Community college leaders commonly think of community college leadership in terms of rationality, expertise, power, negotiations, and legalisms rather than the more human, loving, symbolic, and transcendent dimensions of their work. Yet the giving of oneself to a common cause, to a higher calling, is the most important role community college…

Employers are concerned about lack of labor and the increasing skills gap between their needs and employees' skills. These concerns are consistently reflected in the literature. While community colleges are being increasingly looked to as the solution providers for these labor force issues, they are also facing the same concerns. Community…

Community colleges are recognizing the importance of having a written agreement between the institution and its president. Such a document serves many purposes that benefit both the president and the institution he/she serves. While a large majority of colleges now enter into written contracts with their presidents, not all of the contracts cover…

Leadership development programs come in many forms, sizes, designs, perspectives, and purposes, ranging from full-time doctoral programs to lunch-time brown-bag sessions. While the ideal leadership development experience would undoubtedly be the in-depth education in theory, philosophy, and practice that comes from experiencing a full-time…

Community colleges are experiencing tough times. As leaders watch the economy jump back to life and recognize this as a time of opportunity, they also realize that recovery in the public sector lags behind. Community colleges expecting to emerge from reduction stronger and better positioned will need to operate outside of a conventional business…

Boards of Trustees are as varied as the individuals that comprise them. There is not one simple golden nugget of advice that can guarantee a successful relationship with a board. Success with boards comes from understanding the complexity of tacit goals and the need to work constantly on building, sustaining and maintaining relationships. The…

In 2000, the Community College Leadership Development Institute (CCLDI) set out to develop a leadership program based on the values and skills most needed by community college leaders. It held two design workshops to identify those underlying values and skills. The design workshop participants were trustees, CEOs, senior administrators, faculty…

As the 21st century begins, both the external circumstances confronting all types of organizations and the expectations of people inside those organizations are undergoing radical and unremitting change, with the consequent need--even demand--for a renewal in leadership. Community colleges are no exception. Today community colleges are…

Since their inception, America's community colleges have represented unique opportunity for all people to benefit from higher education. Today, nearly half of all people who start a college career do so in a community college. Community colleges are a key community learning nexus, connecting returning students and rising high school students to…

The community college has carved out a well-deserved role in higher education as "democracy's college." The yoke of responsibility carried by community colleges today--and the scope of the challenges they can anticipate in the future--requires the dedication of visionary, skilled leaders who understand how to make good on the promise of their…

For over 100 years, community colleges have been rightly seen as institutions designed to have an intimate relation to the community they serve. In order to know about the educational needs of the local communities, they were mandated to conduct frequent surveys and subsequently adapt the programs of study. Since its founding in 1959,…

In recent years, the emergence of non-traditional educational experiences such as online learning and certification, combined with the growth of the life-long learning market, has presented a new set of challenges for the higher education community. Increasingly, the U.S. economy is technology driven, and the need for trained personnel to support…

The "good fruit, bad fruit" parable provides a metaphor for sound accountability. If one wants to assess the source of problems to determine quality, then one must look at what has been produced. Unfortunately, many researchers and practitioners have examined the fruit without determining the quality of the tree. This failure has allowed…

The 1,175 community colleges in the U.S. share in two key objectives--retaining students by helping them to be successful and keeping college affordable for students. As a community college financial administrator the author knew a little about retention, but she had no idea there may be a correlation between student retention and finances until…

The U.S. is in the early stages of a demographic development that will bring about radical changes in the higher education population. As the result of two phenomena--the retiring of the baby boomers (those born in the decade immediately following WW II) and the steadily increasing life expectancy--people are going to see a sharp and unprecedented…