Title

Embodying Black Feminist Epistemology to Make Green Grass Grow: The Transition From Administrator to Academic for a Black Woman in Student Affairs

Abstract

This Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN) builds on McCluskey-Titus and Cawthon’s (2004) use of the 'grass is always greener on the other side of the fence' metaphor to explore the experiences of a Black American woman faculty member transitioning from her role as a student affairs administrator to a full-time, tenure-earning faculty member. Specifically, I recount how my positionality as a Black feminist scholar-pracademic was essential in successfully navigating the administrator-to-academic transition from one predominantly white institution (PWI) to another. Derived from a deductive thematic analysis grounded in Collins’ (2000) Black feminist epistemology and relying on metaphors related to greener grass, I present several narratives that illuminate my experiences transitioning from administrator to academic and offer strategies that may be useful to Black women considering or in the midst similar transitions.

Department(s)

Counseling, Leadership, and Special Education

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000375

Keywords

Black feminist thought, Black women, student affairs administrators, student affairs faculty

Publication Date

12-23-2021

Journal Title

Journal of Diversity in Higher Education

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS