Stimulating higher education leadership progression

During a time of great racial disparities exasperated by the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on BIPOC lives and global attention to anti-Blackness brought about by police brutality like those found in our own backyard (qua Breonna Taylor), more than ever do we need to capture counterstories of BIPOC faculty and staff. Doing so, brings humanity back into research itself, for as university researchers we must remember research is nothing but capturing a pulse of a given time. Now is that time. The objective of this study is to create a novel approach for gathering data from BIPOC university employees through qualitative methods such as listening and counterstories and to verify this approach as innovative and viable for producing rich, useful institutional data. To achieve our objective outcome our study aims to systematically collect counterstories and listen to the narratives of BIPOCs university employees in the midst of progressing their careers. The pilot project also aims to create a qualitative dataset from the preliminary findings and utilizing narrative research methods. Preliminary and evidence-based findings will position the project for further research activities such as the development of a digital platform resources for BIPOC university employees; the creation and sharing of recommendations to inform institutional strategies around diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; and the, ultimate, development of an institutional framework and subsequent model to inform DEI efforts around employee recruitment and retention.