African-American Female College Presidents: Self Conceptions of Leadership

Abstract

This paper explores how the interaction of race and gender influences African-American female college presidents' origins and conceptions of leadership. Traditional leadership literature focuses on males as the informants about leadership. In recent years, more research has been conducted about how gender might influence leadership. However, rarely is race considered and even less frequently is there a discussion of how one's race and gender might influence one's conception of leadership. Interviews with twelve African-American female college presidents (about a quarter of all African-American female college presidents) discussed the role that social class, educational background, and the process for emerging as leaders, has had on their views of themselves as leaders. In addition, this research confirms the importance of race to these women's identities and as a motivator for assuming leadership positions.