Academics of Colour Accessing the Professoriate in Elite Universities in the UK and USA

Academics of colour in the US and UK are less likely than their white peers to be professors (Advance HE, 2024; NCES, 2024). There is little research that has explored their experiences in accessing the professoriate, particularly in elite universities (Nowogrodzki, 2022). Research has focussed on job satisfaction of faculty of colour (Niemann and Dovidio 2005), tokenism (Jackson 2008) and issues of marginalisation and isolation that faculty of colour experience in higher education (Griffin, et al 2014). There is evidence to suggest that discriminatory practices restrict the recruitment and retention of faculty of colour (Villalpando and Bernal 2002) which results in them in them experiencing micro aggressions in interactions with White colleagues (Chang 2002; Patton et al. 2014). This paper will explore the experiences of academics of colour in elite universities in the UK and the USA. Drawing on interviews with 34 respondents and using a critical race theory perspective, the paper will examine their experiences of accessing the professoriate. The findings indicate that academics of colour experience racism in the White space of an elite university. This is heightened when they seek promotion to the rank of professor in elite institutions. To counter the racism they experience, they develop ‘safe spaces’ in which they find empathy and support from other academics of colour. A key finding from the study suggests that despite having negative experiences in elite universities, academics of colour have contradictory feelings about their positions. They disassociate themselves from the racism by recognising the status and prestige associated with working at an elite university, and ultimately gaining a senior role as a professor within it. The paper suggests that in order for academics of colour to be fully included in elite universities, institutions must acknowledge racism and their own Whiteness to work towards cultural change.