Prologue

Abstract

Cultures do not change easily for various reasons. This is particularly true of higher education that too often denies the existence of any systemic barriers to faculty advancement. While not confined to the academy, the intractable nature of institutional culture is particularly significant when related to the experiences of faculty women of color. It is the issues and challenges occasioned by this very cultural intractability on which the editors and contributing authors of this two-edited volume, Women of Color in Higher Education: Turbulent Past, Promising Future (Vol. 9) and Women of Color in Higher Education: Contemporary Perspectives and New Directions (Vol. 10), focus their conceptual and empirical work. Specifically, the chapters provide a broad overview of the characteristics and experiences of women of color (e.g., African American, Latina/Hispanic American, Native American, and Asian/Pacific American) whose increased presence in senior level administrative and academic positions in higher education is transforming the political climate.

Citation

Welch, O.M. (2011), "Prologue", Jean-Marie, G. and Lloyd-Jones, B. (Ed.) Women of Color in Higher Education: Changing Directions and New Perspectives (Diversity in Higher Education, Vol. 10), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. xiii-xix. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3644(2011)0000010002