Marybeth Gasman

Swept Under the Rug? A Historiography of Gender and Black Colleges

This historiography of gender and black colleges uncovers the omission of women and gender relations. It uses an integrative framework, conceptualized by Evelyn Nakano Glenn, that considers race and gender as mutually interconnected, revealing different results than might be seen by considering these issues independently. The article is significant for historians and non-historians alike and has implications for educational policy and practice in the current day.

In Search of a "Good College": Decisions and Determinations Behind Asian American Students' College Choice

Through in-depth interviews, 14 Asian American college students at an elite, private Northeastern US university were asked to describe their experiences and relationships with family, friends, teachers, and counselors during their college-choice process. The results suggest that students considered their social networks, especially family and peers, to be most important in making decisions about where to apply and attend. The type of support students received from high school guidance counselors mainly depended on the kind of secondary school they attended. Students also relied on external sources of information provided by various media outlets. Implications of the findings for conceptualizing access and choice in higher education for Asian American students are discussed and recommendations for future research and practice are offered.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities: A Bibliography

A half-century after Brown v. Board of Education, 40 years after Lyndon Johnson’s speech endorsing the concept of affirmative action, and two years after the Supreme Court upheld racial diversity as a factor in admissions, the approximately 80 historically black colleges and universities still enroll more than 10 percent of the African-American students in higher education and award close to 20 percent of degrees. These institutions have produced leaders from Thurgood Marshall to Jesse Jackson to Spike Lee. Their step shows, marching bands, and fraternities and sororities have become integral elements of African American culture. It is [common] in black churches and neighborhoods for parents to believe that their children will have better outcomes in black colleges than in mostly white ones, because the black schools provided a more nurturing, supportive environment, free of white presumptions that blacks are intellectual inferiors or expectations they should portray the role of hiphop gangsta. But what happens when the truism appears less and less true? What happens when an education emergency is ignored except by those enduring it? (Freedman, August 3, 2004).

An HBCU-Based Educational Approach for Black College Student Success: Toward a Framework with Implications for All Institutions.

This conceptual study builds an institution-focused, non-Eurocentric, theoretical framework of black college student success. Specifically, the study synthesizes the relevant empirical research on the contributions historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have made for black student success, leading to an original model that all institutions can adapt to their contexts. Significantly, this is the first HBCU-based theoretical model to appear in the academic literature. The study concludes with several implications for research and practice, including testing the model and using it in institutional planning.

Understanding Race in Doctoral Student Socialization

Qualitative data from 11 African American doctoral degree completers in the field of education are analyzed to identify how race intersects with faculty advising and mentoring, faculty behavior, and faculty diversity and the ways in which they support or hinder doctoral student socialization. Race is considered as an influence on the academic processes associated with socialization during doctoral study. Previous research highlights that racial experiences are a significant aspect of academic success and persistence for specific racial and ethnic groups. However, very little is known about race as it relates to doctoral student socialization, specifically. A racial socialization framework serves as a guide for examining the confluence of race and doctoral student socialization. This study is guided by the following questions: In what ways are racial experience engaged during the doctoral process? How does the racial experience support or hinder doctoral student socialization? In what ways does the racial experience influence doctoral student degree completion and success? The faculty-student relationship is highlighted as a key feature of understanding racial experience as it relates to the doctoral student socialization. Findings present several situations where race is considered as intellectual and identity priorities as students experience doctoral student socialization. Several strategies are presented to support students who consider race during the doctoral process in an effort to promote their academic success and degree completion.

Perceptions of Black College Presidents: Sorting Through Stereotypes and Reality to Gain a Complex Picture

Using historical methods, this article examines the negative characterizations of Black college presidents and how they came to be. The author explores the way these stereotypes continue to be perpetuated in the current day. Conversely, the author investigates how the individual Black college presidents viewed themselves and their actions.

Preparing Underrepresented Students of Color for Doctoral Success: The Role of Undergraduate Institutions

Introduction Numerous education stakeholders have acknowledged the absence of minority faculty within the academy (Knowles & Harleston, 1997; Moody, 2004; Myers & Turner, 2004; Tierney & Sallee, 2008), an observation that has often been publicly attributed to the small number of doctoral degree recipients of color. Significantly, the number of doctoral degree recipients from American universities has increased by approximately 3.5 percent since 1958, when the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) first began collecting data (Hoffer et al., 2006). Commensurate with this overall growth are increases in the number of doctoral degrees conferred upon underrepresented minority (1) students (URM): according to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System [IPEDS] (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2009), the number of doctorates attained by Asian/Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Latina/os, and American Indian/Alaskan Natives doubled between the 1980s and 2005 (Schmitt, 2005). In this article, we explore the role of undergraduate institutions in preparing URM students for doctoral success and describe the baccalaureate origins of doctoral degree recipients of color in the United States. Aggregate descriptive data provide evidence that racial/ethnic diversification of the professoriate is in progress; however, gains by group vary considerably. In the past twenty years the increases in doctoral degree attainment for Asian/Pacific Islanders (2), Latina/os, African Americans, and Native American/American Indians between 1986 and 2006 were 194, 140, 101, and 19 percent, respectively (Hoffer, Hess, Welch, & Williams, 2007). Thus, while the overall gains seem favorable, it is important to note that certain minority populations are not gaining as quickly as others. Additionally, there remains a substantial gap between the number of URM and White doctoral degree recipients (Hoffer et al., 2007). In fact, although White doctoral degree attainment only increased by three percent between 1986 and 2006 (from 20,640 to 21,280), Whites still represent approximately 80 percent of all doctoral degrees conferred in the United States (Hoffer et al., 2007). Of note is the reality that the vast majority of doctoral degrees for all racial/ethnic groups are produced at a relatively small number of institutions. Although 417 institutions conferred at least one doctoral degree in 2006, the top ten institutions produced 47 percent of the 45,596 doctoral degree conferred that year (Hoffer et al., 2007). A similar trend exists for URM doctoral degree recipients. Between 2002 and 2006, 30 percent of all doctorates awarded to Asians/Pacific Islanders, 24 percent of doctorates awarded to all Native Americans/American Indians, 21 percent of doctorates awarded to Latina/os, and 18 percent of doctorates awarded to African Americans were granted by just 10 institutions, per ethnic/racial group relatively few (Hoffer et al., 2007). Along these lines, the gap in doctoral degree attainment between students of color and Whites attending highly selective doctoral degree-granting institutions is particularly wide (Brazziel & Brazziel, 1997; Hood & Freeman, 1995). For example, in 2007, African Americans and Latina/os each made up only three percent of doctoral degree recipients at Ivy League universities; Asian/Pacific Islanders comprised only six percent (NCES, 2009). This is especially important because research suggests that individuals attending highly selective graduate programs may be more likely to enter academe (Eide, Brewer, & Ehrenberg, 1998). In sum, the data suggest that the increase in URMs receiving doctoral degrees has improved the academys opportunities to diversify, making more URMs eligible for faculty positions than ever before. Yet despite the consistent, albeit small, progress in the number of URMs receiving doctoral degrees, challenges remain in converting those URM doctoral degree recipients into faculty members, which has implications for education as well as public policy. …

Twice Removed: A White Scholar Studies the History of Black Sororities and a Black Scholar Responds.

In this article, the authors engage in a conversation about outsider research around issues of African American history and education. They focus on issues of agency, respect, and core cultural knowledge. The authors also develop an ethical code by which outsider researchers, in collaboration with insiders, can explore the history, culture, and experiences of groups of people to which they do not belong.

The state of research on historically Black colleges and universities

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the salient literature on historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with an overarching goal of setting a future research agenda for scholars interested in these institutions. Design/methodology/approach – This literature review is organized into two main sections: strengths and challenges. To move HBCUs forward, scholars need an understanding of these institutions’ strengths as well as those challenges that lie ahead. Findings – The major strengths include the value-added nature of the education provided by HBCUs (i.e. the willingness of HBCUs to educate “at-risk” students); affordability in terms of tuition; community engagement; leadership training of future generations; Afrocentric curricula and a competitive yet supportive learning environment, which is particularly beneficial in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields; a focus on teaching; and faculty and student diversity. The first half of this paper will focus on t...

Motivations for Philanthropic Giving in the African American Church: Implications for Black College Fundraising

Since its inception, the Black church has been the center of African American fundraising and the single most effective fundraising mechanism for Blacks. The majority of African Americans are taught from a young age that they have an obligation to give to the church. According to Cheryl Hall-Russell, African Americans are experts at educating their prospective donors in the church setting. Both Hall-Russell and Emmett D. Carson suggest that a formalized structure, like that of the church could aid colleges and universities in their acquisition of African American contributions. Consequently, a study of the Black church and its African American congregants can be a vital source of information for those interested in improving the fundraising capabilities of Black colleges. Through historical inquiry and qualitative interviews with Black college alumni/church members, we explore these important issues.