from a personal identity perspective and within academia; decisions to pursue an academic career; views of the impact that faculty’s personal identities had on their approaches to and experiences with majority and minority students at their institutions; differential treatment and biased experiences with peers in their institutions; and lastly, past experiences that seek to answer the question: Do these criminal justice scholars feel that their work is discounted because individuals perceive this academic pursuit is a result of personal experiences with the criminal justice system? Results indicate that faculty of color and white female faculty (a) generally identified as underrepresented, (b) pursued an academic career to be of service to their communities, (c) faced negative experiences with students and peers, and (d) had personal experiences with the criminal justice system.

Author

• Simone Martin, LIU-Brooklyn