Education Commons^™

Obstacles Facing New African-American Faculty At Predominantly White Colleges And Universities, Keith Mcelroy

Trotter Review

Many African-Americans beginning their first faculty appointment at predominantly white colleges and universities may be in for a surprise. They may be under the illusion that engaging in good publishing, good teaching, and to a lesser degree, good service will ensure their advancement to tenure. Although many authors have explained in detail the consequences of not publishing, few have focused on the obstacles involved in obtaining good teaching evaluations. In many instances, African-American faculty may find their teaching evaluations are based on students' personal opinions rather than on the professors' pedagogical approaches.

This essay will examine some of the obstacles …

African-American Female College Presidents And Leadership Styles, Runae Edwards Wilson

Trotter Review

The leadership characteristics of African-American female college and university presidents have rarely been studied. The lack of research in this area is due, in part, to the absence of African-American females in leadership positions at four year higher education institutions. A contributing factor to the shortage of African-American female top level administrators is the "double whammy," or belonging to two groups that are discriminated against, African-Americans and females. The wage gap, institutional kinship, the old boy system, and role prejudice (a preconceived preference for specific behavior by the visibly identifiable group) are factors that have proved prohibitive to the ascension …

Let's Get It Started: Teaching Teachers How To Implement A Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Jamal A. Cooks

Trotter Review

In today's American schools, many teachers are faced with the problem of keeping African-American students engaged in the lessons taught in pre-K-12 classrooms, a problem which at times leads to low academic performance. According to data presented in the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress, 48% and 66% of African-American students scored below the basic competency level in reading and mathematics respectively. With many African-American students being labelled "not proficient" in some academic content areas, a growing achievement gap exists between African-American and European-American students. This gap contributes to fewer African-Americans 1) gaining access to institutions of higher education; 2) …

Commentary: An Interview With Dr. Clarence Williams, Special Assistant To The President Of Minority Affairs, Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Harold W. Horton

Trotter Review

Dr. Clarence Williams is a champion of commitment to racial and ethnic diversity in higher education, and is an individual who as folks might say with admiration and colloquially, "never forgot where he came from." Quietly, but powerfully and effectively, Dr. Williams has been a force for racial and ethnic diversity in higher education. Interview conducted by Harold Horton.

A Phenomenon Of Religious Relevance Developing At Predominantly White Institutions, Donald Brown

Trotter Review

In a recent conversation with a colleague at a neighboring institution, we reflected that in the nearly twenty-five years that we have worked at predominantly white universities, little has changed with respect to Black students dissatisfaction with campus life. Since the 1960's, a considerable amount of research has been done on the causes of attrition among Black students in higher education. A number of themes have emerged as causative factors of dissatisfaction and, in far too many cases, attrition among Black students. Three themes, however, seem to re-surface repeatedly. They are the feelings of alienation, isolation and loneliness. Many Black …

The Changing Nature Of Universities, Ernest A. Lynton

New England Journal of Public Policy

Excessive emphasis on research as the dominant measure of institutional as well as individual prestige and values has created a critical mismatch between the activities of American universities and societal expectations. This article traces the origins of the resulting crisis of purpose to the post-World War II surge in federal research support and articulates the urgent need for basic changes in university priorities at a time teaching and professional services have acquired both new importance and new complexity. It further describes current efforts toward a more balanced view of the components of university missions and a resulting shift in faculty …

Thoughts On Black Conservativism: A Review Essay, Martin Kilson

Trotter Review

In Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby, Stephen L. Carter, an Afro-American law professor at Yale University, has written a wide-ranging book on affirmative action policy. Like numerous other books on the subject, Carter covers the issues of its legitimacy as policy, white opposition, impact on black mobility, and contradictions faced by universities in administering affirmative action. Carter also offers a new area of discussion — namely, the evolving division among Afro-Americans regarding affirmative action, allocating six of eleven chapters to facets of this issue. Carter uses his own experiences to frame these discussions — a mode of discourse …

Providing Access To Power: The Role Of Higher Education In Empowering Women Students, Margaret A. Mckenna

New England Journal of Public Policy

Access to education opens the doors to future economic power — but are opportunities for women limited by the very way that institutions of higher education think about women students? Women comprise the majority of college students today, but the institutions they attend may not be serving their educational needs. This article explains that women's needs are different from those of men and illustrates how educators can respond to that difference, offering a "feminist environment" in which female students can meet their own educational goals.

Why Not A Fifty-Fifty Goal? Increasing Female Leadership In Higher Education, Sherry H. Penney, Nancy Kelly

New England Journal of Public Policy

One of the key factors determining the economic status and success of women is their level of education. Women have been turning to education in ever increasing numbers, and they now comprise the majority of students in our institutions of higher education. Yet women hold only 10 percent of the most senior positions — college and university presidencies. Clearly if institutions are to be responsive to the needs of all students, that percentage must change. Those who make up the ranks of this elite achieved their professional standing by overcoming inequities that linger in the academy even as we enter …

System-Wide Title Vi Regulation Of Higher Education, 1968-1988: Implications For Increased Minority Participation, John B. Williams

Trotter Review

In 1964, 300,000 blacks were enrolled in the nation’s higher education system, most of them attending black colleges and universities in the South; 4,700,000 whites attended colleges during the same year. With passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Law, the federal government acknowledged an inequity in blacks’ opportunity to attend college and gave promise of becoming a major source of pressure for desegregating higher education. But the potential of Title VI, the promise of government intervention to accomplish greater equity, has never been fulfilled.

Specifically, Title VI renders discriminatory agencies and institutions, including colleges and universities, ineligible to receive federal …