Leading, fixing and communicating all come with the demanding job of an academic department chair.
But throw in the stereotypes and the nuances that often come with being a woman of color in that position, then the job can become a little more challenging and equally as complicated, especially if the person in that role feels like she has little support or anyone else that she can relate to.
Dr. Monica F. Cox said that’s been her experience and the experience of countless others in the academy, which is why she is launching a national network for women of color department chairs.
Cox is currently the chair of the Department of Engineering Education at Ohio State University, a position she’s held since 2016. Currently she’s one of only three Black female chairs at an institution that has about 60,000 students.
As she attended professional training sessions across the years, Cox said she noticed that situations unique to people of color in positions of power were not adequately addressed.
“There are so many women who are one and onlys. Few people may understand your specific troubles. People are just lonely and isolated and there’s a hunger for it,” Cox said. “That’s when people say, ‘let me go find my tribe.’”
While the network is still in the making and doesn’t yet have an official name, Cox said she’s already received a lot of positive feedback about the idea after tweeting about it.
