By: Dr. Christiana Best-Giacomini
October 13, 2026
Black people and other people of color have been part of American higher education for centuries. They have taught, researched, mentored, challenged established ideas, and contributed to the intellectual and cultural development of colleges and universities. Yet their presence has never guaranteed equitable treatment, recognition, advancement, or belonging. Despite generations of progress, the struggle continues, particularly in today’s climate of anti-Black racism and growing opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The numbers tell part of the story.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in fall 2023, approximately 72% of full-time faculty at U.S. degree-granting institutions were White. Asian faculty accounted for approximately 13%, while Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino faculty each represented approximately 7%. These figures include historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), institutions that have historically provided critical opportunities for Black education, scholarship, and academic leadership.
But representation alone does not tell the whole story.
When we examine academic advancement, the disparities become even more revealing. According to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), an analysis of fall 2023 faculty data found that only 4.2% of full professors were Black or African American. Hispanic or Latino faculty represented approximately 4.5%, while underrepresented minority groups collectively accounted for approximately 9.1%.
Earlier NCES data from fall 2021 revealed a similar pattern. Black faculty represented approximately 7.2% of assistant professors, 5.8% of associate professors, and only 4.0% of full professors. Although these figures do not measure individual promotion rates, they reveal that Black faculty are increasingly underrepresented at higher academic ranks.
These disparities raise important questions. What happens between the appointment of a Black assistant professor and the attainment of full professorship? Whose scholarship is valued? Who receives mentorship and institutional support? Who advances into leadership, and whose contributions remain overlooked?
For many Black faculty and other scholars of color, academic responsibilities extend beyond teaching, research, and service. They are frequently expected to mentor students of color, serve on diversity committees, address racial tensions, and support marginalized communities. This additional labor, while essential, is not always adequately recognized in decisions about tenure, promotion, and professional advancement.
There is also the emotional burden of navigating academic environments where one’s qualifications, scholarship, and authority may be questioned. Microaggressions, implicit bias, professional isolation, and the pressure to continually demonstrate competence can become part of everyday academic life.
It is within this context that I was drawn to editing Shades of Excellence: Stories from Scholars of Color.
I wanted to create a space where Black faculty and other scholars of color could tell their own stories, not simply as statistics in diversity reports or examples of institutional success, but as individuals whose experiences, struggles, accomplishments, and perspectives deserve recognition.
As a Black Caribbean immigrant woman and an academic, I understand that the journey through higher education is shaped by more than professional qualifications. Race, gender, migration, culture, family responsibilities, and institutional expectations intersect in ways that influence our experiences. For immigrant scholars, the journey may also involve navigating assumptions about our accents, countries of origin, educational backgrounds, and cultural identities.
These dimensions are often missing from mainstream discussions of faculty diversity.
I also believe that storytelling matters because statistics, while essential, cannot capture the full complexity of lived experiences. Numbers can tell us how many Black faculty members occupy academic positions, but they cannot describe what it feels like to be the only Black person in a department, to have one’s scholarship questioned, or to navigate institutional barriers while striving for professional excellence.
Nor can statistics capture the pride of earning tenure, mentoring future generations, publishing meaningful scholarship, or contributing to institutional and social change.
Shades of Excellence is not simply about discrimination and exclusion. It is also about achievement, intellectual contributions, perseverance, creativity, leadership, and the satisfaction of pursuing meaningful academic work. I wanted to celebrate these accomplishments without overlooking the conditions under which they were achieved.
The book is also about visibility. Who is recognized as an intellectual? Whose scholarship becomes part of the academic canon? Whose contributions are celebrated, and whose stories remain on the margins?
At a time when institutional commitments to racial equity are increasingly contested, documenting these experiences becomes even more important. Policies may change, political priorities may shift, and diversity initiatives may be weakened or eliminated. But the stories of those who have taught, researched, mentored, and led within these institutions must remain part of the historical record.
My decision to edit Shades of Excellence was therefore both a scholarly undertaking and a commitment to preserving voices that have not always received the recognition they deserve. I also wanted emerging scholars, particularly Black students and students of color considering academic careers, to encounter stories that affirm the possibilities of belonging, achievement, and leadership.
Ultimately, the question is no longer whether Black faculty and other scholars of color can achieve excellence. Their accomplishments have already answered that question. The more pressing question is whether higher education institutions are willing to confront the barriers that continue to shape who advances, who leads, and whose excellence is recognized.
That is why I joined three of my colleagues in editing Shades of Excellence: because our stories matter, our contributions deserve recognition, and future generations should inherit an academic world in which excellence is not constrained by race, ethnicity, gender, culture, or institutional barriers.
(Dr Christiana Best is an Associate Professor at the University of Saint Joseph, Connecticut)
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