Date
2-28-2025
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration (PhD)
Chair
Denise Nixon
Keywords
Ethnic Leader, Multi-Ethnic Leader, MEEL, Ethnic Leadership
Disciplines
Educational Leadership | Leadership Studies
Recommended Citation
Fernandez, Enrique Fabian, "Multi-Ethnic Executive Leadership (MEEL) Experiences Within Higher Education: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 6542.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/6542
Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological hermeneutic study was to understand the experiences of the limited multiethnic executive leadership (MEEL) within proprietary for-profit and private non-profit higher education institutions in the lower Southeastern region of the United States. The study applied a social justice theory interpretive framework via the critical race theory highlighting unconscious biases that have supported by-and-large a majority White leadership hierarchy within higher education in the United States. The study also employed a qualitative study design with a phenomenological hermeneutical approach which fits well with the intent and process aimed at revealing and illuminating participant’s triumphs and tribulations while highlighting the key role they play, from a participant perspective, as ethnically diverse executive leaders in organizations located in the Southeastern region of the United States.
The central research study question aimed to unearth how ethnic executive leaders described their leadership experiences in proprietary for-profit and private non-profit higher education in a predominantly White leadership environment. The MEEL community is a small tight-knit group working hard to help their students and organizations and snowball sampling was employed to reach study sample saturation. additionally, the study utilized individual interviews, questionnaires, and journaling as the data collection methods, and both inductive and deductive reasoning was applied to adequately decipher collected data, while guarding against researcher bias through the application of epoché.
Results revealed that current ethnic executive leaders in higher education have experienced bias, ethnic discrimination, left to struggle with impostor syndrome (IS), and personal self-inflicted societal biases, while at the same time being deprived of mentorship. Additionally, student ethnic makeup is far outpacing their reciprocal representation in executive leadership roles, consequently being underrepresented in key decision-making processes.
