Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Supervisor: William Moore. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

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The purpose of this study was to identify the strategies and tactics community college presidents used to influence state legislators. Selected State Board for Community and Technical Colleges staff and legislative staff members were asked to independently name 3-5 presidents whom they perceived to be most influential with legislators. Ten names were nominated; however, only five presidents were invited to participate in the study. The research identified five strategies and supporting tactics presidents used to influence state legislators. The strategies and tactics were: Strategy One: Build and Maintain a Relationship with Legislators and the tactics were: cultivate the relationship, make the interactions worthwhile, make personal contact, and invite legislators to campus; Strategy Two: Know the Players and the Process and the tactics were: contact legislative staff, know the legislative structure and protocol, and know legislators' issues. Strategy Three: Become a Resource for Legislators and the tactics were: be factual and knowledgeable, be broader than the college, be an advisor, and be accessible. Strategy Four: Broaden your "Sphere of Influence" and the tactics were: involve the community and staff, work with other legislators, and be bipartisan. Strategy Five: Communicate and Frame the Issue and the tactics were: use State Board staff expertise, ask for legislators' support, make the message meaningful, and testify at hearings. The findings suggest that successful community college presidents must develop personal and professional relationships with legislators based on honesty, trust, respect, care, and genuineness. Presidents should devote time to learning the legislative process to determine when and how decisions are made and by which political leaders. Because political work is time consuming, presidents must involve others, such as community leaders, faculty and staff, in the college's legislative activity. All the presidents in this study exhibited similar viewpoints on particular issues that the researcher contributes to these presidents' ability to influence. The presidents shared common viewpoints related to how they viewed legislators, themselves, the college, and the community. Community college presidents must be actively involved in influencing public policy decisions that affect the mission, finances, curriculum, support services, facilities, and overall operations of the college. / Graduation date: 2002

The purpose of this interpretive, multiple case qualitative study was to explore factors associated with presidential derailments in community colleges. The case studies involved interviews, document analysis, and observation. The population consisted of four community colleges in the United States. These distinctly different institutions produced the data for the investigation. The findings revealed five derailment themes among the four cases. These were: problems with interpersonal relationships, failure of the president to adapt to the institutional culture, difficulty working with key constituencies, failure to communicate, and a flawed search process. Two of the five themes from community colleges related directly to Leslie and Van Velsor’s (1996) derailment themes from the corporate sector. These were: problems with interpersonal relationships, and the inability to change or adapt to the culture of an organization during a transition (failure to adapt to the institutional culture). Finally, implications for preventing presidential derailments and for improvement in the presidential selection process are also presented.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Supervisor: John E. Roueche. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

With the impending retirements of community college presidents hired during the rapid growth of the 1960s, consideration is imperative regarding how leadership vacancies will be filled. The turnover in leadership occurs at a time of increasing diversity in student enrollments; this gap is in contrast to the primarily homogeneous composition of current leadership. Although women comprise the majority of students and Latino enrollment is growing, the representation of Latinas in community college presidencies is woefully small. Without strategic intervention, the challenge of reflecting diversity at all levels of community colleges will grow in magnitude. The intersection of a changing student body and projected retirements present an opportunity to diversify leadership at the community college. The primary purpose of this research was to learn from Latina community college presidents about the conditions that influenced their ascension to the presidency. The conditions and experiences examined were (a) influences that Latina community college presidents identified as having the most impact on personal career success, (b) strategies Latinas have employed to overcome barriers or challenges on the pathway to the presidency, and (c) the organizational climate and practices within community colleges that either hinder or support Latinas. The convergence of these conditions was analyzed to determine effective strategies to support Latinas in achieving leadership roles. This study utilized mixed methods for data collection, both qualitative and quantitative. Data sources included interviews with 13 Latina community college presidents. Further, 22 participants completed questionnaires that provided demographic information. The following themes emerged from the findings: personal context, professional preparation, professional context, challenges and the leadership pipeline. In spite of the gains made by women in higher education and the increase of Hispanic students entering post secondary education, equity in the representation of Latinas in higher education at the administrative ranks has not yet been achieved. The findings suggests that trustees played a critical role in promoting diversity as the majority of the boards that hired the presidents in this study included representation from women and other minority groups. Moreover, although systemic barrier exist the Latinas presidents in this study refused to allow bias to prevent them from succeeding. Recommendations for further studies and implications for developing Latinas to gain access to the leadership pipeline were discussed in the findings. / text

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Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2007. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education." Under the direction of Barbara J. Mallory. ETD. Electronic version approved: July 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-115) and appendices.