Anticipated retirements and relatively short tenure in office create a shortage of community college presidents in the United States. To fill the unprecedented number of vacancies requires a cadre of candidates well prepared for the demands of the position. Using Satir's change model as a theoretical framework, this year-long reflective study…

Although much has been written about preparing community college leaders, little is known about how presidents believe they might have better prepared for the role. Using presidential narratives from a national study, this article describes how presidents perceive gaps in prior preparation and offers recommendations to support the professional…

An in-depth case study examined faculty and administrator perceptions of how online education affected the organizational culture of a large, suburban community college. Findings suggest that in addition to structural and procedural changes, online education had an impact on faculty and administrator roles, teaching and learning (in both online…

Describes a process whereby a community college continuing education division can be effectively promoted within the college. Considers the following elements of program advocacy: goal setting; evaluation of the continuing education division and its internal and external environments; and devising, implementing, and evaluating advocacy strategies.…

Reports on a survey of 177 chief business officers of public community colleges regarding their responsibilities and the importance they assigned to various role functions. Highlights findings concerning the perceived importance of fiscal/financial duties; endowments as a job function; role in shared planning; and personal attention given to…

Considers the strengths and weaknesses of community college liaison with state governments; evidence of positivism and threats toward community colleges in state legislation; and the implications of legislators' perceptions for community college leadership. (DMM)

Examines evidence of the loss of quality in community college instruction over the last two decades. Argues that administrative leadership is needed to reaffirm the community college's commitment to excellence in teaching. (DMM)

Reports on a study of the extent to which ambiguous and conflicting circumstances contribute to role strain perceptions among community college division heads. Clarifies how working conditions and personal attributes affect job expectations. Finds experience, age, outlook, and job satisfaction to be strong influential factors. (DMM)

State directors of two-year college education were asked to rate the importance and time spent on 67 specific managerial activities and to identify the activities to which they should and would like to allocate more time. Long-range planning and staff development were of greatest interest to respondents, whereas negotiation was of least interest.…

Describes a study of community college presidents' roles and responsibilities, using structured observations of five presidents at work, a method utilized by Mintzberg (1968) to study chief executive officers (CEOs) of various organizations. Reports findings in terms of Mintzberg's taxonomy of roles and tasks. Contrasts presidents with Mintzberg's…

Describes leader behaviors that create a constrained and negative institutional climate, illustrating those behaviors with detailed scenarios. Urges leaders to maintain formal and informal communication channels to monitor how their behavior is perceived, and to use this information to develop positive leadership behaviors that can change…

Describes a study conducted to determine role expectations for directors of learning resources programs held by presidents, academic deans, faculty, and the program directors themselves. Indicates that administrators-directors and faculty differed significantly in the role expectations they held, especially with respect to instructional roles and…

Discusses the responsibilities of those who lead state-level community college governing boards. Discusses the importance of leadership skills, coordination of agencies, communication within the college system, confronting political agendas, and interacting with legislators. Indicates that good state directors are educators who know the value of…

Describes a survey of Washington community college presidents, deans of instruction, faculty, and governing board chairs regarding influences on and changes in the role of community college presidents. Considers conflicts in role expectations of various constituencies and the impact of longevity, gender, and previous college experience. (DMM)

Presents four case studies of the effects of changing chief executive officers (CEOs) on community colleges' effectiveness, culture, and structure, seeking to determine whether CEO succession phenomena in other contexts might generalize to community colleges and relate to governing boards' actions in the presidential selection process. (Contains…