Being presidential in dixie - African-Americans as presidents at traditionally white colleges

Black Issues in Higher Education, Feb 8, 1996 by B. Denise Hawkins

Black Academics Finding Fewer Barriers At Traditionally White Colleges

It "shattered stereotypes in powerful ways," said Dr. Ruth Simmons of her appointment as the first African-American president of New England's Smith College a year ago.

It was also a cause for celebration by many in the academy and much heralding by the national media. But Simmons' appointment occurred north of the Mason-Dixon line.

The real testament to the changing face of the college presidency, some say, is occurring slowly in the South. For example, in 1994, Dr. Lloyd Hackley, a former chancellor of Fayetteville State University, assumed the presidency of the North Carolina Community College System. While a handful of Black presidential appointments were made at traditionally white institutions in the 1980s and early 1990s, they garnered regional publicity but little national attention, according to some of those tapped for the positions.

According to informal estimates, about 50 African Americans now head four-year colleges and universities that are not historically Black. Still more are at the helm of the nation's community colleges and other higher education systems.

But when it comes to tallying the numbers of African-American presidents serving at traditionally white four-year institutions in the South, the numbers dwindle in comparison. When asked recently, Dr. James Walker, president of Middle Tennessee State, was hard pressed to name more than two of his contemporaries "in the Deep South."

`First Wave'

Although their ranks are small, this is just the beginning of the process of more cross-racial appointments to the nation's Southern colleges and universities, said Dr. Franklyn Jenifer, president of the University of Texas-Dallas and the first African American to head a campus in the state's system.

"The pipeline is pregnant with people who are ready to take over these positions," said Jenifer.

"Surles [Carol Surles, president of Texas Woman's University] and myself are just part of the first wave. There are others. Those of us who are doing exceptional jobs in the South have opened doors."

Appointments of African Americans to predominantly white institutions are becoming less of a phenomenon and more of a common practice as "a qualified pool of African Americans and women candidates for presidencies are being taken more seriously than ever before," said Radford University President Douglas Covington.

Covington is not only Radford's first African-American president, but the first African American to head a predominantly white four-year institution -- public or private -- in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

African-American candidates are no longer viewed as "tokens or statistics to include in an affirmative-action applicant pool," adds Covington, who was appointed in June 1995 after serving three years as president of Cheyney State University.

The awesome blend of confidence, personality, professional experience and -- most of all -- credentials now being brought to the table has helped pry open doors to presidencies that have long been closed to African-Americans educators, say many of those who currently hold those positions.

But Covington said he knows from personal experience that being "qualified" doesn't shield an African-American candidate from being tagged "the wrong match" for the top job.

"I think that, in many cases, there are questions in the minds of search committees and governing boards...that an African American heading a predominantly white institution would be a mismatch and that this individual would not bring to the table the kind of experience or attributes that would allow him or her to head such an institution...[in addition] the constituents of such an institution would withdraw their support," said Covington.

College and university presidencies are "situational," said Dr. Mary E. Coleman, chairwoman of the political science department at Jackson State University. Factored into selecting the right candidate, said Coleman, are the goals an institution has set for itself and an understanding of how quickly they can be accomplished.

"An institution hires on the basis of [its] goals, not just on a person's vitae," she added.

Downplaying Race

But as the lingering image of the college presidential prototype slowly fades from white male to a person of color, some say it's more important to emphasize qualifications, rather than race.

When Jenifer was being considered for the post at UT-Dallas, he discouraged support from African-American community leaders in Dallas who were eager to see one of their own in the top university post. "I didn't want them to be supportive of my case because I was Black. I wanted the [university] to make a judgment on my credentials," recalled Jenifer of his 1994 selection.

Middle Tennessee State's Walker, in an address following his appointment, congratulated the university community for "standing up" and disregarding "race, creed and gender" in the selection process. "You're sending a very positive message to this state and this nation," said Walker, who, by his appointment almost five years ago, became the first African American to head a predominantly white four-year institution in Tennessee.