If not us then who? How senior level black women administrators create supportive environments on predominantly white campuses

Although student affairs administrators are rarely the center of analysis when engaging in campus climate research, they play an important role in creating co-curricular environments that are inclusive of diverse students (Hurtado, 2012). Using the Applied Critical Leadership (Santamaría & Santamaría, 2012) framework to operationalize leadership and to celebrate the ways in which Black women Vice Presidents of Student Affairs (VPSAs) acquire institutional access to create real change, this study sought to identify how Black women in the VPSA role address and create supportive environments for racially minoritized students. The study employed two research questions: 1) What identifiable policies, practices, and behaviors do Black women VPSAs engage in to create a more welcoming environment for racially minoritized students, and 2) if any, what understandings contribute to participants’ motivation to create a more welcoming environment for racially minoritized students? This qualitative study consisted of twelve semi-structured one-on-one interviews with six participants. Participants were Black women VPSAs at various predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Through qualitative data analysis, two themes emerged from the data: Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand and There’s Beauty in the Struggle.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2021

Author dc:creator

• Neal, Brandi

Contributors dc:contributor

• Collins, Jasmine D
• Trent, William T
• Zamani-Gallaher, Eboni M
• Witt, Mary A

• Student affairs
• Black women
• Applied Critical Leadership
• Predominantly White Institutions
• Culturally Engaging Environments

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2020 Brandi Neal

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/109409

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/109409