Racially Responsive Leadership

Cukier, W., Adamu, P., Wall-Andrews, C., & Elmi, M. (2021). Racialized leaders leading Canadian universities. Educational Management, Administration & Leadership, 49(4), 565-583. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432211001363. Centennial link.

Abstract: As of our most recent census data, racialized people comprise 22.3% of the Canadian population (Statistics Canada, 2016). Canadian universities have espoused commitments to diversity and inclusion but there has long been a gap between the rhetoric and practice. Research has demonstrated that under-representation is a problem at all levels of academia but particularly within the senior ranks. Drawing on an original dataset representing 324 senior university leaders, this study will empirically map the demographic composition of academic leaders across Canada, including presidents, vice-presidents, assistant vice-presidents, associate vice-presidents, provosts, and vice-provosts. Our findings suggest that racialized people in leadership are under-represented compared with their presence in the university population—consistent with the pyramid of exclusion where the representation of racialized people decreases as we move up the ranks. Taking a systems perspective informed by our critical ecology model we examine the overlapping societal-, organizational-, and individual-level mechanisms that impede the advancement of racialized people into leadership positions at universities in Canada.

Lewis, B. (Ed.). (2019). Decolonizing the university in an era of Truth and Reconciliation [Special issue]. Academic Matters: OCUFA's Journal of Higher Education, Spring 2019. https://academicmatters.ca/print-issues/decolonizing-the-university-in-an-era-of-truth-and-reconciliation/

About this issue: "Many universities have taken up the TRC’s Calls to Action and made public commitments to Indigenization and reconciliation. Strategies have been developed, new supports have been created for Indigenous students, Indigenous studies program offerings have been bolstered, and some Ontario universities now offer courses in languages, including Algonquian, Nishnaabemowin, and Ojibwe.

However, there is real concern these initiatives do not reach the foundations of the academy. The past year has seen several resignations of Indigenous academic leaders who argue that university governing bodies are not committed to the work required for reconciliation and decolonization. This prompts the core question we explore in this issue: Are universities doing enough to respond meaningfully to the TRC’s final report and the continuing colonization in higher education?' Ben Lewis, Editorial Matters

Tomlinson, A., Mayor, L., & Baksh, N. (2021, February 24). Being Black on campus: Why students, staff and faculty say universities are failing them. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/anti-black-racism-campus-university-1.5924548. 

Excerpt: "A law student at the University of Windsor says he's come face-to-face with what it means to be Black on campus in Canada, and the reality of what that means scares him. "I started seeing in real time what anti-Black racism can do," Jordan Afolabi told The Fifth Estate. "It can be the difference between me being a lawyer and me being a criminal."" 

Waterman, S.J., Harrison, I.D.(2017). Indigenous peoples knowledge community (IPKC): Self-determination in higher education. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 54(3), 316-328. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2017.1305391. Centennial link.

Abstract: Special interest groups (SIGs) offer spaces for interests that may not be supported or adequately addressed by the larger organization. NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) calls its SIGs “knowledge communities.” This article describes the ways the members of the Indigenous Peoples knowledge community (IPKC) have indigenized their knowledge community through community cultural wealth, Indigenous knowledge systems, and relationality. Evidence of the IPKC’s impact on Indigenous visibility in higher education is presented.

Williams, M. T., Skinta, M. D., & Martin-Willett, R. (2021). After Pierce and Sue: A revised racial microaggressions taxonomy. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 16(5), 991–1007. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691621994247. Centennial link.

Abstract: Harvard psychiatrist Chester Pierce’s conception of “subtle and stunning” daily racial offenses, or microaggressions, remains salient even 50 years after it was introduced. Microaggressions were defined further by Sue and colleagues in 2007, and this construct has found growing utility as the deleterious effects of microaggressions on the health of people of color continues to mount. Many studies seek to frame microaggressions in terms of a taxonomic analysis of offender behavior to inform the assessment of and interventions for the reduction of racial microaggressions. This article proposes an expansion and refinement of Sue et al.’s taxonomy to better inform such efforts. We conducted a review of published articles that focused on qualitative and quantitative findings of microaggressions taxonomies (N = 32). Sixteen categories of racial microaggressions were identified, largely consistent with the original taxonomy of Sue et al. but expanded in several notable ways. Building on our prior research, other researchers supported such new categories as tokenism, connecting via stereotypes, exoticization and eroticization, and avoidance and distancing. The least studied categories included the denial of individual racism from Sue et al., and newer categories included reverse-racism hostility, connecting via stereotypes, and environmental attacks. A unified language of microaggressions may improve understanding and measurement of this important construct.