Presidents have difficult roles regardless of systemic context and in times of crisis their work is especially complex. While the body of work on presidents generally is growing, understanding of their role in crisis is underdeveloped. In this study, we enhance research on presidential crisis leadership by applying the competing values framework…

Over half of college campuses in the United States can expect their president to step down in the next five years (American Council on Education, 2023). The new leaders who assume these vacant roles will be expected to lead institutions through difficult and unexpected crisis situations. Campus crises can arise from political or financial…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore how African American female college presidents were socialized to work as senior-level administrators at higher education institutions in the United States and to understand how race and gender impact their professional identity development. My goal is that this research study will…

There is significant research on the president's role, but there is a lack of research on presidential transitions and direct experiences during those transitions. With the growing number of presidential transitions happening as the tenure of presidential tenure decreases, the importance of well-run presidential transitions becomes even more…

Many community colleges have an opening for the position of president and need to choose the best candidates to lead their organizations successfully in a dynamic and diverse higher education landscape. A review of existing literature revealed studies that have looked at programs preparing community college presidents, perspectives from community…

Followers grant legitimacy to leaders whom they perceive to be a good fit for the role, yet the conceptual framework for this study illustrated how dominant discourses related to gender and leadership continue to negatively affect a woman's potential in achieving legitimacy as an academic president. This study examined the predominant discourses…

Increasingly, community colleges recognize the need to center transformational change on equity. This chapter presents findings from a multi-site qualitative case study on how community college presidents and chancellors can keep equity at the forefront of the transformational change process. The three community college presidents and chancellors…

This study examined how recently appointed, first-time public university presidents made sense of their new institution and position during their transition into their presidency. The information gained from these interviews is expected to illustrate how first-time public university presidents prepare, collect information, and learn about their…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine humility as a component of servant leadership by describing the perceptions and experiences of presidents and senior administrators at member institutions across the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE). To accomplish this purpose, the researcher conducted interviews with a sample of…

College and university presidents can position themselves to be a great resource for the country and the world. This chapter introduces the perspectives of two presidents of the University of Notre Dame, Father Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C. who served for 35 years (1952-1987) and was a major presence in American higher education and a classic public…

Over the years there has been an increase in the turnover of Historically Black College and University (HBCU) presidents. As the turnover rates at HBCUs continues to increase, many higher education researchers have noted that HBCUs are currently being plagued by a leadership crisis (Evans et al., 2002; Freeman & Palmer, 2020; Kimbrough, 2017).…

Think you know what it takes to be an effective leader in higher education? You might be surprised. Why is it so difficult to find and hire college and university presidents? Perhaps search committees are recruiting in all the wrong places. In "The New College President," Terrence J. MacTaggart and Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran share the…

This chapter explores the ways in which critical community college leaders leveraged their leadership position in order to promote civic discourse and engagement in their institutions and respective communities. Five community college presidents from diverse communities across the United States were interviewed using a narrative inquiry approach…

Vice Chancellors, Presidents, or Rectors occupy elite public positions in universities. A cursory glance of the roll call of names across elite universities ('top 100') globally reveals the dominance of white males. Research has given us some insight into the profiles of these senior leaders and their selection, but not with a particular focus on…

Higher education is going through a significant period of change following the COVID-19 pandemic. The increased technological capacity and desire for online modalities are both a great opportunity and a potentially challenging burden. Although they serve the most marginalized students, community colleges are often vastly under-resourced, leaving…