Leading Beyond Concrete Ceilings: The Lived Experiences of African American Women Presidents at Predominantly White Institutions

Despite their significant educational attainment, African American women remain significantly underrepresented in higher education presidential leadership, comprising fewer than 5% of presidents at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of 13 African American women who serve or have served as presidents of four-year, doctoral-granting PWIs. It explored how they ascended to the presidency, navigated barriers, and sustained themselves in the role. Guided by the engagement, retention, and advancement (ERA) model and by glass ceiling theory, semi-structured interviews were conducted to better understand each participant’s presidential journey. In response to the study’s three research questions, participants revealed: (a) that they pursued the presidency as a moral obligation rooted in faith, family, and service; (b) that they advanced through both traditional and nontraditional pathways enabled by self-advocacy, mentorship, and sponsorship; and (c) that they strategically navigated systemic barriers including gendered racism, institutional resistance, and inadequate board support. This study applied and extended three theoretical frameworks: (a) a concrete ceiling framework that reframes barriers as visible and structural, (b) glass cliff dynamics applied to higher education presidential hiring, and (c) a modified ERA model that extends the original framework to center the experiences of Black women presidents." This study offers implications for aspiring leaders, institutions, governing boards, search committees, and search firms. It calls for systemic transformation rather than relying on individual leaders to navigate environments that remain unchanged.