26 Feb 2026
by Calvin Lowery, Jesse Ford, Tyler Bacote, Kofi Boateng, Cedrick Brown

Campus Environmental Factors That Influence Black Doctoral Student Leadership Development - JCAPS Vol. 8 Issue 1

The political shifts in the United States have caused higher education leadership to constantly evolve (Smith, 2024). For Black doctoral students, leadership during doctoral study is critical for the development into future roles as scholars and professionals (Gardner & Mendoza, 2023). This paper explores the experiences of four Black doctoral students at a minority serving institution. This scholarship reveals that leadership development is a vital part of the doctoral experience for Black doctoral students. It expands existing literature as positions on campus environmental factors that foster and constrain leadership development.