The topic of student success is a central focus for community college educators and researchers, yet little consideration is given to the long-term success that community college students may or may not be attaining. What role (if any) do concerns about social stratification have in the debate over student success? Exploring the ways in which…

Community colleges are greatly impacted by turbulent external forces while also experiencing turnover in the topmost leadership positions. New presidents must learn how to lead an institution while also planning for purposeful change that will allow the college to thrive. In this article, the authors propose a method for new presidents to develop…

Not all community college presidents begin their careers with the goal of becoming president, yet something causes them to alter their initial career paths to seek a presidency. Understanding how community college leaders make the decision to seek and subsequently prepare for a presidency can help identify candidates with the potential to fill…

This study examines the dynamics of collaborative work that promote leadership as an outcome of team processes. Through an in-depth exploration of a community college that developed an organizational model of shared leadership over a period of seven months, this study aims to contribute to our qualitative understanding of how a vision of shared…

The impact of cosmopolitan and local latent social roles on different professional occupations and organizational behavior has been studied since Gouldner's seminal study was published in 1957. This study was conducted to understand the relationship between the latent social role of the public community college chief academic officer and his…

This article provides a succinct synthesis of research about community college presidents who have experienced a crisis or dilemma as leaders and focuses on issues surrounding a sudden and unplanned departure. In addition to describing themes, the authors present implications for leaders and potential areas for future research.

For-profit colleges have been dismissed by community college administrators and faculty as imperfect institutions that focus too heavily on skills-based training, to the detriment of a well-rounded academic experience. Although there are many appropriate criticisms of an educational model that relies on federal funding to make a profit--while…

The author observes that community college administrators perform their duties on ambiguous and uncertain intellectual and environmental landscapes, so they continually search for meaning and purpose in organizational life. This article proposes a straightforward approach to answering several questions related to the quest for meaning and purpose,…

Nearly a decade ago, Sullivan presented her interpretation of the four generations of community college leaders by describing them as "the founding fathers, the good managers, the collaborators, and the millennium generation" (Sullivan, 2001, p. 559). She predicted a shift to frames utilizing the Four-Frame Model of Leadership by Bolman…

Providing global educational experiences for students in higher education has been viewed as a desirable educational objective for decades. Although there is a common appreciation that students should be exposed to, and gain awareness of, other peoples and cultures, the majority of community colleges in the United States have done little to…

Community colleges in the United States are facing a shortage of leaders because many current leaders will retire within the next 10 years (Weisman & Vaughn, 2007). Student diversity, technological advancement, and increased accountability have expanded the required skill-set of community college leaders. To aid the next generation of leaders…

A single qualitative case study design was used to determine the opinions of administrators and faculty from a community college that is considered to be transitioning to a learning-centered college. The researcher conducted the case study to describe, explain, and evaluate the phenomenon. The researcher also recorded facilitators or roadblocks…

This grounded theory study addressed the issue of how community college presidents foster active, broad-based participation in campus decision-making processes. This study was based on in-depth interviews with nationally recognized community college presidents selected on the basis of their work in implementing participative governance within…

The hero motif is well-nourished in Western culture through music, movies, and novels. Westerners understand the notion of a hero, and want to both have and be a hero. This extends to our organizational life. However, the masculine hero motif is self-focused, and, from our perspective, therefore, a failed hero. Joseph Campbell's hero motif of an…

In 1988, California lawmakers enacted legislation designed to increase the ratio of full-to part-time faculty in community colleges. Twenty years later, college leaders in this study report the legislation has had little success in increasing the number of full-time faculty due, in part, to confusion regarding the intent of the legislation and the…