Presidents have difficult roles regardless of systemic context and in times of crisis their work is especially complex. While the body of work on presidents generally is growing, understanding of their role in crisis is underdeveloped. In this study, we enhance research on presidential crisis leadership by applying the competing values framework…

During the American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Annual Business Meeting held in conjunction with the association's convention, the President and CEO presents a report on chief executive officer (CEO) leadership transitions. CEO leadership transitions, as defined by AACC, include retirements, CEO movement from one college to another,…

Over half of college campuses in the United States can expect their president to step down in the next five years (American Council on Education, 2023). The new leaders who assume these vacant roles will be expected to lead institutions through difficult and unexpected crisis situations. Campus crises can arise from political or financial…

Higher education scholars have studied the American college presidency. Yet, fewer studies have prioritized the support systems needed to ensure that the presidential pipeline is representative of the students they serve. By examining the concept of sponsorship through a hermeneutical phenomenological approach, this piece described the mechanisms…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore how African American female college presidents were socialized to work as senior-level administrators at higher education institutions in the United States and to understand how race and gender impact their professional identity development. My goal is that this research study will…

This research addresses two important developments in the academic field: First, universities are transforming into organisational actors, gaining more responsibilities and capacities for strategic action, and second, competition has reached a new level. An important driver of competition and universities' development towards strategic actorhood…

Many community colleges have an opening for the position of president and need to choose the best candidates to lead their organizations successfully in a dynamic and diverse higher education landscape. A review of existing literature revealed studies that have looked at programs preparing community college presidents, perspectives from community…

There is significant research on the president's role, but there is a lack of research on presidential transitions and direct experiences during those transitions. With the growing number of presidential transitions happening as the tenure of presidential tenure decreases, the importance of well-run presidential transitions becomes even more…

Followers grant legitimacy to leaders whom they perceive to be a good fit for the role, yet the conceptual framework for this study illustrated how dominant discourses related to gender and leadership continue to negatively affect a woman's potential in achieving legitimacy as an academic president. This study examined the predominant discourses…

Competition in higher education is intensifying worldwide and gaining increasing scholarly attention. However, it is not always easy to observe how competition actually takes place. Our research focuses on one example where competition becomes not only visible but also analyzable: State-led funding contests exemplified by the Excellence Initiative…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine humility as a component of servant leadership by describing the perceptions and experiences of presidents and senior administrators at member institutions across the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE). To accomplish this purpose, the researcher conducted interviews with a sample of…

This study examined how recently appointed, first-time public university presidents made sense of their new institution and position during their transition into their presidency. The information gained from these interviews is expected to illustrate how first-time public university presidents prepare, collect information, and learn about their…

Increasingly, community colleges recognize the need to center transformational change on equity. This chapter presents findings from a multi-site qualitative case study on how community college presidents and chancellors can keep equity at the forefront of the transformational change process. The three community college presidents and chancellors…

Think you know what it takes to be an effective leader in higher education? You might be surprised. Why is it so difficult to find and hire college and university presidents? Perhaps search committees are recruiting in all the wrong places. In "The New College President," Terrence J. MacTaggart and Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran share the…

College and university presidents can position themselves to be a great resource for the country and the world. This chapter introduces the perspectives of two presidents of the University of Notre Dame, Father Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C. who served for 35 years (1952-1987) and was a major presence in American higher education and a classic public…