Professor Mom: Surviving the World of Academia and Motherhood, The Eagle Feather

2007 Issue

Table of Contents | Editorial Board | Review Acknowledgements

Professor Mom:
Surviving the World of Academia and Motherhood

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Author: Stephanie Lewis, Fisk University
Faculty Mentor:
Christina Wasson, Department of Anthropology, College of Public Affairs and Community Service, University of North Texas
Department:
Department of Anthropology, College of Public Affairs and Community Service, University of North Texas, University of North Texas
Bio:
Born and raised in Richardson, Texas, Stephanie Lewis is a rising senior currently attending Fisk University. After changing schools three times post-high school graduation in 2004, she finally found her home at one of the prestigious Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Upon acceptance to the McNair program at Fisk, she began to aspire to attaining a Master’s in nursing and a Ph.D. in marriage and family counseling. Stephanie’s research interests include physical, sexual, and verbal abuse among African American youth, rape and severe trauma coping strategies, understanding the media’s effect of social gender roles and language, holistic health, and the changing conceptualization of motherhood. Her college years have included playing collegiate basketball and volleyball, involvement with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) as well as acceptance into the Phi Theta Kappa (National Junior College Honor Society), and multiple Dean’s Lists.

Abstract:
The world of collegiate education, until recently, has seen few female faculty members. More rarely, due to the gender role women play in society – female faculty members with children are also vaguely evident and seemingly nonexistent in the eyes of college students. This research seeks to delve into the lives and histories of mothers who teach in local North Texas colleges and universities. Eight women responded via 17 open-ended questions about their family background, academic achievement, children, support systems, and institutional issues. Results demonstrate a wide variety of life pathways, with no specific or constructed plan of action. Although analysis is preliminary, it is a springboard for future research in current institutional policies about men and women with children who work as collegiate faculty.

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