INTRODUCTION

Transitioning from the community at large to campus is often an isolating experience, regardless of previous academic successes. Being neither White nor male raises the question of locating an African American woman's space and place within the academy. While the educational paths taken are many, the authors are most interested in the paths to the doctorate, as this particular degree is crucial to the faculty and to positions of higher education leadership. Their goal is to provide snapshots along the diploma-to-doctorate continuum where they as faculty can be particularly attuned to support our sisters. State law often prohibited the education of early African Americans generally, and most specifically those enslaved in the South. Increases in doctoral degree attainment have increased the number of African American women faculty. Demographic data illustrate that once African American students enter college, more women persist to graduation than do men.