Staffing practices, professional preparation trends, and demographics among student affairs administrators at HBCUs: Implications from a national study

Results from a national demographic study of student affairs administrators at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are presented in this article. Specifically, staffing practices in student affairs divisions and the educational backgrounds and aspirations of directors, senior student affairs administrators, and chief student affairs officers (n=270) were examined. Data from 52 four-year institutions show that HBCU student affairs administrators, especially those at the director level, hold advanced degrees in fields other than student affairs and higher education administration. More than 70% of those without doctoral degrees aspired to pursue them someday. Other findings reveal gender disparities between women and men at the highest levels of administration; racial homogeneity across all levels; and a nearly exclusive reliance on local recruitment methods to fill administrative positions. Implications for student affairs divisions at HBCUs, as well as graduate preparation programs and national student affairs professional associations, are offered at the end of the article.