The Supreme Court is taking up affirmative action at colleges and universities for the sixth time in 50 years. In that litany, an early case was the University of California vs. Bakke. Bakke complained about being denied admission to the university's medical school because seats were guaranteed for minority applicants, thus barring the door to him…

Stephen J. Nelson is professor of educational leadership at Bridgewater State University and Senior Scholar with the Leadership Alliance at Brown University. In this Q&A, "New England Journal of Higher Education" ("NEJHE") Executive Editor John O. Harney asks Nelson what lessons today's leaders could learn from his latest…

A college president spoke up to his students and campus community. His concern was a timely topic: race and race relations, bigotry, and racial slurs. And who was the president? Well, while people do not often think of these leaders in this way, the superintendents of three major military academies are the presidents of their universities. And…

This article provides Stephen J. Nelson's perspectives on challenges faced by college presidents today, how and when to use the bully pulpit of the college presidency, and advice for future college presidents. Nelson recently wrote his fifth book about college presidents, "College Presidents Reflect: Life in and out of the Ivory…

Dartmouth College did not need the round of controversial headlines that were about to come its way nor the cascade that was surely to follow. Only weeks in office as president, Philip Hanlon found his back to the wall. What had happened and so early on his watch? While Hanlon confronted presidential challenges at the very outset of his tenure,…

"Decades of Chaos and Revolution: Showdowns for College Presidents" is the story and comparison of two eras in the history of higher education. The first era covers the period of the 1960s through the mid-1970s, and the second is the first decade of the twenty-first century. Both decades were marked by events that shook the foundations of colleges…

In addition to academicians, scholars, administrators, and trustees, this book will interest any alumni or graduates who follow the leadership and fortunes of their alma maters and of other colleges and universities, and their presidents. The book argues for the central role of presidents and calls for their influence not to be restricted to the…

In recent years, there has been an explosion of books about leaders and leadership. These range from autobiographical, personal accounts of corporate executives to self-help applications of leadership skills in everyday life handbooks. Regardless of the genre, rarely do more than a few pages in any book about leadership go by before the reader…

The most distinct aspect of the college presidency and one on which many observers tend to focus is the perception that presidents possess--and should use--their bully pulpits. How they use their perches trips alarm bells in and out of the academy. In this article, the author urges presidents to use their moral authority to shield their campuses…