Theses and Dissertations

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4368-9414

Advisor

Wallace, Jason

Committee Member

Carpenter, Ashley

Committee Member

Reed, Eric

Committee Member

Winkler, Christa

Date of Degree

5-15-2026

Original embargo terms

Immediate Worldwide Access

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

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

Scholarship within the academy extensively interrogates the realities of Black faculty but neglects the lived experiences of Black Student Affairs Professionals (BSAPs). This omission renders BSAPs labor and experiences institutionally invisible while reinforcing the narrative of equity work being a racial obligation pushed on Black professionals rather than institutional responsibility. Although representing 15% of the higher education workforce, this gross percentage is disproportionately concentrated in lower-paying, non-exempt staff positions (e.g., service, office/clerical) rather than in decision-making authority (CUPA-HR, 2025). Despite structural marginalization and inconsistencies, institutions rely on Black professionals to bear the brunt of racialized equity labor work classified as "other duties as assigned" in formal job descriptions and remain undercompensated or unsupported (Lerma et al., 2020; Mitchum, 2025) Following the societal unrest of 2020, colleges and universities intensified the demand of BSAPs to lead DEI initiatives while failing to provide adequate infrastructure, staffing, or sustained resources (Mitchum, 2025). Through a critical-phenomenological lens, this study examines how BSAPs navigate the dismantling of DEI infrastructures at PWIs in the U.S. South. Drawing on in-depth group interviews, referred to as "Congo Square" sessions, and guided by Critical Race Theory and Black Feminist Thought, findings from this study include: (1) BSAPs experienced higher rates of racialized surveillance at their institutions, (2) through structural erasure, institutions eliminated, renamed, or absorbed DEI units in response to political pressures from the Trump administration, (3) institutions failed to allocate funding and structural support but increased racial equity work after 2020, (4) BSAPs experienced severe exhaustion from equity work extending beyond their formal job descriptions, (5) BSAPs experienced undercompensated salaries in comparison to the national standard, and (6) despite institutional instability, participants maintained communal commitments to the students they represented.

Download

Share

COinS