A Self-Identified Afro-Caribbean Woman Making It Through a US Higher Education Consolidation Process

Abstract

Academic consolidations or mergers in higher education institutions have been on the rise. Addressing the human aspect of academic mergers requires delicate attention. However, the unappreciated side of mergers is often the people who deal with the aftermath of the process. Using autoethnography, the author reflects on a recent merger between a community college and a research institute and the author's experience of the lack of attention to the human factor and discusses the value of communicating during higher academic consolidation and merger change processes.