The United States is home to more than 1,100 community colleges. Since 2012, there have been more than 900 community college presidential transitions. The average tenure of community college presidents is dropping, too, to 6.5 years (a few years back it was 8.5 years). This is a ton of change in a vital part of our educational ecosystem. Getting a handle on what new community college presidents are doing, thinking, and addressing their positions is the focus of Generation X Presidents Leading Community Colleges: New Challenges, New Leaders.
Edited by Martha M. Ellis, Vice President and Dean of the graduate faculty and professor in the Community College Leadership Program at the Roueche Graduate Center, National American University, and Linda L. Garcia, Assistant Director of College Relations for the Center for Community College Student Engagement at the University of Texas, Austin, the book is a collection of essays from the editors and from community college presidents. Anchoring the work are results from a survey of 19 new “Gen X” community college presidents. The book offers a slightly different viewpoint on well-known challenges and opportunities in the world of community college leadership.
The authors posit four generations: Silent (born before 1946), Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1980), and Millennial (1981-1986) and claim that they have different work ethics, ways of managing, and perspectives on work. The source of this categorization is general studies of workplace themes and management. It comes from general business literature. My reading of these generational studies is that they can be useful for marketing and communication, but are of limited value when it comes to individuals, especially people who work in highly specialized roles.
Moving beyond this problematic foundation, the chapters provide more substantive discussions of issues such as the presidential search process, mission, mentoring, strategic planning and how different presidents have crafted work-life balance and authentic college leadership. The newer leaders talk about their positions from a perspective of humility and opportunity. They are all driven by the work. The greatest value the book offers is in these personal reflections of college presidents.
As for the generational distinctions that are woven throughout, they tend to diminish in relevance the more closely one reads. The authors are correct in noting that there are large shifts in the nature of work at community colleges, as well as the priorities and expectations of those that study and work at these institutions. But is the generational lens the best way to examine these shifts?
In contrast, I believe that there are significant similarities in all college presidents. Further, I think that these similarities will tend to eclipse any generational differences, or other differences in age, ethnicity, background and other demographics. People do not become college presidents accidentally. College presidents share common traits. They tend to be ambitious, driven people. They more often than not have high level skills and talents. They have chosen to work in higher education, which means that they have given thought about the value and impact of their work. All these characteristics tend to matter more than whether or not one grew up in a generation that distrusted authority more or less than the earlier generation.
An additional key trait found across sectors and segments: successful college presidents change and adapt with their situations. I wonder if flipping things and focusing more on student wants and expectations, or the college’s culture, might prove to be a more fruitful line of inquiry in how community college presidents lead.
David Potash