Many institutions of higher education are better known for their athletics programs than their academic offerings. Should a crisis arise, athletics scandal and notoriety can threaten the future trajectory and financial health of the campus. As such, lapses in intercollegiate athletics oversight can create fractures and tensions within institutions…

An indispensable manual for the most demanding position in higher education, "The College President Handbook" supports campus leaders in becoming powerful and effective stewards of their institutions. This comprehensive guidebook offers clear counsel in the form of candid essays by highly regarded current and former college and…

Higher education has changed significantly over the past 50 years, and the individuals who provide leadership for these institutions has similarly changed. The pathway to the college presidency, once the domain of academic administration, has diversified as an increasing number of development officers, student affairs and enrollment management…

Leadership matters more than ever in this turbulent moment in American higher education. During these unprecedented times, glaring internal inefficiencies, communication breakdowns, and an overriding sense of cultural inertia on many campuses are too often set against a backdrop of changing consumer preferences, high sticker prices, declining…

The rise of generative artificial intelligence systems is impacting teaching and learning at every level of education. In particular, colleges and universities are working hard to understand and adapt to advanced computer tools that pose challenges to some of the foundational structures of education. The immensity of this disruption is captured in…

This issue of "New Directions" provides an overview of the increasing numbers of students who are experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, and food insecurity. College presidents are in a unique position to lead campus efforts to identify students in need and to develop strategies for supporting this increasing, often invisible,…

Reform initiatives have challenged community college leaders to reconsider what is right and wrong while also challenging our organizational cultures, advancing a new understanding of our mission, and forcing us to reconsider how we engage in the work of educating a public that needs us now more than ever.

Facing questions about the status and legitimacy of business schools, many of the world's leading institutions are now experimenting with new business models. In "The Business School of the Future," former president of International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Peter Lorange reveals how the era of virtual technology, and…

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, universities around the globe have taken numerous extraordinary measures and implemented many changes to their strategic, operational, and academic activities. Currently, there is a transformation taking place from the emergency decision-making in the early stages of the pandemic towards reflection and…

The issue of freedom of speech on college and university campuses has captured the interest of the nation and attracted considerable media attention. As board members and institutional leaders address the difficult questions that arise in relation to this controversial issue, they need to balance the competing tensions between individual freedom…

The unrivaled amount of cash poured into the college athletic system has made sports programs breeding grounds for corruption while diverting crucial resources from the academic mission of universities. Like money in Washington politics, the influence bought by a complex set of self-interested actors seriously undermines movement toward reform…

"Vice president for advancement becomes college president." Once headline-grabbing news, the so-called "advancement presidency" is not as rare as it was 25 years ago. Still, it is by no means commonplace. Beyond established relationships with the board of trustees, chief advancement officers--by personality and training--bring valuable skills to…

Last August, the U.S. Department of Education disclosed that 149 nonprofit private colleges and universities had failed its "financial-responsibility test" for fiscal year 2008-2009. This article explains what the financial-responsibility test is and how it is used, explores what the implications might be for colleges and universities,…

At many institutions, the vice president of institutional advancement oversees the functions of development, alumni relations, and marketing and communications. University leaders expect these functions to be integrated and to work hand-in-hand to advance the institution's mission, particularly in the area of private donations. The reality is that…

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to discover how six community college presidents who were undergraduate English majors construct the stories of their academic and professional journeys. Findings were synthesized using three themes--boundaries, connections, and transformations--as an interpretative framework. The selected presidents…