ABSTRACT
The retention of African-American students on both the undergraduate and graduate level is a serious issue because they are the future leaders, parents, faculty, and administrators. The reality of an African-American administrator as the sole or one of a few administrators of color at a university is harrowing enough given the academic institution and its surrounding environment. Jackson and Rowley highlighted similar realities while detailing very different realities of the academy and its ability to retain African-American administrators. Jackson’s article also highlights the criticality of consistently maintaining affirmative action policies throughout the duration of African-American administrators’ appointments. African-American administrators often are in a different space with this reality because of the necessity to network with other administrators of color in order to attract diverse students, if that is an element of their function. The other issue that permeates academic institutions to the detriment of African-American administrators is not race, nor is it culture.
