Effective Community College Presidents To promote the development of effective community college presidents, the Leadership Task Force identified the characteristics and professional skills that all leaders of community colleges should have and that should be addressed in any professional development program. First and foremost, a college president must thoroughly understand the community college mission. Armed with this understanding, he or she must be an effective advocate for the college’s interests and must have skills in administration, community and economic development. The Task Force also identified characteristics of an effective program format. Essential Leadership Characteristics Understanding and Implementing the Community College Mission Understanding the community college mission, with its sense of serving the community through serving the common good, is crucial for successful community college presidents. Some specific areas of focus in professional development programs should be: 1. Understanding and implementing the role of the college within its community.
2. Developing a strong orientation toward community colleges.
3. Creating a student-centered environment.
4. Valuing and promoting diversity.
5. Promoting teaching, learning, and innovation as primary goals for the college.
Effective Advocacy
Effective advocacy with communities, philanthropists, and legislators is a critical area of competence. Specifically, the community college president must: 1. Know how to work with legislators on matters that concern the college.
2. Be familiar with all aspects of fundraising and development.
3. Know how to make effective use of data and research.
Administrative Skills
Skills in the following areas are essential: 1. Governance and organization. Presidents must master board relations, shared governance and union contracts, and employee welfare negotiations.
2. Organizational development. Included in this area are the establishment of clear lines of authority, managing institutional change, and implementing quality improvement programs.
3. Promotion of diversity. Presidents must be committed to implementing a campus climate that values diversity and assures a positive campus work environment for all.
4. Assuming the role of a CEO. This area includes understanding trends in student success, understanding the principles of the learning college, promoting service learning programs and global awareness, and assessing student learning.
5. Personnel issues. Important aspects of this skill include hiring, motivating, and evaluating personnel. Also involved is an awareness of professional development needs for faculty and staff, the importance of team building, and acknowledging staff accomplishments.
6. Research and planning. Presidents need to know how to effectively use data and research to plan, make decisions, and respond to accreditation standards and assess institutional effectiveness.
7. Day-to-day management. This area includes facilities management, financial management, budgeting and planning, understanding legal issues, and making effective use of marketing programs.
8. Managing technology. Presidents must understand and use technology to promote innovation and success in teaching and learning, to enhance student success, and to increase organizational efficiency.
9. Managing relations with print and electronic media. Presidents must understand and consistently implement cogent and proactive media relations strategies.
Community and Economic Development
Given the emphasis by community colleges on workforce issues and economic development, community college presidents must be skilled in: 1. Developing partnerships in the community with business, industry, and government.
2. Developing linkages to high schools and universities to help motivate students to go to college, to ensure curriculum articulation, and to establish alternative routes to attain a college degree, including such programs as Running Start and Tech Prep.
3. Encouraging civic engagement on the part of students, staff, and the institution.
4. Participating in strategies for community development.
5. Implementing workforce development strategies.
Personal, Interpersonal, and Transformational Skills
The personal skills needed for presidential leadership are extensive. Of foremost importance are skills in the following: 1. Working with staff to promote the college’s vision, values, and mission.
2. Maintaining and demonstrating a code of personal ethics.
3. Ability to project the confidence and competences of a leader, backed up by solid accomplishments.
4. Ability to model diversity and succeed in any type of environment.
5. Interviewing and evaluating personnel effectively and fairly.
6. Balancing all aspects of the job.
7. Institutional politics, including the ability to build coalitions and collaborative relationships and to pick battles wisely.
8. Flexibility and negotiation.
9. Public speaking and writing, including the ability to be articulate and circumspect with the media.
10. Functioning in a way that demonstrates self-mastery and operating at the highest level of personal transformation.
Effective Program Format
In addition to recommending program topics, the Leadership Task Force concluded that a successful program format should: 1. Be accessible, low in cost, and of high quality.
2. Be tailored for working professionals.
3. Include mentoring components.
4. Make provision for personal reflection and assessment.
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