Early in her tenure as president of Mount Holyoke College, Joanne V. Creighton faced crises as students staged protests and occupied academic buildings; the alumnae association threatened a revolt; and a distinguished professor became the subject of a major scandal. Yet Creighton weathered each storm, serving for nearly fifteen years in office and shepherding the college through a notable revitalization. In her autobiography, The Educational Odyssey of a Woman College President, Creighton situates her tenure at Mount Holyoke within a life and career that have traversed breathtaking changes in higher education and social life. Having held multiple roles in academia spanning undergraduate, professor, and president, Creighton served at small colleges and large public universities and experienced the dramatic changes facing women across the academy. From her girlhood in Wisconsin to the presidency of a storied women's college, she bears witness to the forces that have reshaped higher education for women and continues to advocate for the liberal arts and sciences.
Women and Leadership in Higher Education is the first volume in a new series of books (Women and Leadership: Research, Theory, and Practice) that will be published in upcoming years to inform leadership scholars and practitioners. This book links theory, research, and practice of women’s leadership in various higher education contexts and offers suggestions for future leadership development strategies. This volume focuses on the field of higher education, particularly within the context of the United States—a sector that serves a majority of students at all degree levels who are women, yet lacks parity by women in senior leadership roles. The book’s fifteen chapters present both hard facts regarding the current demographic realities within higher education and fresh thinking about how progress can and must be made in order for U.S. higher education to benefit from the perspectives of women at the senior leadership table. The book’s opening section provides data and analysis in addressing “The State of Women and Leadership in Higher Education”; the second section offers descriptions of three effective models for women’s leadership development at the national and institutional levels; the third section draws from recent research to present “Women’s Experiences and Contributions in Higher Education Leadership.” The book concludes with five shorter chapters written by current and former college and university presidents who offer “Lessons from the Trenches” for the benefit of those who follow. In short, the thesis of the book is that our world is changing; higher education collectively, as well as institutions of all types, must change. Bringing more women into leadership is critical to the goal of moving our society and world forward in healthier ways.
Based on years of research, this book provides an analysis of the data gathered from extensive interviews with university presidents. Each of these women offers candid information about their lifelong journey to becoming a leader. They reveal their childhood and adolescent experiences including facts about their personality, schooling, activities, leadership positions, employment, influential individuals, significant events, opportunities, awards, recognitions, college plans, and goals. The discussion about the leaders’ college years provides insight into what influenced their leadership development, decisions, and perspectives.
"Although it is commonly known that college students and other activists, as well as politicians, actively participated in the fight for and against civil rights in the middle decades of the twentieth century, historical accounts have not adequately focused on the roles that the nation's college presidents played in the debates concerning racism. Focusing on the period between 1948 and 1968, The Campus Color Line sheds light on the important place of college presidents in the struggle for racial parity. College presidents, during a time of violence and unrest, initiated and shaped racial policies and practices inside and outside of the educational sphere. The Campus Color Line illuminates how the legacy of academic leaders' actions continues to influence the unfinished struggle for Black freedom and racial equity in education and beyond."--
Praise for On Being Presidential "This is the best book I've ever read on being a college president."—Arthur Levine, president, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, and president emeritus, Teachers College, Columbia University "A must-read for anyone involved in higher education. Susan Resneck Pierce's cautionary tales and commonsense approach to college management present, in a very entertaining way, the 'dos' and 'don'ts' of effective postsecondary academic leadership. Highly recommended... I am so enthusiastic that I plan to share On Being Presidential with two new university presidents!"—Barbara Young, vice-chair, Sweet Briar College Board of Directors, and two-time appointee to the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees "Susan Pierce provides an insightful guide to the successful presidency, lessons based not on theory but gleaned from meaningful experiences. Nearly every page contains pearls of wisdom both for college and university presidents and for those who aspire to lead campuses."—Constantine W. Curris, president emeritus, American Association of State Colleges and Universities
This book assists aspiring and current women leaders on how to advance into higher education leadership roles. Drawn from research and the lived experiences of women and non-binary people in higher education leadership, this book serves as a guide in understanding the gender disparity in higher education leadership and how women leaders forge pathways to promotion and success through systemic barriers, obstacles, and a lack of representation. A critical review of traditional leadership theory offers an opportunity to reimagine how effective leadership is framed and valued in higher education. Chapter authors and case studies explore the intersections of multiple identities and their impacts on leadership through lenses, including institutional type, functional areas, ability, gender identity, sexuality, race, and ethnicity. Focusing on a bridge from theory to practice that is designed to empower and inspire women leaders at all levels of the spectrum, this book is ideal reading for higher education scholars, students, and faculty aspiring to become leaders.
The beloved bestselling author of The Road from Coorain and True North continues her remarkable autobiography with an account of her decade as the first woman president of Smith College–a time when she was faced with the challenge of reinventing women’s education and with the demands of her own life. Conway took on the helm at Smith at the height of exploding culture wars and the rising popularity of coeducation. With the college’s future at stake, she battled conservative faculty, ossified traditions, and doubtful funders to turn Smith into a place committed to preparing young women for the new realities of the future. Through it all, Conway served as an inspiration to thousands of students, while balancing the demands of her public role against the private pressures of coping with her husband’s bipolar disorder. A moving tribute to the value of single-sex education and to one woman’s achievements, A Woman’s Education is sure to become a classic.
“A book that both taught me so much and also kept me on the edge of my seat. It is an invaluable text from a supremely talented writer.” —Clint Smith, author of How the Word is Passed The definitive history of the pervasiveness of racial inequality in American higher education America’s colleges and universities have a shameful secret: they have never given Black people a fair chance to succeed. From its inception, our higher education system was not built on equality or accessibility, but on educating—and prioritizing—white students. Black students have always been an afterthought. While governments and private donors funnel money into majority white schools, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and other institutions that have high enrollments of Black students, are struggling to survive, with state legislatures siphoning away federal funds that are legally owed to these schools. In The State Must Provide, Adam Harris reckons with the history of a higher education system that has systematically excluded Black people from its benefits. Harris weaves through the legal, social, and political obstacles erected to block equitable education in the United States, studying the Black Americans who fought their way to an education, pivotal Supreme Court cases like Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, and the government’s role in creating and upholding a segregated education system. He explores the role that Civil War–era legislation intended to bring agricultural education to the masses had in creating the HBCUs that have played such a major part in educating Black students when other state and private institutions refused to accept them. The State Must Provide is the definitive chronicle of higher education’s failed attempts at equality and the long road still in front of us to remedy centuries of racial discrimination—and poses a daring solution to help solve the underfunding of HBCUs. Told through a vivid cast of characters, The State Must Provide examines what happened before and after schools were supposedly integrated in the twentieth century, and why higher education remains broken to this day.
Revamp senior administration organization for more effective governance Governance Reconsidered: How Boards, Presidents, Administrators, and Faculty Can Help Their Colleges Thrive takes an in-depth look at the current practice of governance in higher education and explores solutions for more effective functioning. Written by a former college president, the book provides an insider's perspective on the growing tensions around the traditional shared governance model and identifies the key challenges facing trustees, presidents, senior administrators, and faculty. Traditional shared governance operations are typically time-consuming, process-laden, and slow to respond to the internal and external forces acting upon modern educational institutions. Higher education is facing increasing political and economic pressure, and senior administration frequently needs the flexibility to make institutional decisions quickly. Using recent public scandals as examples, Governance Reconsidered illustrates how the tension between the need for timely decisions and action versus the importance of mission and academic quality is creating a dramatic systemic problem. The book provides practical advice on the issues at the heart of the matter, including: The nature and pace of change on campus, including the pressures facing higher education Clarity about the roles and responsibilities of trustees, the president, and the faculty The campus community's role in decision-making activities How thriving universities can govern collaboratively The book also addresses the brand new challenges that affect higher education governance, including MOOCs, online learning, and rising questions about value and cost. Campus leaders must work together effectively to boost higher education, and Governance Reconsidered contains the questions and answers integral to implementing effective governance.
Although much has been written about leaders and leadership, we unfortunately know little about the women who fill this particular role. This book—the first in a series that explores women leaders in different contexts—remedies this gap by presenting the reflections of nine women community college, college, and university presidents on what they see as key tenets of leadership, illuminated by pivotal events in their careers.These presidents know the power of words, and in telling their stories through these interviews with the authors, they let us know who they are, what their visions are, and what they value.While they express some differences in their emphases on particular leadership characteristics, they show remarkable unanimity in their beliefs as to which are the most important—competence, credibility, and communication. The participants discuss the growing opportunities for women in higher education administration, without minimizing the barriers that still exist, nor the potential for backlash against powerful and assertive women. They stress the need for women to be very careful about making the correct choices for themselves; to balance personal life and work; and to appropriately prepare for leadership. This book both breaks new ground, and offers guidance for women who aspire to positions of leadership—in any field of endeavor. The Presidents: Gretchen M. Bataille, University of North Texas, Denton, TexasBarbara Douglass, Northwestern Connecticut Community College, Winsted, CT Mildred García, California State University, Dominguez HillsCarol C. Harter, University of Nevada, Las VegasMamie Howard-Golladay, Sullivan County Community College, Loch Sheldrake, NYMartha T. Nesbitt, Gainesville State College, Gainesville, GeorgiaPamela Sue Shockley-Zalabak, University of Colorado, Colorado SpringsBetty L. Siegel, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GAKaren Gayton Swisher, Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence, KS Each confronts her world with grace, her work with passion, and her life with enthusiasm. The Series: Pathways to Leadership is a series about successful women who have reached the pinnacle of their careers. It features stories about extraordinary women who have found paths to success—whether it’s leading a college or university or becoming successful scholars in science and engineering or thriving in some other male-dominated arena.
