Cheryl D. Ching

In this critical qualitative study, we draw on interviews with sitting Presidents of Color in one state to explore the racialized dimensions of the college and university presidential search and appointment process. Informed by Ray’s racialized organization tenets of whiteness as a credential and racialized agency, our findings show that participants felt hyper-scrutinized and judged against white, masculine standards, norms, and expectations and had to endure explicit and implicit undermining of their potential for campus leadership. Our findings provide practice implications and recommendations for making presidential searches and appointments in higher education more racially equitable and inclusive.

While there is no shortage of scholarship on “equity” in higher education, researchers typically examine whether a policy or practice is (in)equitable rather than how those responsible for designing and enacting a policy or practice make meaning of equity. Using a sensemaking framework and case study approach, I explored the collective meaning-making of practitioners at one community college during a time of increased policy attention to equity. Despite lacking a formal definition after 2 years of meaning-making, practitioners labeled specific ideas and activities as equity, suggesting the development of an implicit understanding. From this case, I offer five lessons to propose the concept of “equity sense,” a practitioner-constructed, contextually bounded meaning with implications for practice, policy, and research.

While acknowledged as vital to expanding educational opportunity for Latinx students, Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) are also criticized for not adequately serving this population. Drawing on interviews with faculty at three HSIs, this study examines how faculty view Latinx students and their role in advancing these students’ learning, development, and success. Findings show that faculty perceptions of Latinx students coalesced around three broad areas, but interpretations varied, as did faculty’s actions in response.