This study assesses the process of faculty socialization at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), asking how faculty at these institutions perceive their socialization experiences, what kinds of institutional characteristics affect faculty socialization, and what are the major barriers to promotion and tenure faced by African Americans at HBCUs. Interviews were conducted with 17 respondents selected from 4 institutions of varying size, location, type, and funding source. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed several common themes: (1) faculty believe that clear institutional values and expectations are important factors in the socialization process; (2) faculty also perceived that one barrier in the socialization experience was senior faculty not showing new faculty the ropes of the institution; and (3) faculty also identified heavy workloads as a major barrier in the promotion and tenure process. (Contains 32 references.) (MKA)