NAVIGATING RESISTANCE, ADVANCING EQUITY: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF HOW CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICERS EXPERIENCE, INTERPRET, AND RESPOND TO ANTI-DEI SENTIMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

This dissertation examines how Chief Diversity Officers (CDOs) in higher educationexperience, interpret, and respond to anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) sentiment while advancing institutional equity initiatives. Amid growing sociopolitical backlash, colleges and universities have become contested spaces where CDOs are tasked with leading organizational change while confronting structural resistance. This study illuminates how CDOs make meaning of their leadership roles and sustain equity efforts under intensifying scrutiny and constraint. Grounded in a social constructivist paradigm and employing interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), this qualitative study draws on in-depth interviews with CDOs at public and private institutions across New England. This region carries historical commitments to equity alongside contemporary political tensions, making it a meaningful context for examining CDO leadership in the current anti-DEI climate. The study is guided by a multi-layered conceptual framework that integrates four interrelated theories. Critical race theory provides a foundation for understanding how systemic racism and racialized discourse shape public perceptions and institutional policies. The theory of racialized organizations shows how racial inequality is embedded within organizational structures. Political astuteness theory offers insight into how CDOs navigate institutional power dynamics and build strategic coalitions. Sensemaking theory illuminates how CDOs interpret ambiguous situations, construct meaning, and adapt their leadership practices in real time. Through this inquiry, the study contributes new insight into how CDOs operate within racialized institutions, respond to politically charged environments, and engage in meaningmaking processes that reframe constraints as openings for change. By centering the lived experiences and strategic responses of ten CDOs across New England, this research offers a nuanced portrait of equity leadership during a period marked by polarization, policy rollbacks, and organized opposition to DEI efforts in U.S. higher education.