McNair Scholars Research Journal
Abstract
The 2004 National Study of Post Secondary Faculty reported that in the fall of 2003 African-American female faculty made up only 6.4% of full time faculty at colleges and universities offering doctoral degrees and 7.4% at non-doctoral four-year institutions (Zimbler, 2004). These figures indicated that African-American female faculty composed significantly less than half of the fulltime faculty population at all four-year institutions in the US. This percentage reflects the situation that African-American women faculty members find themselves in at predominately while universities: a minority culture in the academic world. It is no surprise then that women faculty of color experience cultural issues when working in predominately while institutions (Turner, 2002). The cultural issues that may arise due to being a minority faculty member in a predominately white institution can be experienced in combination wit the traditional pressures of being a professor in academia, which can lead to a triad of stress and pressures: balancing work demands and long work weeks, social issues, and cultural matters specific to being an African-American female professor.