Chapter 4: Preparing to Lead: The Socialization of Black Women for Faculty and Administrative Careers Through Graduate Schoo1

Despite gains in college access and completion among women across the educational pipeline, Black¹ women continue to be underrepresented in tenure-track faculty positions and senior leadership roles (e.g., college president, provost) in higher education. Research suggests that the scarcity of Black women in these roles can be attributed to a leaky academic pipeline (Espinal, Munoz, & Kiyama, 2010; Turner & Myers, 2001). Negative experiences during graduate school, for example, can diminish interests and aspirations to continue along the academic career track by otherwise qualified potential candidates (Austin & McDaniels, 2006). Compared to their peers, Black female graduate students report having few role models (Blake-Beard, Bayne, Crosby, & Muller, 2011; Fries-Britt & Turner-Kelly, 2005), less support of their scholarly interests (Gay, 2004; Gildersleeve, Croom, & Vasquez, 2011; Turner & Thompson, 2003), and fewer opportunities to actively engage in research with members of their department (Gasman, Gerstl-Pepin, Anderson-Tompkins, Rasheed, & Hathaway, 2004). Additionally, students of color describe the physical, cultural, intellectual, and professional isolation experienced throughout graduate school (Duncan, 1976; Gay, 2004).