Conceptualizing Tolerance as Recognition: Black American Endowed and Distinguished Professors of Education in US Colleges and Universities

Abstract

This study analyzes a compiled list of Black American endowed and distinguished professors of education for the 2013-2014 academic year published by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. Conceptualizing tolerance as recognition, the study claims that there is a gradual increase in the appointments of Blacks to endowed or distinguished professorships in many different disciplines at colleges and universities in the United States. Among the findings are: of the 51 scholars, men accounted for the majority; the South and Midwest regions of the US employed a high majority of these scholars, and the majority of them also earned their terminal/highest degrees in those two regions; almost eight out of ten earned a Ph.D.; almost seven out of ten earned their terminal/ highest degrees in education; and almost half of them earned their terminal/highest degrees from the 1960s to the 1980s. Finally, the discussion section focuses on 1) an explanation of the gender gap among the 51 scholars; 2) the predominance of the South and Midwest regions 3) the relative underrepresentation of Ivy League institutions; and 4) the underrepresentation of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

MacArthur Fellows, 1981-2018: Gender, Race and Educational Attainment

“…Educational Attainment of the Population 18 Years and Over, by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 2018," 2019). These findings are consistent with other studies of prominent people in the United States, including some in this current study, whereby for the most part, regardless of race, women are a visible minority (Coutu, 2007; "'Honey, You Got a MacArthur': Blacks Who Have Received the Coveted Genius Grant," 1997; Kaba, 2012bKaba, , 2013ab, 2015Kaba, , 2016Kaba, , 2017aMiller et al, 2018;Pick, 1995;Wooster 2010: p. 43). In an interview with a former Director of the MacArthur Fellowship Program, Daniel J. Socolow, Coutu (2007) brought up this issue as to whether it tends to be a challenge for women to win the MacArthur Fellowship.…”

“…This is also the case when it comes to those selected for the MacAr-thur Fellowship. This has also been observed in other studies focusing on prominent individuals from many walks of life (Kaba, 2012b(Kaba, , 2013ab, 2015(Kaba, , 2016(Kaba, , 2017a. The MacArthur Fellowship Program conducted a study on the alma mater of its Fellows focusing on first degrees, especially bachelor's degrees.…”

“…I have conducted numerous studies of prominent or gifted individuals in the past decade, and I have also examined studies conducted in the past several decades of such individuals. One finding that has remained constant in these studies is that regardless of race, ethnicity, or geographic location, males outnumber their female counterparts (Kaba, 2012b(Kaba, , 2013ab, 2015(Kaba, , 2016. This current study observes the continuation of that trend.…”

“…The information on the state and region in the United States, country, and world region where a Fellow's alma matter is located is also very important because these entities tend to compete for talent (Hernandez, 2013;Kaba, 2012bKaba, , 2013ab, 2015Kaba, , 2016Kaba, , 2017a. This current study focuses on the terminal or highest degrees of MacArthur Fellows, including the state and region in the United…”

Educational Attainment, Citizenship, and Black American Women in Elected and Appointed National Leadership Positions

“…According to Davis and Maldonado (2015), in 2001, B…less than 6% of all college presidents were African American and less than 1% was headed by African American women ….^and in 2011, among all college presidents in the United States, Blacks accounted for 6%, with Black women accounting for 34% of Black college presidents (p.52). Black women in U.S. higher education are also less likely to get tenure, promotion or endowed or distinguished professorships (Kaba 2016).…”