This chapter discusses the legacies that Eisenhower, H. W. Bush, and Obama left behind. It traces how perceptions of these presidents changed over time and evaluates how their example of leadership stands in history’s light, making the case for the enduring relevance of the Middle Way. It subsequently extrapolates lessons these presidents offer for presidential leadership and US foreign policy today: recognizing the limits of power; appreciating the value of incremental change, rewarding strategic foresight, maintaining tragic optimism, embracing moderation as a virtue.
One of the hallmarks of American higher education is the opportunity given to all types of students to learn and advance themselves as citizens, whether in employment or engaging in civic activities. The academy has historically struggled to enroll and employ diverse populations, and if this is to change, presidents must play an important and vocal role in building a pipeline for diversity. The chapter explores past efforts at diversity recruitment and considers the complex issue of diversity characteristics, resulting in attempting to understand cultural transformation from the perspective of community expectancy. The chapter concludes with a discussion of specific strategies for college presidents to heighten the diversity of their campuses.
Effective presidential leadership is vital to enabling the success of higher educational enterprises under the complex conditions they are likely to face for years to come. But college presidents must address a lot of competing leadership demands that collectively affect their ability to pursue strategic priorities, navigate a morphing variety of polarizing socio-political issues, please their boards of directors, and transform their institutions so students are better prepared for living and working in an increasingly global world. One of the most consistently pressing concerns expressed by many of these presidents in recent years has been the need to balance budgets in an era of declining revenues and increasing costs. The focus in this chapter is to help college presidents understand the evolving importance of orientation programs in higher education, especially how those programs can strengthen the long-term financial and academic vitality of their institutions in the rough times ahead.
Presidential leadership styles and institutional capacity for climate policy integration in the European Commission
