College Presidents Reflect

Life in and out of the Ivory Tower

By (author) Stephen J. Nelson

Hardback - £79.00

Publication date:

16 December 2013

Length of book:

166 pages

Publisher

R&L Education

ISBN-13: 9781475807615

College presidents lead taxing and complex, though enormously fulfilling and rewarding, lives. The story that unfolds in College Presidents Reflect: Life in and out of the Ivory Tower is fashioned from the perspectives of over two-dozen retired former college presidents. The over-their-shoulders view we get from these men and women who have sat on the presidential perch provides an unprecedented view of the office, of the pathways to presidencies, and of the ways in which tenures conclude when presidents decide, at times pushed, to exit.

Does anything after leaving office compare with the status and regard regularly accorded presidents? How do their bully pulpits change from the power of the presidency to life? What are the high successes and unforeseen regrets born out of time in the office? From their journeys we learn lessons about leadership. We hear about how one gets into the presidency, planned or not. There is only one true source of insight and reflection about these issues and that is those who have been there, these former college presidents.
Much recent writing about the college presidency is shaped by one political agenda or another and reveals little understanding of the actual work of academic leadership. Stephen Nelson's volume, by contrast, relies heavily on conversations with those who have served as presidents and have the opportunity now to look back on the rewards and challenges of the position. It is important reading for anyone who genuinely wants to learn about what it means to lead these complex organizations we call colleges and universities.