Katherine Haley Will
"Dr. Nelson documents the challenges facing college and university presidents in the 21st century through comprehensive interviews with 15 presidents of some of the nation's leading institutions. His analysis of the radical changes in the expectations placed on presidents by both the campus and community explains the delicate balancing act required of those who represent the academy. Dr. Nelson paints the contemporary college presidency in all of its complexity without excluding the deep sense of fulfillment this role continues to bring to those committed to the advancement of higher education."
John Hennessey
"Professor Nelson has written a valuable book that enriches our understanding of the job and role of the modern college president. Grounded in his own earlier scholarly research, this work paints a vivid portrait of how complicated and nearly impossible the presidency has become, with its overload, dilemmas, constraints, diversions, and ideological wars—clouded over by the fundraising imperative. Then, through remarkably productive interviews with fifteen sitting and past presidents of distinction, he shows how effective leadership depends on the transformative energy that comes from reestablishing the fundamental creed of the university and shaping a center of civil discourse. Among the many who will benefit from Nelson's thoughtful framing of the possibilities and promise of the top job in the academic grove are presidential search committees, for whom this book should be required reading!"
David L. Kirp
"Leaders in the Labyrinth is a superbly told account of the travails of contemporary university presidents. Stephen J. Nelson draws on candid interviews with some of the most thoughtful leaders in higher education to reveal how they handle the challenges of one of America's hardest and most important jobs. For anyone interested in higher education policy-making in particular or leadership more generally, this book is eye-opening reading."
William Simmons
"This book is an original study of the hurricane forces that challenge the leadership of college and university presidents in the present day. By focusing on fresh and first-hand interviews with fifteen distinguished presidents, Steve Nelson has provided a unique and absorbing account of how higher education is changing and of how these extraordinary individuals, guided by academic values, steer their ways through change."
