Confessions of a Black Academic: A Memoir

Retired university president Alvin J. Schexnider shares the experiences that shaped his career and the challenges presented by race. About half of his career was spent at white universities. He details how he navigated various challenges in policies and practices and examines how events of his youth shaped his views on race, including segregation, the execution of a Black man in his hometown, lynching in the South, and the pervasive opposition and violence spawned by the civil rights movement. The second half of his career was spent at historically Black colleges and universities where he felt a sense of commitment. Schexnider provides a unique lens through which his career evolved from the early days of affirmative action and equal employment opportunity to the current era of diversity, equity and inclusion. The book spotlights the continuing role of race in the recruitment, promotion and retention of Black faculty, and contrasts affirmative action and diversity and argues that diversity is more likely to benefit ethnic groups other than Blacks, based on current trends in higher education. The book concludes with a chapter on the future of historically Black colleges and universities, a sector of higher education that is currently receiving unprecedented attention but is likely fleeting. The author acknowledges the challenges and opportunities HBCUs face and offers strategies to put them on a sustainable path to secure their future.