Lived Experiences of Black Women Academic Deans

The primary purpose of this interpretative phenomenological inquiry was to uncover the lived experiences, both professional and personal, of Black female academic deans across Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 2,000) served as a guiding theoretical framework in light of the unique experiences of Black women as a result of their intersecting identities. Three key findings emerged from the interviews with the study's participants. Together, these findings captured the essence of the lived experiences of the participants in the study. The first finding reflected both the underlining fatigue that Black female deans battled on a daily basis as they navigated constant assaults related to their race and gender as well as their resilience that defined their leadership in the face of such assaults. The second finding captured these deans' commitment to channel their leadership oversight towards holding institutions accountable for their inequitable and unjust philosophy and practices. And finally, the third key finding reflected Black female deans' struggles to reimagine the norms and standards of the academic deanship position to embrace historically under-represented members such as themselves.