To Be Young, Gifted, and Black: The Relationship between Age and Race in earning Full Professorships

In this study, we sought to examine a growing phenomenon in academe of young full professorships, but through the lens of young Black full professors in higher education as a field of study. This study explores the experiences of seven young Black faculty who attained the rank of full professor before age 45 and whether their pathways to full were challenged because of their age. Challenges to Black faculty advancement through faculty ranks generally are well documented; however, this work adds a dimension of youth and inactionable age discrimination to the literature. Implications for law, policy, and practice are discussed.