In the Academy, faculty and institutional leaders traditionally have been white, male, and heterosexual. Of the 173,395 Full Professors identified in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) of the U.S. Department of Education in 2007, women represented almost 46,000, and Latinas held only 1,254 of those positions (U.S.…

This article focuses on the presence and experiences of Latina academics in the U.S., especially those who serve in Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). Following the theme of this special issue related to Women of Color Faculty's "Testimonios" and "Laberintos," the authors add to the notion of academia as a labyrinth…

Relying on Latina/Chicana feminist and critical race theories of identity, and "testimonio" as methodology of knowledge production (Latina Feminist Group, 2001), the authors examine the complexity of their professional and personal identities as academics and members of families and communities to theorize their common experiences as…

Research studies have found that an integral part of being a tenure-track faculty member is the relationship between the higher education institution and individual faculty members (Mawdsley, 1999). Tenure-track positions are competitive spaces that demand and expect assistant professors to excel in publishing, teaching, and scholarly activity.…

This special issue of the "Journal of Educational Foundations" explores the struggles faced by Latina faculty. These struggles became evident through an examination of Latina faculty members at a specific Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The essays in this special issue examine the experiences and trajectory of several Latina faculty…

This article documents how the authors, two Chicana tenured professors from immigrant and working-class backgrounds, drew upon their graduate school experiences as resources for navigating the tenure track. They discuss lessons learned not in the official classroom but in other spaces inhabited by women of color. Such lessons included: networking…

The author's former College of Education encouraged faculty to implement pedagogy that responded fully to the needs of citizens in diverse situations, including the urban, metropolitan community they served. Such a vision requires, by default, a sincere effort to change or "reform" schools. Research endeavors involving the social and historical…

This article deals with the effect of multiculturalism on diversity outcomes among students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This investigation examines the multiculturalism literature, as well as the literature specific to HBCUs, in an attempt to answer the question: What is the effect of multiculturalism on diversity outcomes of…

In this article, the author pursues to answer the query whether the impact and relevance of HBCUs has diminished over the past thirty years or not. He examines two research questions: (1) How do four African-American professors who self-identify as mentors at a highly-selective PWI describe and understand their formative experiences as they relate…

The social movements during the last 50 years of the 20th century were among the most tumultuous years for people of color. African Americans, as well as other groups, confronted obstacles on what they could be and do. African Americans experienced harsh treatments in educational institutions and had to develop unconventional ways to advocate for…

Social mobility carries with it a sense of loss. To be socially mobile is to move from one place, economically, culturally, personally, to another. One consequence of that loss, sometimes, is immobility--a paralysis brought on by the violent, forceful, uncertain rush of social mobility itself. The immobility of fear, the feeling stuck, the not…

In this article, the author recounts his experiences at Michigan State University during his graduate studies and at Washington University in St. Louis, when he worked as an assistant professor. He focuses his narrative on his struggle to define his quest, to avoid both success and failure. The author was born in a small town in rural Wisconsin…

This paper presents a narrative that explores the author's own life as a woman from a working class background who is now a professor. After situating her work in the small but growing research field about the intersection of social class and academics, the author presents her autobiography by providing a documentary through the three categories…

"Los testimonios," or life stories, shared in this volume reveal that academia represents a labyrinth of challenges for aspiring and emerging Latina scholars--a story these authors know all too well. As Latina "veterana" scholars, who have traveled this arduous journey, the authors recognize that their collective efforts have…

Traces the development, by foundations faculty, of a Master of Education program, based in social foundations content and knowledge, discussing successes, tensions, and dilemmas they faced and explaining how foundational perspectives shaped the content of the curriculum they developed and how their perspectives illuminated the processes by which…