Leading with love and authenticity: Experiences of gay Latino and gay Black administrators in higher education institutions

As colleges and universities continue to grow; both in size and student diversity, current research demonstrates university administrators also need to diversify their senior leadership team. Senior higher education leaders also need to consider what diversity looks like at the executive level of institutions (i.e., chancellors, presidents, vice chancellors, deans, provosts). It is imperative for leaders in higher education to observe their own social identity dynamics to successfully lead teams and departments who employ individuals with intersecting identities. University leaders across the nation are also now being tasked to consider the role racism and homophobia plays in the development and retention of senior administrators. The purpose of this qualitative study was to shed light on lived experiences of gay Latino and gay Black administrators (GLBA) and attempt to understand if and how universities support the professional experiences this population encounters in their day-to-day lives. This narrative study was conducted by interviewing four participants who all work or recently left employment at public higher education institutions. The participants identified as gay Latino and gay Black men and hold or have held a high-level administrator position at their respective campus. The themes that emerged from the data come from reflections and insights from the four participants currently in the field of higher education. To engage with their stories, testimonio was used as the methodological approach for presenting data. The purpose in using testimonio as a theoretical approach was to provide a much-needed understanding on how GLBA have built solidarity and resiliency through their professional experiences and resisted dominant culture by learning to love themselves and live their lives authentically. This study recommends university leaders look at systematic barriers preventing senior GLBA from advancing and retaining and put strategies in place to ensure their success.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Madrid, Armando

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lee, Sharon
• Pak, Yoon
• Hood, Denice
• Davila, Liv

• Higher Education
• Administrators
• Gay
• Latino
• Black
• Testimonios
• Senior Leadership

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Armando Madrid

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116211

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F116211