The goal of the study was to explore how a diverse community college board might effectively influence the college mission by focusing on the greater impact of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as well as the environment that may result from these policy discussions. The researchers explored if and how the establishment of diverse boards…

This article presents a comprehensive case study examining transformational leadership strategies of a leader in a hybrid work environment within a higher education institution. Drawing upon the principles of transformational leadership theory and hybrid work research, the study delves into the leadership effectiveness of a high-level academic…

Objective/Research Question: The urgency to replace retiring community college leaders has been a topic of research and discussion for the past two decades. Concurrently, expansive definitions of leadership and collaborative approaches to leading have emerged. The central research question for this study was: How do sitting community college…

Leisure education is an important part of community development as well as citizen engagement, and can be offered through a wide-range of providers. Community colleges have historically played an important role in offering these programs, yet little documentation has reported how they are operated or structured. The purpose for conducting the…

The issue of gender bias has been studied in many facets of society, including business, education, and leadership in general. Researchers and professionals working in the field have long had concerns over the issue of gender bias: if it is occurring, what does the rate and impact have on overall success in leadership? Women in upper-level…

As community colleges continue to face challenges in serving an ever-changing student population and a wave of presidential retirements, the next generation of senior community college leaders is surfacing. To prepare these top-level administrators, doctoral-level community college leadership (CCL) programs often serve as a viable mechanism for…

Equity in action starts with a leader's critical consciousness in relation to their identities, ideologies, and positionalities. In this essay, the following factors: ideologies, identities, and positionalities are explained and emphasized as they are essential factors that impact equity work. Leaders who center equity must explore their own…

Objective: This research study examined gender wage equality among administrators across Arizona's ten community college districts comprising 19 colleges. Method: Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze salary data. Results: All 19 college campuses evidenced differences in median income between 12-month, full-time women…

Despite the rising number of African American community college women executives that have joined the ranks in higher education, understandings factors that impact their career advancement is inadequate. Consistent case studies that examined the perception of African American women leaders in community colleges are limited. The purpose of this…

During declining revenue, community college leaders may be unable to balance their budgets effectively. Community college managers who fail to balance budgets negatively impact a college's financial sustainability. Grounded in Burn's transactional leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies…

The higher education environment is rapidly changing, and academic leaders must rapidly change with it to fill student and institutional needs. Is it experience, or communication, or that makes an effective leader? The purpose of this research was to investigate if the interaction between gender and length of leadership experience influenced the…

Mid-level leaders are caught in the middle of their organizational hierarchy, reporting to senior administrators while also leading or managing entry-level staff (Bodine Al-Sharif, Garcia, & McNaughtan, 2021). They are often asked to collaborate, build relationships, and share information with college and community stakeholders and in the…

Latinx students constitute the fastest and largest growing segment of the population in California community colleges (CCCs), with roughly 45% of students identified as Latinx. Yet Latinx representation among faculty and administrators lags behind, with very modest gains in representation in the faculty and academic administrator ranks (Bates et…

This chapter provides critical insights into transformative leadership, a leadership approach guided by equity, social justice, and emancipatory education, based on the practices of eight Asian American women in community college administration. The authors engaged in critical narrative inquiry and conducted semi-structured interviews with each…

For the past 20 years, community colleges have struggled with employee retention and with finding qualified individuals for senior administrative roles. As the crisis continues, many community college employees are returning to the classroom to receive university-based education in order to move into those vacant roles. As they re-enter higher…