RCDC Roots & Wings Roundtable 2: The Intersection between Racial and Economic Inequality and Its Impact on Navigating the Academy

Success in the academy requires that scholars be socialized and provided the skills and knowledge they will need as educators and researchers. Notably, how an individual understands their role as a faculty member begins not with the first faculty position but actually during or prior to their graduate school experience. Without the socialization process, and mentorship, doctoral students are likely to struggle and commit avoidable mistakes. For many, such as scholars of color, success in the academy does not allow room for error, and undoubtedly those errors can cause individuals to suffer lasting consequences. Those mistakes are often the result of limited access to information, as well as a lack of the social capital that is required for a successful academic career. Furthermore, for scholars of color, the intersection of race and class/SES, which can be even more complicated by gender and ethnic identity, is deeply imbedded in our historical sociopolitical systems. That history, and one’s intersecting identities, can be a catalyst for individuals entering into the academy. Unfortunately, they can also serve as the foundation upon which significant race and gender disparities experienced by social work doctoral students, tenured and tenure-track faculty, and administrators are promulgated. The participants of this roundtable will share challenges they have experienced, due to the intersections of race and class/SES, while managing life in academia.