For those who do not come up through the typical faculty-dean-vice president route, making the leap to college president can be difficult--but more leaders are doing it. As colleges find themselves increasingly shifting to a student success model and grappling with performance funding, some leaders are finding that their unconventional experience is exactly what their colleges need. There's much more readiness these days to be accepting of individuals who come from experience that's not necessarily in the academic arena, and more people from student development, public relations and marketing, and fundraising are being considered. Leaders looking to guide a college through continued change, however, have to find ways to satisfy academic-minded search committees while also using their unconventional training to their advantage--and for the benefit of their colleges.