This book employs a fiction-based approach to address the revolving door of Black faculty and staff in American colleges and universities as a national crisis that needs to be resolved systematically. Alex-Assensoh coins the acronym SOULS to promote the importance of safety, organizational accountability, unvarnished truth telling, love, and spirituality as the foundational ingredients for reimagining and rebuilding an Academy that harnesses the talents of Black faculty and staff. Chapters feature storytelling to illustrate common cracks in academic structures while interweaving interdisciplinary research to contextualize themes that the fiction-based method reveals. To conclude, the author provides a research-informed call to action within the context of institutional transformation, as well as reflective questions and recommendations for further reading.

Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh is Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, Professor of Political Science, and Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Oregon, USA. A member of the Oregon and Indiana Bar Associations, she also serves as an elected Boardmember of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE).