Panel Explores Survival Strategies for Administrators of Color

Dr. Renée White, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at The New School.Dr. Renée White felt she was handling things pretty well, all things considered. From the brutal murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, to the day-to-day life experienced on campus, White was keeping it together for her students, faculty, and staff.

“I was expected to be available to everyone, to be the guide, partner, thinker, and there was no space for me as a woman of color, experiencing what I was experiencing on my own,” said White, who is currently provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at The New School in New York City. “I didn’t even realize how much I was internalizing everything, until one particular day, when there was another incident involving violence against another Black and Brown body, I came home and had this moment where I fell apart, literally dissembled in front of my family, unable to do anything.”

White shared her story during a webcast hosted by Diverse and moderated by Dr. Jamal Watson.  She was joined by other women of color in leadership roles who reflected on the unique burdens that institutions often place on people of color, and in particular, women of color. The scholars shared how they have confronted and survived the challenges posed by the last few years, what they’ve learned, and what advice they can offer for other scholars of color.

“It was important, because it reminded me that I as a human need space to deal with the things I’m dealing with as a human,” said White, who noted that women are generally expected to do care work, and women of color are often expected to lead initiatives because of their identity and experience. Keeping her feelings inside was bad for her health and wellbeing, she said.

“If you can’t fix the situation, you’re in, focus on your health somehow: emotionally, spiritually, in every way,” White said.

White said she found comfort in a group text-chain that she developed with fellow faculty of color, where she goes to vent, listen, and center herself, adding that she's learned to take the time needed in order to reinvest in herself, in her identity, and her mission in higher education by reexploring things like art, cooking, and music.

Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean, associate provost for faculty affairs and professor of political science at Quinnipiac University.These methods for survival have formed at a time when more and more scholars, particularly scholars of color, are leaving the field of academia.