Unraveling the Composition of Academic Leadership in Higher Education: Exploring Administrative Diversity at 2-Year and 4-Year Institutions

Abstract

Introduction Within the higher education system, racial and ethnic minority academic leaders, those individuals who hold faculty status whose principal activity is administration (e.g., deans, chairs, directors, etc.), tend to be underrepresented and more likely to serve in less prominent leadership positions than their White counterparts (Ball, 1995; Jackson, 2000, 2001a). In a study examining the number of African American males among the leadership ranks at colleges and universities, Jackson (2003) reported that White males, in 1998, occupied 90% of the academic administrative positions (e.g., chair, dean, and vice-president), which represented approximately a 1% increase since 1992. In contrast, Jackson also found that African American males occupied 5% of the academic administrative positions in 1998, a slight decrease from 1992. Academic leaders perform a variety of functions at postsecondary institutions including, but not limited to, making recommendations regarding hiring decisions, evaluating faculty, providing faculty with the necessary resources they need to be successful, and managing financial resources (Coats, 2000; Creswell & England, 1994; Carroll & Gmelch, 1994; Hoppe, 2003; Stark, Briggs, & Rowland-Poplawski, 2002). Recently, in the research literature, scholarly writings have explored this topic and noted the value-added dimension of increasing the number and improving the quality of racial and ethnic minority academic leaders. For example, Konrad and Pfeffer (1991) argued institutions of higher education need to rethink, revamp, and adjust their current hiring and retention practices of persons of color in administrative areas if they intend to diversify the administration. In 2003, Page contended that diversifying the academic leadership ranks is essential due to the changing demographics. In 1996, Bowen and Muller edited a monograph entitled, Achieving Administrative Diversity, which focused on community colleges. It addressed the complexity, importance, and challenges involved with increasing the numbers of racial and ethnic minority academic leaders. The authors' work comprehensively suggested that appropriate strategies can be implemented under certain conditions that take into account institutional culture and historical factors to yield high-quality and effective racial and ethnic academic leaders. Jackson (2003) also acknowledged that increasing administrative diversity in higher education requires a long-term approach and strategy that centers on nurturing an interest in and competencies for academic leadership, as early as in high school. Generally, increasing the presence of racial and ethnic minority academic leaders on campus is mitigated by several factors, including poor and failed job searches, as well as diminishing and erratic interest in diversifying the administrative ranks in higher education. Despite these and other impediments to realizing administrative diversity on college campuses, some progress has been made in terms of increasing the presence of persons of color in administrative positions at institutions of higher education (Jackson, 2003; Konrad, 1991; Konrad & Pfeffer, 1991; Wilson, 1989). However, national data still indicate that there is a critical shortage of people of color in academic leadership positions (Ball, 1995; Bridges, 1996; Jackson, 2001a, 2001b, 2003; Rusher, 1996). Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to provide data to describe the diversity among academic leaders on 2-year and 4-year college campuses at three points in time. Additionally, this study sought to provide practical recommendations for increasing administrative diversity in higher education and for conducting future research on this topic. For the purposes of this study, the terms racial and ethnic groups and unrepresented groups refer to African Americans, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics. Conceptual Foundation In light of the importance of diversity and its association with leadership in institutions of higher education (Aguirre & Martinez, 2002), this study sought to describe the composition of academic leaders at postsecondary institutions. …