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Using life notes methodology (Dillard, 2006; Simmons, 2007), an earlier-career, Black female scholar in educational leadership chronicles her journey through obtaining her doctorate and transitioning to the professoriate at a Research I institution. In doing so, she highlights three “academic star” role models, shares her personal challenges, and offers three lessons about family, fit, and moving forward for other tenure-track faculty.

Mary V. Alfred, Ph.D. is an associate dean for Research and Faculty Affairs and professor of Adult Education and Human Resource Development in the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University. Her research interests include learning and development among women of the African Diaspora, socio-cultural contexts of immigration, welfare reform and women's economic development, and issues of equity and social justice in higher education and in the workplace. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Administration with a focus in Adult Education and Human Resource Development Leadership from the University of Texas at Austin.

Research to improve access and equity for women of color in higher education offers insights on the nuanced challenges and opportunities that exist today. In the past, women of color confronted overt discrimination in their pursuit of educational and career attainment. Today, they are likely to face more subtle practices couched in what Miller (2010) coins, the “deservingness” status suggesting that although women of color have gained entry in the academy, they come under scrutiny in their faculty and administrative roles. Despite such scrutiny, their presence in the academy has brought them a measure of social independence, ushered in multiple perspectives to enrich students' learning experiences, and have challenged traditional approach to research knowledge, and leadership theories and practices (Glazer Raymo, 2008; Jean-Marie, Williams & Sherman, 2009; Lloyd-Jones, 2009).