The University of Redlands was well represented at a national conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) recently held in Houston, Texas.
Redlands doctoral student Sara Durazo-DeMoss ’13, ’19 presented the findings of an extensive literature review she conducted, under the supervision of Redlands Postdoctoral Fellow Matt Witenstein, to one of the nation’s largest gatherings of professors and professionals who study higher education. Only 30 percent of proposals for talks were chosen.
Durazo-DeMoss spoke on “Leadership Identity Development: Impact of the (WO)Mentorship Deficit in Higher Education,” outlining how a lack of available and effective mentorship contributes to the underrepresentation of women in higher-paid tenure-track professorships and governing board positions in American colleges and universities. Her remarks highlighted the fact women are paid on average between $13,000 and $18,000 less than men, despite holding the majority of professorships. Women also make up only 30 percent of college governing boards.
Durazo-DeMoss called for a deeper examination of the power dynamics inherent in mentoring relationships and how they help to form, for better or for worse, the identity and socialization of women who aspire to leadership positions within academia.
“The discussion at the conference provided critical feedback on our work,” said Durazo-DeMoss, whose trip to ASHE was supported in part by a U of R School of Education Student Conference Scholarship. “It will definitely help shape the final manuscript that Matt and I will submit for publication. It was also really educational to watch others present and receive feedback from faculty from around the country.”
University of Redlands School of Education Professor Adriana Ruiz Alvarado also presented a paper, "Organizing for Equity and Success: Exploring the Institutional Culture of Retention," and participated in a session titled “Research methodologies and methods for elucidating power dynamics in higher education."
ASHE, a scholarly society with 2,100 members dedicated to higher education, held its 42nd annual conference from November 9 to 11, 2017.
