Vol. 3 (2026): Special Issue on Women of Color in Higher Education
Published: 2026-06-18
This special issue of Dear Higher Education: Letters from the Social Justice Mountain—"Women of Color in the Academy: Being the Lonely Only"—serves as a vital platform for voices that have long navigated the academic landscape from the margins. This collection seeks to illuminate the profound complexities of the "Lonely Only" experience.
The journal organizes these powerful narratives into three pillars:
Why We Come to the Mountain: These letters address the broad, systemic challenges that define the shared experiences of women of color, from the silent burden of salary differentials to the intricate balance of managing multigenerational caregiving while ascending a career ladder.
Why We Need to Be Heard: This section highlights the unique, intersectional identities of those who occupy the space of the "outsider who stays," offering insights into migrations of geography, identity, and belonging.
Why We Believe Transformation is Possible: Concluding with a forward-looking lens, these contributions raise visions of hope and courage, asserting that the future of higher education is not only possible but made brighter by the presence and persistence of women of color.
Through the intimate form of the letter, this issue invites a transformative dialogue that appeals to the academy’s highest aspirations for equity and collective empowerment.
Why We Come to the Mountain
Speaking for Ourselves: High-Achieving Black Women Navigating Academic Milestones
Chelsea T. Smith , Jayla Moody Marshall
2026-06-18
The Current Attack on Black Superwomen in Higher Education Administration
E. Hairston (Pseudonym)
2026-06-18
Jennifer Yanez-Alaniz
2026-06-18
Why We Need to Be Heard
Finding My North Star While the Ground Shifts: Letters from a Canary Still Singing
Ursula Thomas
2026-06-18
Being The Lonely Only: The Strange Fruit of the "Model Minority" in Rural Academia
Nuchelle Chance
2026-06-18
Dear Higher Education: Belonging as a Black African Immigrant Woman in Spaces Not Built for Me
Martha Kakooza
2026-06-18
Dear Higher Education: Winning Within the Margins Without Losing Ourselves
Tamanika Ferguson
2026-06-18
’Lonely Only’ Voices: Modeling Perseverance, Power Despite Pain, and Possibility
Cynthia Porter
2026-06-18
The Academy Does Not Have the Capacity to Love You: An Unrequited Love with Higher Education
Tangela Montgomery
2026-06-18
Why We Believe Transformation is Possible
Care as Counter-Institution: Staying, Refusal, and Collective Survival in the Academy
Deborah Oluwasola Owoyemi
2026-06-18
Our Collective Power: Creating Women of Color in Academia (WOCA) for Us, by Us
Whitney Pirtle, May Sudhinaraset, Angie Otiniano Verissimo, Bo-Kyung Elizabeth Kim, Courtney Thomas Tobin
2026-06-18
Restoring Our Brilliance, Sustaining Our Power: Healing Wisdom for Leading in Challenging Times
Tisha Brooks
2026-06-18
Rondrea Danielle Mathis
2026-06-18
Monique Holsey - Hyman
2026-06-18
