Building Bridges for Women of Color in Higher Education

Conchita Y. Battle earned her Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Pennsylvania. She is Director of the Advising Resource Center/EOP at California State University, Northridge and serves on the California Library Board.Chontrese M. Doswell holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from Howard University, Washington, DC. She is Director of the Office of Graduate Recruitment, Retention and Diversity in the Division of Research and Graduate Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park.

• Chapter 1 List of TablesChapter 2 List of ChartsChapter 3 ForewordChapter 4 AcknowledgmentsChapter 5 Introduction: Building BridgesChapter 6 Road to the Presidency: Women of Color Assuming Leadership Roles in the Academy: African-American Female College Presidents' Career Paths; The Road Less Traveled; From Sorrow Valley to the Presidency; The Accidental Presidency; Road to the PresidencChapter 7 Climatizing Faculty and Administrative Roles: Exploring the Nuances of Minority Serving Institutions and Predominately White Institutions: Black for 31 Years: Nuances; Perceptions of Minority Women Employed by a State System of Higher Education; BurChapter 8 The Department Chair Dichotomy: Balancing Faculty and Administration: Confessions of an Acting Chair; In the Middle of the Vanguard: Women of Color Bridging Roles as Faculty; The Challenges of Chairing the Academic DepartmentChapter 9 Wading in the Water: Negotiating the Tenure Process: The Slippery Slope of Student Evaluations for Back Women Faculty; Negotiating the Tenure Process; Lessons from African American Faculty Women: Practical Strategies to Securing Tenure; Finding CalmChapter 10 Putting Our Words to Practice: Using Competitive Strategic Planning to Guide You on the Higher Education Ladder of SuccessChapter 11 Conclusion: Coming Together to Build this BridgeChapter 12 TablesChapter 13 ChartsChapter 14 Appendix 1: Resources and Conference InformationChapter 15 Appendix 2: Road to the PresidencyChapter 16 Appendix 3: Women of Color Presidents [Past and Present]Chapter 17 IndexChapter 18 Contributors

Chonchita Battle and Chontrese Doswell's Building Bridges for Women of Color in Higher Education: A Practical Guide for Success (2004) is a 261-page compilation of both sensitively developed anecdotal stories of professional journeys and survey results that address Women of Color within the upper levels of administration and those with tenure-track academic appointments... I consider this text a must-read for three general populations: all current administrators in higher education, Women of Color who are currently administrators and/or hold tenure-track academic appointments, and those who aspire to academic appointments and/or the position of presidency and/or other upper levels of administration... the book is excellent and an easy read. The journey to success will continue to be fraught with difficulty and challenge as all worthwhile adventures are, however, I believe it will be much easier with this text in one's professional library.