The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the leadership experiences of four African American women college presidents serving at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly White Institutions. Three main inquiries guide the research. First, how do African American women college presidents “make sense” of presidential leadership? In the same manner, how does being a “woman” and “of color” influence and/or inform their crafting of a presidential identity? Further, what are the strategies or mechanisms they employ or display, which enable them to “perform” the presidency?
A triangulated, interdisciplinary framework, consisting of Black Feminist Thought, an invention of ethos and “performance” as theory, provides the study with its theoretical backbone. Methodologically, it borrows elements from traditional and critical ethnography, while relying on the techniques of interviewing and participant-observation. Both methods are used to solicit the personal and professional narratives and testaments of each woman.
Initial findings from this study suggest that the four African American women “make sense” of presidential leadership by recalling familial expectations; being aware of their raced and gendered realities; entering into personal and professional role model- and mentorships; relying on faith; and, developing value systems. Despite the (mis)conceptions and perceptions documented generally in the research on Black women professionals, these women invent presidential identities and ethoi by identifying as change agents and committing to their vocational purpose. In the same manner, while they “perform” the presidency in the most “traditional” sense (i.e., writing and giving speeches), they also become their “performances” by employing numerous rhetorical strategies and mechanisms that have been historically linked to the African American female experience.