Pathways to the Presidency

Cooney, Matthew; Martin, Quincy

doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-6560-5.ch002

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The programs are structured with current presidents giving guest lectures and vast networking opportunities (Cavanaugh, 2017). However, the price tag associated with these programs can deter many potential aspiring presidents (Cooney & Martin, 2021). If possible, prioritizing professional development can help universities and their leaders, and perhaps the industry, by increasing success and potentially reducing the number of resignations (Dwyer & Sahay, 2023).…”

Section: Preparedness and Professional Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensemaking in higher education: the experiences of first-time public university presidents

Merrill

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This study examined how recently appointed, first-time public university presidents made sense of their new institution and position during their transition into their presidency. The information gained from these interviews is expected to illustrate how first-time public university presidents prepare, collect information, and learn about their new role and institution. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven university presidents who have served for more than or equal to one and a half years but less than but up to five years in the role. Utilizing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to analyze transcripts of the interviews yielded three themes and 12 subordinate themes.The three emergent themes were 1) participants felt ready to take on the role of president because of their professional experience and preparation methods, 2) after being named president, the participants proactively engaged with various stakeholder groups to develop relationships and extract information, and 3) participants felt overwhelmed by the responsibilities of the position and the demands on their time. This study suggests that the higher education industry needs to place a greater emphasis on succession plans to prepare incoming leaders better, new presidents should find ways to network with presidential peers to exchange information and provide support, a more significant focus should be placed on the work-life balance of presidents to avoid burnout and increase institutional success, and more opportunities to learn about the complexity and difficulty of being president should be made available to aspiring presidents.

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Section: Preparedness and Professional Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%