Date of Award

2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Department

General Business

First Advisor

Sean E. Rogers

Abstract

With his attacks on both higher education and principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the lead-up to the 2024 election, President Trump’s victory was a cause of concern for Black diversity officers on college campuses. Project 2025, the blueprint for the incoming second Trump administration, included the promised culmination of years of anti-Black and anti-DEI sentiments, which had been increasingly normalized since Trump’s first campaign and election in 2016. Like many other Black leaders working in predominantly White spaces, diversity officers already had to regularly navigate racial microaggressions and the daily stress of living with anti-Black racism, resulting in Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF), the manifestation of psychological, behavioral, and physiological stress responses. Using a two-phased mixed-method exploratory research design, this dissertation examines how, since the start of the second Trump administration, RBF is experienced by Black diversity leaders, including any gender differences, as well as their coping strategies, intentions to persist, and needed supports. Chief diversity officers were interviewed during the first phase of the study, and a broader sample of diversity professionals participated in a mixed-methods survey to validate and expand the Phase 1 findings. The study found that race and gender intersectionality result in a qualitatively and quantitatively more adverse experience for Black women dealing with race-based trauma during the second Trump administration.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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