Pathways To The Presidency

Presidential hopefuls frequently claim they are qualified because their job experience is the same as a great president. However they ignore the failed presidents who shared the same pathway. This book evaluates all the presidents systematically to determine how prior professional experience influences presidential performance.

Higher education has changed significantly over the past 50 years, and the individuals who provide leadership for these institutions has similarly changed. The pathway to the college presidency, once the domain of academic administration, has diversified as an increasing number of development officers, student affairs and enrollment management professionals, and even politicians have become common in the role. It is important to understand who the presidents are in the current environment and the challenges they face. Challenges such as dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment shortfalls, Title IX, and athletic scandals have risen to the forefront and have contributed to the issues and role of college and university leadership. The Handbook of Research on the Changing Role of College and University Leadership provides important research on the topic of college and university leadership, especially focusing on the changing role of the college president. The chapters discuss college leadership as it is now and how it will evolve into the future. Topics included are the role of the president at various types of universities, their involvement within university functions and activities, and the duties they must carry out and challenges they face. This book is ideal for professionals and researchers working in higher education, including faculty members who specialize in education, public administration, the social sciences, and management, along with teachers, administrators, teacher educators, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students who are interested in college and university leadership and how this role is transforming.

As epitomized in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, women in politics may hit a “glass ceiling” or in the case of former U.K. Prime Minister, Theresa May in 2019, go over a “glass cliff”. Even though women are starting to experience more success gaining offices at state and local levels, women’s participation in the political arena is still disproportionately low. This book explores current research findings, development practices, theory, and the lived experience to deliver provocative thinking that enhances leadership knowledge and improves leadership development of women around the world.

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 practical resource helps aspiring leaders demystify the challenges associated with becoming a community college president. Building on existing scholarship and research related to historical origins of the community college, this book explores the role and function of the presidency, discusses existing demographics and the importance of meeting the needs of a diverse student population, and unpacks the required competencies and leadership challenges related to becoming a community college president. Including real voices from award-winning and current presidents as well as a step-by-step approach to attaining the position, this is an important resource that speaks to the needs of today and tomorrows’ community college leaders.

For serious historians and casual tourists alike, Pathways to the Presidency is an ideal travel guide to touring presidential homes and museums. Gerald and Patricia Gutek invite American history enthusiasts to journey through the private lives of our presidents--from George Washington to George W. Bush--by visiting the family homes of our former chief executives as well as the libraries and museums honoring their presidencies. Aided by the Guteks' extensive research and concise biographies of each of their subjects, readers of this handy guidebook can deepen their knowledge of these central figures in American history. Presidential birthplaces, boyhood homes, and adult residences have been preserved, restored, or re-created by a local, state, and national historical agencies. Among the sites described in the Guteks' guide are Jefferson's Virginia plantations; the only home ever owned by Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois; the Truman home in Independence, Missouri; and the first home of Clinton in Hope, Arkansas. Beyond residential buildings, the guide also highlights all of the presidential libraries and museums, such as Kennedy's on the Boston waterfront, Carter's in downtown Atlanta, and Reagan's in Simi Valley. The section on each president begins with a biographical sketch followed by site descriptions of their homes and libraries that are open to the public. The information needed to locate and tour each of these sites, as well as important details on admissions, operations, and contacts, is also provided. Pathways to the Presidency offers a comprehensive introduction to historical preservation and tourism connected to America's highest office and an invitation to learn more about the U.S. presidents as distinct individuals with lives rooted in the larger American experience.

College presidents lead taxing and complex, though enormously fulfilling and rewarding, lives. The story that unfolds in College Presidents Reflect: Life in and out of the Ivory Tower is fashioned from the perspectives of over two-dozen retired former college presidents. The over-their-shoulders view we get from these men and women who have sat on the presidential perch provides an unprecedented view of the office, of the pathways to presidencies, and of the ways in which tenures conclude when presidents decide, at times pushed, to exit. Does anything after leaving office compare with the status and regard regularly accorded presidents? How do their bully pulpits change from the power of the presidency to life? What are the high successes and unforeseen regrets born out of time in the office? From their journeys we learn lessons about leadership. We hear about how one gets into the presidency, planned or not. There is only one true source of insight and reflection about these issues and that is those who have been there, these former college presidents.