Brave new leadership: with community college presidents retiring left and right, what's an open-access institution to do? leadership programs just might be the answer

Black Issues in Higher Education, August 26, 2004 by Kristin Bagnato

As community colleges grapple with some of the most pressing issues they've ever faced--teacher shortages, swelling enrollments and budget cuts, to name a few--those at the helm of the institutions are critical in determining the schools' success. Meanwhile, with scores of baby boomers on the verge of retiring, community college leadership also will be facing a shortage. Such challenges, educators say, only underscore the need for more and better community college leaders and programs to train them.

A variety of programs are stepping up to fill the institutional knowledge vacuum created by retiring presidents, and vice presidents who would normally be tapped to fill the high posts also are retiring, according to a 2001 study by the American Association of Community Colleges.

From residential two-year pro grams, to Internet-based teleclasses, to customized curriculum paths, doctoral and master's degree programs in community college leadership are the next wave of career education for the community college professional. And if a degree-granting course isn't quite on the radar screen, less formal weeklong or daylong seminars can be a good way to get your feet wet in the leadership arena.

These programs teach everything from financial and budgeting strategies to interpersonal skills, all with the community college in mind. Not only is completing one of these programs a good way to get a job--soon it may be the only way to find a position in the upper echelons of community college management.

"You can still find some searches where they don't require a doctorate," says Dr. John E. Roueche, president of the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin, "but the overwhelming majority would require at least an advanced degree in the field."

THAT WAS THEN

The 1960s and 1970s were boom years for community colleges. With funding at a high, many of today's retiring leaders were drown into the community college movement and found their career paths.

"Community colleges are a social miracle for this country," says Dr. Terry O'Banion, president of Walden University's leadership program and president emeritus of the League for Innovation in the Community College. With the doors to education open wide for many who would not have otherwise had access to higher education, two-year schools have helped to level the unbalanced playing field.

Now those leaders who were so motivated and supported are retiring, and with them goes decades of institutional knowledge and ability. One way they're making sure to pass on their knowledge is by heading up or joining the faculty of community college leadership programs. Look at any faculty list, and you'll see familiar names across the board.

"What is clear to me is that this profession has a culture of development," says Dr. Mark D. Milliron, president and chief executive officer of the League for Innovation in the Community College.

A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT

At the University of Texas at Austin, the renowned community college leadership program is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Its two-year residential program has graduated more women and minority students than any other, Roueche said, and not only does it seek out the talented; it places them, too.

The highly competitive CCLP is an immersion program that keeps students, faculty and guest lecturers up-close and personal, creating a bonded "block" that not only provides support during the program, but is a source of professional support and networking once the program ends.

That support isn't unique to Texas' program. All the programs emphasize teambuilding and peer-group support, as is evidenced by the common use of cohorts--a group of students who go through the program together. At Texas that group pretty much eats, sleeps and breathes together, going through each section of the program as a unit, and sharing time not only with other students, but also with faculty.

"We were surrounded by professionals who were steeped in practice," notes Milliron, a graduate of the program. "We had faculty who would say, 'That's a great theory, but let's try to put it into practice.'"

At the Colorado State University program, however, the students also are putting it into practice--the program is built around the working professional, and most classes are online. Students complete weekly and monthly activities as a group, and continuous requirements online. The weekly and monthly meetings require in-state students to go to a local community college for video conferencing, while out-of-state students participate via audio link.

Physical distance doesn't mean isolation, though. Despite the distance element of the Walden program, for example, the cohort system still works for its students.

"I feel quite a bond with the other students," says Greg Luce, a Walden doctoral student and partnership and marketing director at file League for Innovation in the Community College. "I feel a strong connection [to my cohort], and we provide a great support network for one another."