Advocating for the Newly Hired Adapted Physical Education Faculty of Color
Seo Hee Lee
Samuel R. Hodge
Lisa Silliman-French
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to highlight the challenges facing adapted physical education (APE) assistant professors of color, who were newly hired at predominantly White institutions of higher education. A secondary purpose is to offer recommendations to such faculty to advocate for themselves at such institutions. As the number of newly hired APE assistant professors of color increases across the United States (U.S.), so has the reporting of challenges they face in the academy. The importance of diversity and inclusion has been emphasized in higher education, and faculty and students should be able to exchange their perspectives within different cultural frameworks. We therefore present the following recommendations for new faculty of color: (a) collaborate with APE faculty at other comparable institutions; (b) promote APE programs within one’s department and university; (c) educate oneself about ethical and procedural guidelines; (d) promote cultural competence and fluency; and (e) challenge oneself.