Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Learning, Leadership and Change

First Advisor

Dr. Laura Hallberg

First Committee Member

Dr. Delores McNair

Second Committee Member

Dr. Shauna T. Sobers

Abstract

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 125,485 Black women earned a bachelor’s degree in 2019 in comparison to 70,909 in 1999. As the number of Black women on college campuses have increased, the number of Black women in senior leadership roles have remained stagnant. It is important for higher education institutions to find ways to increase the number of Black women in senior leadership roles because diverse staff and faculty not only increases students’ success but the institutions’ success. One of the ways in which colleges and universities can support the career advancement of Black women is to support mentorship for Black women. The purpose of this basic qualitative study guided by Black feminist thought was to examine effective methods of mentoring that facilitate the career advancement of Black women who aspire to senior leadership roles in colleges and universities. Through semi-structured interviews, five Black women senior leaders who work in public or private colleges and universities throughout the United States shared their lived experiences with mentorship, effective methods of mentoring, and what resources they felt higher education institutions could provide to help facilitate the career advancement of Black women. The five findings identified in this study were: institutional support, types of mentors, infusion of Black Girl Magic, the mentoring experience and the development of mentoring relationships. These findings provide institutions of higher education with ways to support Black women through mentorship programs designed specifically for Black women and ways to intentionally recruit and hire more Black women. This study will contribute to current scholarship by identifying key mentoring strategies colleges and universities can implement to support aspiring Black women leaders in higher education.

Pages

105

Share

COinS
 

Rights Statement

Rights Statement

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).