Black Women Leaders On College Campuses

On most college campuses it is not common to see black women as leaders or mentors.  According to the American Council of Education, in 2016 only 5 percent of college presidents were women of color, whereas for white women it was 25 percent.Mentorship should be the key for sustaining black women leaders especially those that are in high levels because there are few black women leaders. When a black woman is stepping into a leadership position, they are usually “the first” to carry significant challenges. There are three black women who are “the first” leader or president in a few universities which are:

  • Lily McNair, Ph.D. – the first black women president in 136-years at Tuskegee University.
  • Yolanda Pierce, Ph.D. – the first black women dean in 150-years at Howard’s Divinity School
  • Bernadette Grey-Little- the first black women & black chancellor at University of Kansas.

I believe there is a lack of support for black women leaders even within the black community. It seems like as a woman we do not get the same respect and same support in return as white women. These colleges would rather have a black non-radical male or a black male who would just go with the flow instead of trying to at least accept black women leaders who would love to make a change on campus. Sometimes it is not about gender or color it is mismanagement of funds and professional leadership that males seem that women do not have.

This is a problem because women should feel equalized to do the same thing as males. The three women I have mentioned above make sure they did everything in their might to maintain their job for being “the first” black leader or president If they worried about what others had to say they would not be as successful. These women are a great example for leaders and mentors for other black women college students.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *