Chapter 4: Black College Presidents, Institutional Leadership, and the Use of Social Media: A Case Study of Philander Smith College

Many institutions make claims via their mission statements that are inconsistent with the lived student, faculty, and staff experiences. While institutional mission statements sound promising and paint an attractive picture for prospective students and their parents, the reality may not result in the educational, social, and personal development outcomes and experiences anticipated. The research will explore institutional advancement and effectiveness related to the ideals of African American leadership. The authors will also define a set of competencies that lend itself to the achievement of this particular institutional, administrative, and instructional practice through the integrated use of social media technology.

The study employs a case analysis of Philander Smith College (PSC), a small, private, historically Black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. The guiding question that informs the research is: In what ways does institutional leadership at Philander Smith College model a parallel use of social media technologies to advance its institutional mission and, thus, the viability and sustainability of historically Black colleges and universities?