feature journey to leadership Breaking the Color Barrier and Glass Ceiling in Academia

By Patricia Soochan, AWIS member since 2003

ccording to a 2017 American Council on Education 2006. In contrast, they have held only about 30% of full (ACE) report, progressive bottlenecks remain a professorships since 2015. Among all women who were Astubborn feature of the pathway to academic full professors, 84% were white, compared to just 5% who leadership for women—meaning the higher their rank, were Black.1 the fewer there are. At the predoctoral level, women have earned more than 50% of all bachelor’s degrees since An ACE report the following year revealed that while 30% 1982 and more than 50% of all doctoral degrees since of college presidents were women, fewer than 10% were

FIGURE 1. Characteristics of Presidents, by Gender

HIGHEST DEGREE EARNED RACE/ETHNICITY

PhD/EdD Professional Master's African Asian White Hispanic doctorate American American Bachelor's Other American Middle Multiple races Indian Eastern WOMEN WOMEN MEN MEN

0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100

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Black women. The report also compared some differences in career characteristics between men and women When considering long-term presidents (Figure 1).2

Large-scale, organization-focused interventions to career aspirations, only promote gender equity in the ranks of academic science— like NSF ADVANCE in the United States and Athena SWAN 13% of women college in the United Kingdom— have had some promising results, but none have addressed both deans saw themselves as future race and gender.

I recently had the opportunity presidents, compared to to speak with three Black women leaders in 30% of men serving as academia to get their insights about their college deans.3 journeys to leadership and to celebrate their accomplishments. SMCM president’s website, extols her many awards and accomplishments, including her recognition as a fellow of The President the American Association for the Advancement of Science Dr. Tuajuanda Jordan became and membership on the board of the Association of president of St. Mary’s College American Colleges and Universities. of Maryland (SMCM) in 2014. The

INSTITUTION TYPE AVERAGE AGE

Women Men Women 61.3 Men 61.8

IMMEDIATE PRIOR POSITION (WITHIN HIGHER EDUCATION) Doctorate- Master's Bachelor's granting President/CEO/ Women chancellor Men Interim president/ CEO/chancellor

Chief academic officer or provost Associate Special focus Other 0 10 20 30 40

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Dr. Jordan received a bachelor’s DEANS OF ARTS AND SCIENCES degree in chemistry from Fisk University in Tennessee and a REPRESENTATION AND INSTITUTIONAL TYPE doctorate in biochemistry from Purdue University in Indiana. Earlier in Men Women her career, she served as an assistant professor of chemistry and then as associate dean and associate vice Baccalaureate president for academic affairs at Xavier University of Louisiana and as dean at Lewis & Clark College in Oregon. When Xavier had to close for a while, Master's due to Hurricane Katrina, she joined the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, where she stayed on as director of the Science Education Alliance (SEA). Doctoral/ Research In many ways Dr. Jordan’s path to SMCM’s presidency followed the predominant path of women college 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% presidents. First, she didn’t set out Source: https://www.aacu.org/diversitydemocracy/2015/spring/behr directly to attain this goal. At each professional stage, she strove to do her very best without thinking too Dr. Jordan and I observed that it is Dr. Jordan’s personal style and training far ahead to the next stage. However, during times of great crisis that boards as a scientist inform her approach as she mastered the next rung of seem most open to recruiting atypical to problem-solving, which begins leadership, she gained the confidence candidates. (The 2018 ACE report with a thorough assessment of a she needed to meet opportunities revealed that women are almost twice situation before moving into action. for advancement that were either as likely as men to be hired as interim For example, when she arrived at presented to her or that she sought out. presidents (Figure 1).) SMCM, she took a year to fully study the college’s structure and culture Second, she was reluctant to Having begun her professional before developing a strategic plan move away from teaching into journey as a first-generation college with the counsel of her entire cabinet. administration. Having initially turned student, she is deeply committed The plan has led to the establishment down an invitation from senior to the mission of SMCM as a public of a cross-functional division called administrators at Xavier to attend honors college. She reminds her staff Inclusive Diversity, Equity, Access, and HERS (Higher Education Resources that they are public servants with a Accountability. Services, https://www.hersnetwork. responsibility to the community. In org) Leadership Institute, she addition to diversity, she values team Under her leadership, SMCM has eventually relented. This institute chemistry, and both are reflected added six science majors, developed was where she learned a principle in her cabinet. Her call for ideas to a program in environmental that would become a touchstone of address the unexpected discovery of studies with a student living- her career: administration must be a the remains of slave quarters on SMCM learning community, and received creative act. extended to the entire SMCM campus accreditation for its biochemistry and surrounding communities and led program, while maintaining the Third, like most women who become to the development of an immersive importance of the liberal arts for all president her move from faculty art experience for the public: the students. into administration occurred via Commemorative to Enslaved Peoples a leadership position in academic of Southern Maryland. affairs (Figure 1). Lastly, she was hired as president of SMCM during a crisis incited by major drops in enrollment.

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A 2015 study found gender representation among deans of arts and sciences varied per institutional type.3

Dr. Jordan has benefited from the pandemic. Her research focuses on Dean Dance-Barnes has a collegial guidance of many mentors, including triple negative breast cancer, which and disarmingly modest manner. Dr. Deidre Labat, formerly dean and disproportionately affects Black Mentors and colleagues have often now professor emeritus of biology at women. recognized her readiness to take the Xavier. She, in turn, mentors others, next leadership step before she has. including men. Coming full circle, she Dr. Dance-Barnes earned her bachelor’s For example, while she was working is now chair of the board of HERS. degree at Elizabeth City State University as a research associate at Wake Forest in North Carolina and her master’s in and pursuing her master’s at North She inherited her mother’s love of biology at North Carolina A&T State Carolina A&T, a Wake Forest lab head continuous learning, but arguably the University. She was the first Black urged her to apply to the medical most influential person in her life was woman to earn a doctorate in cancer school’s PhD program in cancer her grandmother, who worked as a biology and toxicology from Wake biology. live-in maid but who maintained her Forest School of Medicine in North own home. Her constant refrains were Carolina. Her first faculty position was Similarly, Dr. Brenda Allen, the former to “never let them see you angry,” at Winston Salem State University provost of WSSU, recognized Dr. “always do your best,” and “make sure (WSSU) in North Carolina, where she Dance-Barnes’s talent for leadership you can support yourself.” Dr. Jordan’s served as cochair of biology, associate and pushed her to grow. The former rise to college president was driven by provost, and dean of University College provost observed Dr. Dance-Barnes’s those principles. and Lifelong Learning, as well as success in developing an information founding director of WSSU’s award- science course for science majors winning Women in Science Program. and recruited her to WSSU’s general During her tenure at WSSU, she won education curriculum task force. Later the 2019 University of North Carolina on, Dr. Allen invited her to become System Board of Governors Award cochair of biology. for Excellence in Teaching. Prior to becoming dean, she was an associate A career defining moment for professor and cochair of DePaul’s Dean Dance-Barnes was the HERS biology department, where she played summer leadership institute, which a vital role in integrating research into she attended while at WSSU. While the undergraduate curriculum. participating at the institute, she especially valued the chance to Dr. Dance-Barnes’s early life in a small engage in deep self-reflection about town in North Carolina instilled in her preferred style and her strengths her a deep commitment to giving and weaknesses as a leader. She also back to the community. Her older valued the opportunity to become sister graduated from WSSU, and her part of a network of prospective The Dean parents graduated from college after women leaders, and she credits the Dr. Stephanie Dance-Barnes was the their daughters. After witnessing the experience with mentally preparing first woman and first Black person toll that breast cancer took on the life her for the opportunity to become appointed as dean of the college of of her great aunt, she had a strong associate provost and dean at WSSU. science and health at DePaul University desire be on the frontline, helping to in Illinois. She stepped into this role diagnose, prevent, and cure disease. in 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19

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In interviews of 16 women leaders who began their careers as faculty, they reported that they lacked leadership aspirations early in their professional development because they found their teaching and research very rewarding.4

Her shift from a historically black and a recipient of the American university to DePaul, a private, Geophysical Union’s 2020 medal for primarily white university, has not midcareer scientists. been as seismic as one might anticipate. Her education and Her interest in soil science began professional affiliations at in her native Eritrea, where its historically black schools have war of independence from informed her broad perspective Ethiopia motivated her interest of identity as comprising more in the impact of land mines on than race and ethnicity. For soil degradation. Later her work example, while the majority in soil science evolved toward of students at WSSU are Black, the environmental impact of they come from wide-ranging factors such as fire and soil erosion backgrounds and circumstances. on carbon sequestration. Plus, DePaul’s mission to focus on underserved students and on She has faced discrimination as a community service has aligned well Black woman scientist in the United with her commitment to lifelong The Full Professor and States, working in a field in which development for all students. Interim Associate Dean she is often the only Black person at Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is Falasco conferences. The isolation she has Dr. Dance-Barnes’s intersectional Chair of Earth Sciences and Geology, felt has strengthened her resolve to identities and experiences as a Black and interim associate dean of the diversify the people engaged in the woman, scientist, and administrator graduate division at the University of discourse and work on climate change inform her current goals as dean: to California, Merced. Dr. Berhe earned and in geoscience overall. expand the visibility and footprint a bachelor’s in soil science from of the college; and to provide the University of Asmara (Eritrea), Dr. Berhe’s research on improving personalized, accessible science and a master’s in political ecology from soil carbon to mitigate the effects health education to a diverse student Michigan State University, and a of climate change, while addressing body in order to advance knowledge PhD in biogeochemistry from the the global crisis of land degradation, in service to society. University of California, Berkeley. is disproportionately overshadowed She is an inaugural member of the by the West’s focus on the release National Academies New Voices in of carbon from the thawing Arctic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, permafrost. She seeks to broaden Photo credit: Teamrat Ghezzehei Teamrat credit: Photo

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the West’s perspective on climate the opportunity the role has given her References change to consider the human and to view academic science from a top- 1 Johnson, H.I. 2017. “Pipelines, pathways, and institutional leadership: an update on environmental toll of soil degradation, down perspective. the status of women in higher education.” which simultaneously affects the American Council on Education: Washington, future climate and the food security of Working in a field that has DC. https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/ the global human population. recently captured more of the HES-Pipelines-Pathways-and-Institutional- Leadership-2017.pdf. public’s attention, she has seized 2 Howard, E., and Gagliardi, J. 2018. “Leading Being raised in a majority Black opportunities to communicate her the way to parity: preparations, persistence, nation did not prepare her for the wider view of climate change, such and the role of women presidents.” American Council on Education: Washington, DC. implicit racism she came to face as a TEDtalk, and an article in TIME https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Leading- in conversations with one of her magazine.6 In both media outlets, she the-Way-to-Parity.pdf. professors, but she eventually discusses the disproportionate effects 3 Behr, M., and Schneider, J. 2015. “Gender and the ladder to the deanship.” Diversity and realized that he considered her of climate change on the global Democracy, 18(2). https://www.aacu.org/ African educational background to be majority of Black and brown people. diversitydemocracy/2015/spring/behr. unsuitable for the elite U.S. institution She is a co-principal investigator for 4 Hill, L.H., and Wheat, C.A. 2017. “The influence to which she had earned admission. the ADVANCEGeo Partnership, to of mentorship and role models on university women leaders’ career paths to university This upsetting epiphany caused her improve the workplace environment presidency.” The Qualitative Report Conference, to seriously consider leaving the for women in geoscience and has 22(8): 2090–2111. 5 Rockquemore, K.A., and Laszloffy, T. 2008. institution and science altogether, coauthored an article in press on the The Black Academic’s Guide to Winning Tenure but she was able to find mentors, intersection of race and racism in soil without Losing Your Soul. Lynne Rienner including Dr. John Harte at the science.7 = Publishers: Boulder, CO. https://www.rienner. com/title/The_Black_Academic_s_Guide_to_ University of California, Berkeley, and Winning_Tenure_Without_Losing_Your_Soul. Dr. Margaret Torn from Berkeley Lab, Patricia Soochan is 6 Berhe, A.A. July 9, 2020. “The climate change who encouraged her to continue. a Program Officer community desperately needs to address historic inequities.” TIME. https://time. and member of the com/5864693/climate-change-racism/. She then resolved to not only multidisciplinary 7 Berhe, A.A., and Ghezzehei, T.A. In press. “Race succeed but to improve conditions team at Howard and racism in soil science.” European Journal of for graduate students, a primary Hughes Medical Soil Science. motivation for her accepting the Institute (HHMI), with interim associate dean position. She primary responsibility for the works with her graduate students development and execution of the to help them establish networks of Inclusive Excellence (IE) initiative. mentors, using the mentoring map Previously she had lead responsibility for technique developed by Dr. Kerry Ann science education grants to primarily Rockquemore, founder of the National undergraduate institutions, a precursor Center for Faculty Development & of IE. She has served as a councilor for the Diversity, and coauthor of The Black Council on Undergraduate Research and Academic’s Guide to Winning Tenure is a contributing writer for AWIS without Losing Your Soul.5 Magazine and Fireside Friday. Prior to joining HHMI, she was a science assistant Dr. Berhe currently mentors a at the National Science Foundation, a racially/ethnically diverse team of science writer for a consultant to the undergraduate and graduate students National Cancer Institute, and a research and postdocs. She focuses on using and development scientist at Life her endowed chair to expand her lab’s Technologies. She received her BS and MS research capacity and outreach to degrees in biology from George the local majority Latinx community. Washington University. Although she does not currently intend to pursue a permanent position Editor’s Note: The contents of this article as associate dean, she is grateful for are not affiliated with HHMI.

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