Nearly 20 years ago at Florida State University, a tight-knit group of Black women doctoral students and early career professionals came together to form what would become the organization Sisters of the Academy (SOTA), a space dedicated to facilitating the overall success of Black women in higher education.
Today, that community and network of support that the women created has continued to serve as a welcoming and safe place for Black women who would otherwise feel isolated as “the only one” in their academic space, said Dr. Rheeda Walker, associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Houston and an original SOTA founder.
“It is very challenging to achieve any success without community and relationship,” Walker said. “Once networks are established, women affiliated with SOTA can begin to identify shared research interests and opportunities for collaboration.”
Moreover, SOTA’s programming and services prepares Black women to “meet the expectations of the academy while holding true to their professional and personal values,” Walker said.
The ‘pipeline in action’
SOTA members can take advantage of the professional development and mentorship opportunities offered by the organization by attending programs including the signature Research BootCamp, the Writing Clinic and Retreat, the Intensive Grantsmanship Workshop or the “Priming the Pipeline” program for up-and-coming Black women scholars.
The Research BootCamp was formed out of a need for a space for Black women to come together as scholars and in a context “whereby the research methods – whether they be qualitative or quantitative – made sense for our scholarship and not in a context where we would struggle to be heard,” Walker said.
