Chapter 7: Remaining Connected to the Sociocultural Experiences of Underserved Populations: Volunteering and Advocacy in Research and Practice in the Academy

Follow your passion! Do what you love! These adages are important for people who are planning their lives and careers. These statements and their assumed favorable results have an important meaning for African American women faculty, many of whom are at predominantly White institutions and have research agendas focused on people and communities of color. But other issues impinge on their career plans, so that just following their passion may not be enough if they choose to focus their research on issues outside of the dominant culture in higher education. Using auto-ethnographic data, the author reflects on facets of her personal, social, and cultural experiences to explore ways in which these defining moments have informed the contours of her own scholarship in the academy.