Tag Archives: challenges

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The daily work of college presidents

Most in higher education understand the complexity of the daily work of college presidents. College presidents must balance internal and external concerns and stakeholders. Recently, the American Council on Education (ACE) released the long-awaited report, American College President Study 2017. The ACE president studies are the most comprehensive available and provide a wealth of insights into the presidency. In my third post in a series on the report (earlier posts considered demographics and the search process), I am going to consider the major findings of the ACE study and the implications for higher education. In today’s post, I will examine the daily work of college president to help provide background on the role of the president.

The daily work of college presidents

Arizona State President Michael Crow. Photo credit: azcentral.com
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Plight of the Regional Public University

For several decades now, state higher education policymakers have implemented regulations, policies, and legislation that created incentives for institutions to maximize their own prestige as well as the private economic benefit for students. The emphasis and hyper-attention paid to vocational and economic returns of higher education undercut the foundation of the liberal arts core as well as institutional diversity, as I’ve written about in the past. A recent Chronicle of Higher Education story about Western Illinois University and regional public universities more generally provide yet another clear example of how these policies are failing higher education, our country, and our students.

Photo credit: makeitmacomb.com

Colleges and universities of all stripes— but particularly regional universities— have been encouraged and some cases forced to pursue market-based strategies that led to revenue and prestige generation. 

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3 reasons why higher education needs optimist leaders

Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have little in common politically. Moreover, they think about how to make decisions differently. I was fortunate to attend an event recently where both men talked about leadership (full video is at the end of this post). While they offered great specific advice, one point constantly struck me:  they are both optimists. Much of the higher education world is filled with doom and gloom from reduced funding, waning public support, and criticism about costs and outcomes. Given all the challenges facing higher education, I want to share 3 reasons why higher education needs optimist leaders.

Photo credit: Reuters

Presidents Clinton and Bush faced numerous crises during their administrations. The address problems using a different ideology, management style, and decision-making philosophy.

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Understanding the challenges that led Sweet Briar College to close

One of the most significant stories in recent years within higher education is the closing of Sweet Briar College.  While small colleges do struggle and close, Sweet Briar’s closing is somewhat unusual because the institution still had a sizable endowment.  Yet, officials determined that with an inevitable outcome that the best course of action was an orderly shutdown.  But how did we get here?  What are the challenges facing Sweet Briar College?

Sweet Briar’s leadership cited a declining interest in women’s colleges and liberal arts colleges as a major problem for the institution.  In addition, they believed today’s students are less inclined to attend rural institutions.