Presidential Transition in Higher Education: Managing Leadership Change

by James Martin, James E. Samels

Overview

Once rare, presidential transitions at institutions of higher education now command the attention of about one-quarter of the nation's colleges and universities at any given time. Though they occur frequently, transitions at this level are hardly routine, and American higher education has not developed a tradition of managing this process proactively. Here, James Martin and James E. Samels bring together a distinguished group of higher education professionals to provide the first comprehensive guidebook to managing change at the top.

Presidents, administrators, trustees, faculty, and others involved in a change in leadership will benefit from this wide-ranging discussion of the issues combined with specific action plans for the busy professional. The volume's contributors address proactive management, best practices for sudden transitions, and how campuses can turn challenges into opportunities. Also addressed are executive search firms, the interim president, boards of trustees, presidential spouses, and public relations.

Contributors: Lee J. Betts, Frederick (MD) Community College; Charles Brown, Stanford University; Jean A. Dowdall, Whitt-Kieffer; E. K. Fretwell Jr., University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Vartan Gregorian, Carnegie Corporation; Allen E. Koenig and Thomas H. Langevin, The Registry for College and University Presidents; Steven Muller, The Johns Hopkins University; Arthur Padilla, North Carolina State University; John Ross, George Dehne & Associates Integrated Services; Patricia Stanley, Frederick (MD) Community College; Thomas J. and Scottie Trebon, Carroll College; William A. Weary, Fieldstone Consulting, Inc.; Nancy L. Zimpher, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801883774
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	01/04/2006
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

James Martin is a professor of English at Mount Ida College and academic vice president of The Education Alliance.

James E. Samels is CEO and president of The Education Alliance and founder of Samels & Associates, a law firm concentrating in higher education law. They are the authors of Turnaround: Leading Stressed Colleges and Universities to Excellence; Presidential Transition in Higher Education: Managing Leadership Change; Merging Colleges for Mutual Growth: A New Strategy for Academic Managers; and First Among Equals: The Role of the Chief Academic Officer, all published by Johns Hopkins.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Part I: Context
Chapter 1. A New Model of Transition Management
Chapter 2. Presidents Who Leave, Presidents Who Stay: A Conversation with Vartan Gregorian
Chapter 3. Pressures on Presidents and Why They Should Leave
Chapter 4. Passing the Baton: Leadership Transitions and the Tenure of Presidents
Part II: Action
Chapter 5. The Role of the Board in Presidential Transition
Chapter 6. A Proactive Model for Presidential Transition
Chapter 7. When Presidents Leave Suddenly: From Crisis to Continuity
Chapter 8. Presidential Turnover and the Institutional Community: Restarting and Moving Forward
Part III: Key Issues
Chapter 9. When Colleges Should, and Should Not, Use Executive Search Firms
Chapter 10. The Interim President: An Effective Transitional Leader
Chapter 11. Leaks Kill: Communication and Presidential Transition
Chapter 12. Weathering the Storm: Institutional Advancement during a Presidential Transition
Chapter 13. Shaky Ground in Troubled Times: The Legal Framework of Presidential Transitions
Chapter 14. Partners in Transition: The President's Spouse as Overlooked Power Base
Chapter 15. Knowing the End of the Beginning: A Conceptual Approach to Presidential Transition
Notes
Bibliography
List of Contributors
Index

What People are Saying About This

John Moore

Of interest and value to individuals who have a stake in the effectiveness and welfare of colleges and universities and their executive leadership.

From the Publisher

Of interest and value to individuals who have a stake in the effectiveness and welfare of colleges and universities and their executive leadership.
—John Moore, Indiana State University

Editorial Reviews

A comprehensive and exhaustive treatment of the transition process and period, well supplemented by insights into more established presidencies.

Community College Week - Kevin Drumm

No one to my knowledge has brought the thinking on presidential transitions together in a scholarly work that equals this volume... This insiders' view is enlightening, useful, and well worth the time and energy required to digest the many observations and suggestions.

Journal of Higher Education - George B. Vaughan

Essays detailing the finer points of presidential change, from the role of the board to the use of an executive search firm to the changing role of the presidential spouse.

University Business - Jennifer Patterson Lorenzetti

No one to my knowledge has brought the thinking on presidential transitions together in a scholarly work that equals this volume... This insiders' view is enlightening, useful, and well worth the time and energy required to digest the many observations and suggestions.

— George B. Vaughan

Journal of Higher Education

A comprehensive and exhaustive treatment of the transition process and period, well supplemented by insights into more established presidencies.

— Kevin Drumm

Community College Week

A comprehensive and exhaustive treatment of the transition process and period, well supplemented by insights into more established presidencies.
—Kevin Drumm, Community College Week

Essays detailing the finer points of presidential change, from the role of the board to the use of an executive search firm to the changing role of the presidential spouse.
—Jennifer Patterson Lorenzetti, University Business

No one to my knowledge has brought the thinking on presidential transitions together in a scholarly work that equals this volume . . . This insiders' view is enlightening, useful, and well worth the time and energy required to digest the many observations and suggestions.
—George B. Vaughan, Journal of Higher Education

From the Publisher