The Black College Mystique

by Richard J. Reddick, Charles V. Willie Charles William Eliot Pro, Ronald Brown

Overview

This study compares the culture of black colleges and universities a generation ago with those that exist today, and makes projections into the future, based on a comprehensive review of professional literature and an analysis of the management skills of contemporary black college leaders. The book considers the assets and liabilities of historically Black colleges and discusses the ways in which Black colleges can be of help to non-Blacks (including white students) who can benefit from the unique kind of education offered by such schools. The mission of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) a generation ago focused on opening doors closed to students because of their scores on standardized aptitude tests, providing remedial and supportive services to students whose academic backgrounds reflect low levels of achievement, combining academic as well as vocational course concentrations, modifying instructional methods and techniques to meet students where they are, and take them to the higher levels they are capable of attaining. This mission of opening new opportunities, giving support to overcome deficits of the past, and preparing students for professional and academic vocations continues today for these institutions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742571747
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/15/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Charles Vert Willie, Ph.D., is the Charles W. Eliot Professor of Education Emeritus at the Graduate School of Education, Harvard University. Before his Harvard appointment in 1974, he served as Chairman of the Department of Sociology and Vice President of Syracuse University. Professor Willie earned a Ph.D. degree from Syracuse University, a M.A. degree from Atlanta University, and a B.A. degree from Morehouse College. The latter two schools are historically black institutions. A past Vice President of the American Sociological Association, he has received the Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award from this professional organization in 2005, and the Distinguished Career Contribution Award from the Committee on the Role and Status of Minorities in Educational Research and Development of the American Educational Research Association in 1990. Professor Willie is co-editor (with Ron Edmonds) of Black Colleges in America, co-author (with Michael Grady and Richard Hope) of African Americans and the Doctoral Experience, and author of The Ivory and Ebony Towers. Richard J. Reddick is an advanced doctoral candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. A former teacher and student affairs administrator, Reddick is the co-author of A New Look at Black Families, Fifth Edition with Charles V. Willie (AltaMira Press, 2003) and co-editor of Legacies of Brown: Multiracial Equity in American Education with Dorinda J. Carter and Stella M. Flores (Harvard Education Review, 2004). Reddick is a Spencer Research Training Grant recipient, teaching fellow for courses in higher education and school leadership, former editor of the Harvard Educational Review, and former tri-chair of the Harvard Graduate School of Education Alumni of Color Conference. A native Texas, Reddick is a 1995 Distinguished Graduate of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin and earned an Ed.M. at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1998. His current research centers on the mentoring relationships between African American faculty and African American undergraduate students. Ronald Brown's research interests concern Black college presidents, among other topics. He is a candidate for the Ed.D. degree at Harvard's Graduate School of Education.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Educational Goals of Black Colleges
Chapter 2 Priorities of College Presidents
Chapter 3 Carriers of the Diversity Mantra
Chapter 4 The Case for Black Colleges Today
Chapter 5 Personal Characteristics, Professional Pathways, Management Challenges of Presidents
Chapter 6 Black Colleges Redefined: A Summary
Chapter 7 Strategic Actions for Presidents and Boards