Retaining African Americans in Higher Education: Challenging Paradigms for Retaining Students, Faculty and Administrators (Paperback)

by Lee Jones (Editor) "The 1999-2000 seventeenth Annual Status Report on Minorities in Higher Education, released by the Office of Minorities in Higher Education of the American Council on..." (more)
Key Phrases: African Americans, New York, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A timely and novel approach to a critical topic. A strength of this work is that most authors conclude their essays with practical recommendations...a comprehensive assessment of the issues influencing the retention of African American students, faculty and administrators." - The Journal of Higher Education "White academics who seek social justice need to read this book and act on it. The passion, the pain, and the hope make this book far more readable than many others produced for academic audiences. I already have plans for using it at my college.'" - Teachers College Record 'It demonstrates a keen understanding of what colleges and universities must do to remedy this situation." - Mimi Wolverton, Washington State University "This book represents diverse and proactive discussion of one of the most important issues in higher education" - Alexander W. Astin, Allan M. Carter Professor & Director, Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA "This book is one of the few current resources available that engages issues for students, faculty and administrators in one volume." - Darryl G. Smith, Professor, Claremont Graduate University, School of Educational Studies "This refreshingly clear and focussed book presents a diverse and comprehensive Afro centric discussion of issues related to the access and retention of African-American faculty, administrators, and students in higher education. This invaluable resource should be required reading for educators and others who are interested in better understanding the many challenges that African-Americans face in higher education." - M. Rick Turner, Dean, Office of African-American Affairs, University of Virginia "his is an important contribution, in large part because the authors use a balanced, reasoned, well-documented approach to illuminate the key issues that must be addressed to promote the success of African Americans in higher education." - George D. Kuh, Professor and Director, National Survey of Student Engagement, Center for Post secondary Research and Planning, Indiana University "This book makes valuable additions to the sparse literature on the status of the African American faculty administrators and students in higher education. The practical suggestions for retention can be implemented by any institution to promote success." - Barbara Mann, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Higher Education and Director of Mel Hardee Center, Florida State University."

Product Description
Retention of African Americans on campus is a burning issue for the black community, and a moral and financial one for predominantly white institutions of higher education. This book offers fresh insights and new strategies developed by fifteen scholars concerned by the new climate in which affirmative action is being challenged and eliminated.

This is the first book devoted specifically to retention of African Americans in higher education, and is unique in addressing the distinct but inter-related concerns of all three affected constituencies: students, faculty and administrators. Each is considered in a separate section.

The student section shifts attention from, to paraphrase McNairy, "fixing the student" to focussing on higher education's need to examine and, where appropriate, revise policies, curriculum, support services and campus climate. Responding to the new agenda shaped by the opponents of affirmative action, but rejecting the defensive "x percent solutions" espoused by its proponents, this book puts forward new solutions that will provoke debate.

Section II begins with a survey of the literature on African American administrators, and presents a Delphi study of twelve administrators to provide an understanding of pathways and barriers to success. The contributors then consider the importance of developing community support and creating alliances, the role of mentoring, and the setting of clear expectations between the individual and the institution.

Starting with the recognition that African Americans represent less than five percent of full-time faculty, the chapters in the final section examine the effects of the dismantling of affirmative action, the consequences of faculty salaries trailing more lucrative non-academic employment, the declining enrollment of students of color, the politics of promotion and tenure, and issues of identity and culture.

The book concludes by stressing the roles that parents, faculty and administrators must play to empower African American students to take responsibility for their own academic performance.

This is a compelling, controversial and constructive contribution to an issue of national importance.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Stylus Publishing; 1 edition (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579220428
• ISBN-13: 978-1579220426
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #867,153 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)