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Abstract
Faculty in U.S. institutions of higher education have come a long way from the tutors who served in the original colonial colleges. However, within the coveted rank of full professorship, there is severe underrepresentation of Black female faculty members. Despite the current literature regarding the underrepresentation of tenured Black women within the professoriate, there has been no focus on the way their experiences in the academy shape their perceptions of and progression towards the rank of full professor. Using a basic qualitative research design, this dissertation explores how 13 Black women faculty members at associate rank experience their time in the academy and how those experiences influence their progression towards and opinion of full professorship. Findings in this study indicate Black women experience every aspect of the academy through a combination of their race and gender. Considering occurrences such as having the value of their scholarship questioned, not knowing whether their intellectual input is valued or whether their presence simply checks off a diversity box, and working in an industry that does not recognize how hostile racial climate can negate the productivity of Black women scholars, it is easy to understand how these women get “burnt out” and “stuck in rank” more often than their white and male colleagues. Resembling the ancient gladiators who fought in the coliseum until the emperor decided the match was over, until the systemic barriers that hinder their advancement are addressed and altered, Black women faculty will continue to be disadvantaged by the disproportional demands placed on them within the academy. These findings serve as a guide for institutional personnel in developing diversification techniques that will aid in future recruitment efforts, retention, and the advancement of minority faculty. It is not the job of Black women to fix the system of oppression in which they are forced to work, it is the responsibility of those in power to act as allies and force change in this biased system.