Introduction: Community College Leadership: Perspectives of Women as Presidents

Table of Contents

“…Similar to the general literature on leadership, one of the main areas of inquiry in cultural theories of leadership during the last fifteen years has been examining the influence of gender and race on leadership. Some of the main findings include that women tend to be rated more highly on measures of transformational leadership (Daughtery and Finch, 1997), have less hierarchical and more collective views of leadership (Kezar, 2002c), are oriented toward care (Gillett-Karam, 2001), and are oriented toward empowerment (Duncan and Skarstad, 1995;Howard-Hamilton and Ferguson, 1998;Komives, 1994). Studies examining gender differences with respect to followers' preferences and perceptions demonstrate that both male and female followers tend to prefer to be supervised by men (Irby and Brown, 1995).…”

Literature Conceptualizing Women in Community Colleges: 1997–2007

“…At present, women make up 51% of the United States population; continue to earn more degrees than men, about 58% of all degrees awarded in academic year 2002(U.S. Department of Education, 2005; represent 61% of enrollments in community colleges (AACC, 2007); and by the 21st century may hold one-third of community college presidencies (Gillett-Karam, 2001). Because of this increasing involvement of women in community colleges, it is vital to examine how women have been conceptualized in this context.…”

Leadership, loss, and healing: A study of women community college leaders who left the presidency

“…A study of female community college presidents' experiences is important because even though the community college presidency has been well studied (Eddy & Cox, 2008;Gillett-Karam, 2001;Pierce & Pedersen, 1997;Roueche, Baker, & Rose, 1989;Stout-Stewart, 2005;Vaughan, 1986Vaughan, , 1989bVaughan & Weisman, 1998), the studies including women tend to focus on traits and comparisons rather than examinations of the women's experiences from their points-of-view. Past studies including female community college presidents tend to center on either advice for ensuring a successful presidential tenure or descriptive statistics.…”

“…Past studies including female community college presidents tend to center on either advice for ensuring a successful presidential tenure or descriptive statistics. Examples of these studies include comparison with male community college presidents (Vaughan & Weisman, 1998), preparation for a presidential position Winship & Amey, 1992), leadership characteristics and style (Gillett-Karam, 2001;Stout-Stewart, 2005;Vaughan, 1989a;Vaughan & Weisman, 1998), and behaviors necessary to being an effective president (Evans, 2001;DiCroce, 1995;Stout-Stewart, 2005). While these studies are informative about the general nature of the female community college presidency, they lack depth in understanding the complexity of the presidential experience for women.…”

“…(p. 80) Others place a less skeptical perspective on women's rise to the community college presidency and the resulting impact on increasing the number of women as chief executive officers in other types of higher education institutions. Two suggestions offer that (a) community colleges are serving as "model incubators for the advancement of women leaders" (Stephenson, 2001, p. 193) and (b) there is a greater proportion of women to men attending graduate programs focusing on community college leadership (Gillett-Karam, 2001).…”