AASA's new "Professional Standards for the Superintendency" specifies benchmarks for improving selection, preparation, development of America's school superintendents. Superintendents will be expected to work more as decentralized enablers than centralized controllers. Standards will increase respect for superintendency, encourage the…

"Professional Standards for the Superintendency" underscore the importance of the superintendent's role in developing well-educated young people and document the extraordinary range of skills, competencies, and values required of today's superintendents. Ethically defining these requirements, without homogenizing them, will help produce school…

There have been few studies on restructuring's effect on central office administrators. By analyzing 74 chief executive officers' perceptions about how restructuring is shaping the superintendency in Kentucky, this study helps address this gap. Three themes emerged: an enhanced superintendent role in developing community; redefinition of…

It is argued that the traditional model of the heroic leader is no longer appropriate for complex higher education institutions and that presidential power should be limited to participation in a leadership team. Leadership is seen as the creation of partnerships between and among constituencies. (MSE)

Provides a step-by-step guide to developing a college marketing plan. Identifying a target market and determining an appropriate mix of promotional strategies are considered key to the process. Highlights the college president's role in the marketing process, indicating that, although the president is the chief marketer, all employees must be…

Principals must become new-age leaders dedicated to achieving a learning renaissance in the nation's schools. Like Sisyphus, principals often find themselves in the ultimate organization box, facing endless uphill struggles. Two exemplary Los Angeles practitioners have transformed their work places into egalitarian learning networks. A new…

Deems continuing education practitioners at the leading edge of community college education, highlighting their flexibility, responsiveness, inclusiveness, and appreciation of diversity. Considers the role of continuing education practitioners in college planning, institutional effectiveness documentation, improving access, collaboration with…

A discussion of recent changes in college administration focuses on the growth of nonacademic administration, the changing social and economic environment, new management concepts, leadership challenges, and openness and judicial review. It is concluded that administrators must articulate their fidelity to the institution's central purposes and to…

A case study outlines a structured approach to executive-level development that works from the individual's own experience. The process involves analyzing the job, identifying the competencies required to do the job effectively, establishing development needs and priorities, and creating an achievable plan and a system for monitoring progress.…

Four case studies show that a college president's image is constructed largely from actions and behaviors indicating to the faculty that presidents are, or are not, taking an appropriate role. The study explored ways in which faculty's interpretation of a president's actions affects faculty behaviors and perceptions of institutional functioning.…

Self-directed work teams need coaches, not managers. The process of turning middle managers into coaches involves sensitivity, negotiation, and training in adjusting to the new role. (SK)

Appointing administrators as instructional leaders worked to the detriment of teachers, who are now expected to transcend the old transmission teaching models and participate more actively in school management. Administrators must now become the servants of collective vision and act as editors, cheerleaders, problem solvers, resource finders, and…

As schools are typically organized, children work under the guidance of female teachers employed by a male principal (the boss) empowered to interrupt their classes at will and mete out discipline. The principal serves as district stationmaster but not necessarily as educator. Two hypothetical examples show how teachers and secretaries can…

Responding to the site-based management movement, this article draws parallels between building principals' past and present expectations and submits a planning model for onsite administrators to inspect, study, and implement according to their own needs. Administrators must handle certain responsibilities (like staff training and needs…

An organization's dramaturgical facade (ability to present an appearance in keeping with the script) is a better measure of effectiveness than its actual results. An organization must match its theatrical production--stage, props, drama, and actors--to audience demands. As directors, playwrights, and actors, superintendents play a vital role in…