The Experiences of Higher Education Leadership Elites with Duty of Care for Minoritized Populations on College and University Campuses

Abstract

Higher education has begun to diversify its student body. However, higher education leadership elite has stayed a homogeneous group. Executive positions and leadership power holders remain mostly white and less inclusive to their non-white-male counterparts. Due to the nature of executive leadership positions, this leadership group should possess a duty of care for all populations on campus, and especially minoritized populations due to the increase in diversity across U.S. campuses. This qualitative study examined the experiences of 14 higher education leadership elite with duty of care for minoritized populations on college and university campuses, through Feagin and Ducey’s (2017) Triple Helix Frames of Oppression. The Triple Helix Frames of Oppression is a critical theory of racial, gender, and class oppression where the White Racial Frame, the Male Sexist Frame, and the Capitalistic Class Frame narratives affect the beliefs, values, and actions of all individuals. Findings from this study demonstrated how the Triple Helix Frames of Oppression are experienced by higher education leadership elite. Participants who possessed two or more minoritized identities experienced negative impacts in leadership due to their social and cultural identities. Furthermore, identity-which included social and cultural identity and childhood and family influences-was found to be central to leaders’ leadership values and practices. Leadership elites displayed different motivations for duty of care for minoritized populations on their campuses, which included moral, care, faith, and pragmatic ethos’. Multiple ethos’ could be portrayed by the same individual. Findings from this study indicated five key elements-people, practices, policies, processes, and profit-that could make or block change on university and college campuses.