Theses and Dissertations

Advisor

Molina, Danielle K.

Committee Member

Briscoe, Kaleb L.

Committee Member

Coats, Linda T.

Committee Member

Quarles, Dominique

Date of Degree

5-10-2024

Original embargo terms

Embargo 2 years

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Educational Leadership (Higher Education Leadership)

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Counseling, Higher Education Leadership, Educational Psychology, and Foundations

Abstract

In the contemporary landscape of fraternity and sorority life (SFL), where National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) organizations operate alongside Panhellenic and Interfraternity Council (IFC) groups, Black sorority and fraternity life professionals have become essential to the field. However, Black student affairs professionals in sorority and fraternity life encounter incidents of racism’s permanence, embedded into the foundations of the sorority and fraternity life system. Therein lies a struggle for Black SFL professionals who are regularly and systematically harmed by the institutions they are charged with sustaining. This study’s purpose was to examine Black student affairs professionals’ experiences and narratives with racialized incidents and how this informs their perceptions of sorority and fraternity life. The research question that guided this study was: How have Black student affairs professionals’ in sorority and fraternity life experiences and narratives with racialized incidents informed their perceptions of sorority and fraternity life? The literature review focuses on Black student affairs professionals' experiences with racialized incidents and the history of sorority and fraternity life. Critical Race Theory served as this study's theoretical framework, focusing on counter narrative as a theory. The use of a counter narrative amplified the voice of 12 participants to share their narratives of and experiences with racialized incidents in sorority and fraternity life and their perceptions of the field. Four themes presented in this study made participants question a) the disillusionment of trust in a system built to harm; b) the white and racist legacy of sorority and fraternity life; c) the significance of #BlackLivesMatter and the Trump presidency on racialized incidents in sorority and fraternity life; and d) recognition that Black students need Black SFL professionals, and their faith keeps them. Additional research is necessary to address racialized incidents in sorority and fraternity life and find ways to put procedures and policies in place in the aftermath of racialized incidents that harm Black SFL professionals. Black student affairs professionals in sorority and fraternity life did not create this broken system. They should not be the ones expected to fix it on their own.

Download

Available for download on Friday, May 15, 2026

Share

COinS