The Kaleidoscope Leadership Institute provides women of color with the tools to navigate the academy.
After attending a women’s higher education leadership conference in 1990 that addressed very few of the challenges and concerns faced by minority women, Dr. Jacquelyn Belcher, then the president of Minneapolis Community College, and a group of minority women administrators decided to create their own conference that would speak to their issues.
With the help of the late Dr. Carolyn Desjardins, associate dean of students at Maricopa Community College in Arizona, and a grant from the Ford Foundation, the first Kaleidoscope Leadership Institute was formed in 1991. Nearly 20 years later, the institute continues to provide, through a cultural prism, intensive training, tools for self-analysis and other skills to navigate the academy.
“The women come to us to understand the complex web of politics on campus,” says Dr. Ding-Jo H. Currie, president of Coastline Community College (Calif.), which hosted the most recent institute in December 2008. “They come wanting to sharpen their leadership skills, wanting to connect with other sisters and to celebrate their successes together.”
Women, particularly those of color, face unique challenges to their entry and advancement in the academy, including finding role models, leveraging their talent, and dealing with promotion inequity and discriminatory treatment, according to data collected by two committees of the American Association of University Professors.
At Kaleidoscope’s annual conferences, no subject is out of bounds, organizers say. Designed for women interested in advancing their careers in academia, discussion topics range from the persistence of racism and sexism to handling conflicts with other women to balancing career and family demands.
Over the course of three days, the strengths, weaknesses, attitudes, goals and even the clothing of attendees are critiqued with the intent of improving their prospects in higher education. Women who have already succeeded in reaching the highest ranks in academia lead attendees through rigorous workshops on career advancement, mentorship, networking and effective communication.
