Community College Presidential Leadership: How Presidents Think and Act to Support the Holistic Needs of Their Students

2022 ◽  
pp. 009155212110614
Author(s):  
Jorge Burmicky ◽  
Antonio Duran
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
College Presidents ◽  
Student Development ◽  
Community College Presidents ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Residual Effects ◽  
Development Theory ◽  
Community College Leadership ◽  
College Leadership ◽  
Student Development Theory

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore how public community college presidents draw upon data, their core values, and lived experiences to make decisions about how they can best respond to the holistic needs of their students. Method: Utilizing secondary elite focus group data with 15 community college presidents in Texas, we employed a general qualitative approach to analyze the data through a conceptual framework that integrates community college leadership and holistic student development theory. Results: Our findings revealed that community college presidents make decisions primarily through select data sources such as external survey organizations and their own core belief systems. Although community college presidents agreed on the most pressing day-to-day issues affecting community college students today, the way in which they framed their decisions and perceptions varied across individuals and institutional contexts. As such, common strategies for addressing holistic student support are presented in this study. Contributions: The residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to impact community colleges in the short and long term. As a result, community college presidents are pressed to develop leadership competencies to enhance their decision-making process. This study offers timely implications closely tied to community college leadership and student development theory to inform how community college leaders can enact relevant, data-driven policies, and practices to support their students holistically.

Using Social-Situational Learning to Create Career Pathways Into Community College Leadership

2021 ◽  
pp. 564-584
Author(s):  
Elena Sandoval-Lucero ◽  
Libby A. Klingsmith ◽  
Ryan Evely Gildersleeve
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Student Development ◽  
Transformational Change ◽  
Transformative Leadership ◽  
Community College Leadership ◽  
Graduate Assistant ◽  
College Leadership ◽  
Inclusive Excellence ◽  
Situational Learning

This chapter describes a partnership created between a community college and a university designed to create pathways into community college leadership. The program used social-situational approaches to learning, placing students enrolled in the university's higher education graduate programs into graduate assistant positions that had defined responsibilities for the college's key strategic priorities. The program introduced students to multiple leadership pathways through participation in a community college environment. Students engaged in work that significantly advanced the college's strategic initiatives. The program centered social-situational leadership development on multiple levels and circulated through the shared priorities of social justice and inclusive excellence across the community college and the university. The partnership viewed graduate student development through the lens of transformative leadership, focusing on equity, access, diversity, ethics, critical inquiry, transformational change, and social justice. These principles underlie in the mission of both institutions.

Using Social-Situational Learning to Create Career Pathways Into Community College Leadership

2019 ◽  
pp. 48-74
Author(s):  
Elena Sandoval-Lucero ◽  
Libby A. Klingsmith ◽  
Ryan Evely Gildersleeve
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Student Development ◽  
Transformational Change ◽  
Transformative Leadership ◽  
Community College Leadership ◽  
Graduate Assistant ◽  
College Leadership ◽  
Inclusive Excellence ◽  
Situational Learning

This chapter describes a partnership created between a community college and a university designed to create pathways into community college leadership. The program used social-situational approaches to learning, placing students enrolled in the university's higher education graduate programs into graduate assistant positions that had defined responsibilities for the college's key strategic priorities. The program introduced students to multiple leadership pathways through participation in a community college environment. Students engaged in work that significantly advanced the college's strategic initiatives. The program centered social-situational leadership development on multiple levels and circulated through the shared priorities of social justice and inclusive excellence across the community college and the university. The partnership viewed graduate student development through the lens of transformative leadership, focusing on equity, access, diversity, ethics, critical inquiry, transformational change, and social justice. These principles underlie in the mission of both institutions.

Community College Leadership and Technology

2012 ◽  
pp. 187-201
Author(s):  
Petra A. Robinson ◽  
Tyra Metoyer ◽  
David Byrd ◽  
Dave Louis ◽  
Fred A. Bonner
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Junior Colleges ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Community College Leadership ◽  
College Leadership ◽  
Virtual Age ◽  
College Leaders

Community colleges serve an important role in local communities across the United States. These institutions, based on their mission, seek to fulfill a social contract as partner in community development in the 21st century. Their function in local and the wider US community is undeniably important; more than half of the college students enrolled in the United States attend community, technical, and junior colleges (Pew Research Center, 2009). Community college leaders face especially challenging times given the economic, social, political, and technological contexts within which these institutions operate. This chapter brings focus to the various nuances of community college educational leadership with specific focus on technology in this new virtual age.

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