Preparing African American Males for the Professoriate: Issues and Challenges‪.‬

Introduction Opportunity and access continue to be at the heart of the U.S. educational system. Presently, large numbers of faculty who began their careers during the post-World War II time period are approaching retirement. During this major period of transformation, it is critical as ever to examine current approaches to the preparation of new faculty that will meet the demands of the changing milieu in higher education (Austin, 2002; Keller, 2001; Rice et. al., 2000). Critics argue that during the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, institutional reform efforts have failed to align policy with appropriate structures in preparing minority graduates students who aspire to the faculty. The demands, challenges, and expectations for academic life for prospective faculty will be quite different in the near future. Given this, the critical link in preparing and nurturing a new generation of scholars will be to place emphasis on building bridges among individuals with different experiences and perspectives (Antony and Taylor, 2001; Gaff et. al., 2000).