The leadership style of academic leaders was studied through the eyes of faculty members. This empirical study looked at faculty perceptions of academic leadership with the use of a numerical survey as the basis for observation. Faculty members at six private liberal arts institutions completed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) in regards to their academic leader. The MLQ looked at the full range of leadership and identified what types of leadership were being utilized: laissez-faire, transactional, or transformational. The interactions between leadership style and of span of control, gender of the leader, and gender of the faculty member were investigated. Statistical procedures were used to test the null and research hypotheses for statistical significance. Findings indicated that academic leaders used leadership styles differently when compared to MLQ historical norms, and male leaders used transformational leadership more often than female leaders. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]