Semester
Fall
Date of Graduation
2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Type
PhD
College
College of Education and Human Services
Department
Curriculum & Instruction/Literacy Studies
Committee Chair
Erin McHenry-Sorber
Committee Member
Rodney Hughes
Committee Member
Kathleen Provinzano
Committee Member
Nathan Sorber
Abstract
This feminist-centered, narrative study focuses on the troubling gender gaps in higher education leadership by exploring the career paths and lived experiences of current women administrators at a large, public land-grant institution. This research identifies specific supports and barriers women face throughout their careers that might enable or prevent them from attaining or accessing high-level leadership roles in academic and non-academic administration. The study leans on feminist theory to position perceptions of women in leadership roles across many disciplines in the university setting while observing it as a critical lens to analyze gender inequality in the career pipeline for women leaders in higher education.
The research reveals the pervasiveness of ongoing gender-based discrimination that is embedded into the culture of many universities and faced by women faculty, staff, and administrators every day. The study contains practical implications for large, public land-grant and similar institutions, specifically related to a growing need for gender-diverse leadership at every level of university administration, the effectiveness of focused in-house women’s leadership programs, and the ongoing positive impact of intentional supervision and prioritized mentorship. This work contributes to the literature its examination of women’s experiences in both academic and non-academic leadership positions in the same institutional context.
Recommended Citation
Balas, Meridith A., "Examining the Career Pathways for Women Administrators at a Land-Grant University" (2020). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 7942.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/7942