Higher Education and Teaching Commons^™

Due to the under representation of African American teachers and college faculty, students have limited to no interaction with Blacks as authority figures in the classroom. When White students in particular face African American faculty in class, they often exhibit negative attitudes and inappropriate behavior. Using racial identity development and critical race theory, we seek to understand how White college students perceive African American professors and from where those perceptions stem. In considering the social and educational context in which students live, our study explores the ways White students perceive Black professors and how students' racial identity development influences their …

This phenomenological study examined the perceptions and experiences of 22 traditional aged

students when their African American faculty used “accessibility cues” in the classroom. Examples

of “cues” include; encouraging students to actively participate in class, evaluate an assignment, or

share personal experiences related to the class topic. Students perceive this form of active pedagogy

as an indicator that the faculty member is willing to engage outside the formal classroom

environment (Wilson, Woods, & Gaff, 1974). Results of in depth interviews with the students in this

study, reveals that when faculty use these “cues” in the classroom, students felt respected, valued, …

Faculty of Color significantly and uniquely contribute to the transformation and enrichment of the three central missions of higher education: research, service, and teaching (Milem, 2003). Representing just 15% of the full-time faculty in the U.S (U.S. Department of Education, 2006), these faculty members enhance the mission of research as they are more likely than their White colleagues to conduct research on issues of race and ethnicity (Milem, 1999), thus, “expand[ing] the boundaries of current knowledge” (Milem, 2003, p. 144). The mission of service is also greatly influenced by Faculty of Color, as they are more likely than White faculty …