An engaging report on the Lilly Endowment-supported program on Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission, led by the Council of Independent Colleges since 2005, showing the impact of the program upon the conception and practice of the American college and university presidency.

Monograph on the leadership role of college presidents and evaluation of administrators' efficiency in universitys in the USA - discusses educational administration, educational policy decision making, planning and management, etc. Diagrams, references and statistical tables.

“This volume combines specific recommendations, observations, and takeaways filled with candor, humor, and uplifting stories for one of education’s most challenging roles.” —FROM THE FOREWORD An indispensable manual for the most demanding position in higher education, The College President Handbook supports campus leaders in becoming powerful and effective stewards of their institutions. This comprehensive guidebook offers clear counsel in the form of candid essays by highly regarded current and former college and university presidents from across the nation. It pairs their expert appraisals with research and data to examine the critical issues that define the role today. The book's contributors acknowledge the broad skill set that presidents, and their executive teams, must cultivate in order to achieve success. Beginning with a macro view, the contributors address the universal questions of vision that each higher education leader must consider critically and understand strategically: Why be a president? How should campus leadership engage with our board of trustees? What tone should our actions communicate to stakeholders? The book's chapters offer concrete tactical advice in a range of key leadership areas and emphasize essential career skills such as managing financial resources and strategic planning. The contributors speak to student-facing concerns as well as institutional interests, and discuss personal issues specific to the office, such as weathering controversy, attaining work–life balance, and planning for post-presidential life. Drawing on the unique expertise of peers and predecessors, this work will prove to be a core resource for anyone who is or aspires to become a president or chancellor in higher education.

"A Study of Career Patterns of the Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities," examines the various career routes and other characteristics of first-time presidents. Using data from the American Council on Education American College President Study, CIC analyzed the career pathways; demographic characteristics such as gender, race/ethnicity, and age; major field of study; and sense of readiness for various presidential responsibilities of first-time American college and university presidents from 1986 to 2006. Comparisons were made between first-time presidents of CIC member institutions and presidents of four major sub-sectors: public baccalaureate and master's level institutions, private doctoral universities, public doctoral universities, and public two-year colleges. With a better understanding of the career patterns and characteristics of member presidents, CIC is adding to its leadership development programs for senior administrators of small and mid-sized private colleges and universities. Given the "graying" of the presidency (nearly half of all CIC presidents are over the age of 60), it is highly likely that in the next ten years a significant number of member presidents will retire. At the same time, many executive search consultants have reported that the typical search for a college president attracts fewer candidates--and fewer well-qualified candidates--than was the case a decade ago. Through a greater understanding of the career patterns and characteristics of college presidents, CIC aims to strengthen the preparation of tomorrow's college and university presidents. The data analyzed in this study provide a more nuanced understanding of the career pathways leading to the presidency of colleges and universities that are members of the Council of Independent Colleges. In particular, the approach of identifying the responses of CIC member presidents and making comparisons with other presidents by the four additional institutional groupings revealed important differences not observed in prior analyses. (Contains 3 tables and 22 figures.).

This book, published by the American Association of Community Colleges, contains valuable information about the nation's community college presidents. The authors provide a comprehensive profile of these leaders, highlighting different characteristics most presidents hold in common as well as important differences that emerge when data are cross-tabulated according to age, gender, and race. The findings on the risk and stress levels of the presidency could be used to encourage (or discourage) interested individuals to pursue the presidency as a career choice, and could be used by leadership training institutes to advise students about career choices and chances of success. The book contains a foreword by David R. Pierce, and chapters include: (1) "The State of the Presidency"; (2) "Family Background"; (3) "Pathways to the Presidency"; (4) "Assuming the Presidency: Routines and Relationships"; (5) "On the Job: Worldviews and Aspirations"; (6) "Views from the Trenches: Seven Presidents Speak Out"; (7) "Looking to the Future: More Views from the Trenches"; and (8) "The Presidency in Transition." The appendix contains the survey instrument. A subject index is also included. (Contains 27 references.) (CB).

"This is the sixth report in the American College President Study series, conducted by the American Council on Education (ACE) since 1986, describing the backgrounds, career paths, and experiences of college and university presidents"--Executive summary.

Although the language of vocation was born in a religious context, the contributors in this volume demonstrate that it has now taken root within the broad framework of higher education and has become intertwined with a wide range of concerns. This volume makes a compelling case for vocational reflection and discernment in undergraduate education today, arguing that it will encourage faculty and students alike to venture out of their narrow disciplinary specializations and to reflect on larger questions of meaning and purpose. In conversation with a growing range of scholarly resources, these essays advance the cause of vocational reflection and discernment well beyond its occasional mention in general education courses and career placement offices. The book's thirteen contributors all work in higher education, but they do so as biologists and musicians, sociologists and engineers, doctors and lawyers, college presidents and deans, and scholars of history, literature, and business administration. Together, they demonstrate that vocation has an important role to play across the entire range of traditional academic disciplines and applied fields. Regardless of major, all undergraduates need to consider their current and future responsibilities, determine the stories they will live by, and discover resources for addressing the tensions that will inevitably arise among their multiple callings. Vocation across the Academy will help to reframe current debates about the purpose of higher education. It underscores the important role that colleges and universities can play in encouraging students to reflect more deeply on life's most persistent questions and to consider how they might best contribute to the common good.