This paper focuses on the Chicana in academe using a framework that considers the academic environment and the dialectic influences that contribute to the dynamics of group interactions, social positioning, and philosophical considerations of dimensions which may promote or deter the important interactions for professional growth and intellectual fulfillment of the Chicana professor in the academy. It discusses the Chicana within the social environment in academe showing how the limited number of Chicanas in academe does not promote healthy development of within group affiliation nor a sense of comfort and security in individual endeavors. The paper argues that the marginalization status of one who is a representative of a socially marginalized group continues throughout the individual's professional experience. It further argues that real change cannot occur without the dismantling of belief systems and structures that are not conducive for growth. (Contains 7 references.) (GLR)