Left Behind

This quantitative study examines the current status of Black women higher education administrators in comparison to other higher education administrators of another race and/or gender. Specifically, years of service, social support, highest degree attained, income level, and current title held was analyzed to evaluate the actual levels of professional success attained by Black women in higher education. A historical overview of the position of Black women both in society and in academe was reviewed and evaluated in order to provide context to the current status of Black female administrators in higher education administration. The potential barriers to Black female success, as well as potential outcomes of marginalization were explored in order to add more depth to the research and findings. In this research study there is one dependent variable, professional success. The independent variables will vary based on the research question being answered and include: degrees earned, gender, race, and social support. Control variables will also vary and include: years of experience and degree earned. To strengthen the results and to assess large numbers of respondents, a web-based survey was utilized. The results of this study indicate that Black female administrators earn significantly less and are less likely to hold senior level student affairs positions, even when similarly qualified.