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…

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…

Contends that executive-level administrators must provide strategic leadership of the institutional mission if their community colleges are to adapt and respond to learner needs. Reports that content analyses of mission statements from 102 colleges revealed seven salient themes: access, workforce and economic development, comprehensive…

Examines the roles and competencies of community college chief executive officers (CEO's). Discusses aspects of leadership and followership, and leader-follower interchange. Urges CEO's to assess themselves as leaders, identify and provide for the training of future leaders through planned mentoring and professional development. (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…

Describes a study of 2-year college presidents' perceptions of 21 related administrative activities to identify activity clusters of perceived importance and differences of opinion among presidents of public community and technical colleges and private technical colleges in the southern states. Discusses differences in the agendas community and…

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)