African American students' perceptions of a public university: a qualitative study

In 2006, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 undergraduate African American college students attending a predominantly White university in the Midwest.The purpose of this qualitative research was to discover these participants' perceptions of and lived experiences within the university and to work toward development of a grounded theory of the African American student experience.Included in the body of the dissertation is a review of the literature about climate issues for African Americans on predominantly White college campuses as well as relevant empirical findings about minority graduation rates and degree achievement.The analysis of emergent data from this research revealed that: (a) the participants contended with the daily challenges that all college students face, but also particular challenges because of their social status as racial minorities; (b) the participants were affected by elements of racism, segregation, alienation, and marginalization; (c) the participants recognized the University's efforts to promote diversity; and (d) the resilience of this group of participants was evident by their ability to matriculate in spite of the aforementioned barriers.Furthermore, the participants in this study recognized that they are comparable to their student peers academically, yet they remain on the periphery, or out of the mainstream, at a predominantly White university.iii Dedicated to the strong matriarchal influences of my mother, Jill E.