GSE Faculty Research
Document Type
Book Chapter
Date of this Version
2005
Publication Source
American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century, 2nd Edition
Start Page
340
Last Page
365
Abstract
Every decade, about five thousand persons serve as college or university presidents. Over a term of office averaging less than seven years, the president is expected to serve simultaneously as the chief administrator of a large and complex bureaucracy, as the convening colleague of a professional community, as a symbolic elder in a campus culture of shared values and symbols, and (in some institutions) as a public official accountable to a public board and responsive to the demands of other governmental agencies. Balancing the conflicting expectations of these roles has always been difficult; changing demographic trends, fiscal constraints, the complexity and diversity of tasks, university dynamics, and unrealistic public expectations make it virtually impossible for most presidents to provide the leadership that is expected.
Copyright/Permission Statement
Copyright © 2005 Johns Hopkins University Press. This material first appeared in American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century, 2nd Edition. Altbach, P.G., Berdahl, R.O., & Gumport, P.J. (Eds.). pp. 340-365. Reprinted with permission by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Recommended Citation
Birnbaum, R., & Eckel, P. D. (2005). The Dilemma of Presidential Leadership. American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century, 2nd Edition, 340-365. Retrieved from https://repository.upenn.edu/gse_pubs/454
Included in
Community College Education Administration Commons, Community College Leadership Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Higher Education Administration Commons
Date Posted: 14 August 2018