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COVID-19 has shaken higher education and exposed the need for examination of the current system. This, along with the mass exodus of community college presidents due to expected retirements, has shown the need for candidates that can take the reins and lead institutions into the future. As such, leadership and understanding of the community college environment will be paramount in the coming years. The purpose of this chapter is to explore how community college presidents are hired, the process behind it, what colleges say they want in a president, and what changes will need to be made to find leaders that can guide institutions into the future. To assist in providing a look at contemporary KSIs, qualities, and characteristics being requested by boards, a content-analysis of current presidential listings was conducted. This, in conjunction of a review of the literature, will provide insights into current and future practices of community college presidential hiring. Common themes are discussed and recommendations made on the impact this has on presidential hiring.

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The college presidency is in a state of disarray in the 21st century. In the past, community college presidents could focus their efforts on academic programs, community relations, and donor engagement. College presidents could be the visionary leaders of their communities by providing educational programs to help students transfer to a university or allow them to enter the workforce. The job has become more of a reactionary role in which they are required to make quick decisions in a crisis. They are now forced to focus on cybersecurity, pandemic outbreaks, faculty unions, local and state governance issues, and little-to-no state funding.

Higher education, globally, is at a critical juncture. Public demands for measurable outcomes from the college going experience coupled with student demands for on-demand education place these institutions at the forefront of change that they have never experienced before. The leadership of these institutions, therefore, is critical to protect both the integrity of the institutions and experience, but also to be appropriately responses to all of the different stakeholders who have expectations for these institutions and what happens within their walls. The purpose for conducting the study was to identify the soft skills necessary for effective college leadership along with the activities of and priorities for leaders. Drawing on a global sample of 400 college presidents, differences were noted between the responses of leaders in the United States, Europe, India, and Asia. The study concludes that there is a real necessity for higher education to come together to explore their future and to find a way to assure that these institutions can meet the multiple demands placed on them, and, in a way that assures that future generations can rely on higher education as a mechanism for cultural preservation and progression.