Opinion: The future of US college leadership

The AACC Commission on Leadership and Professional Development.

The name of the commission that met in Washington, DC, recently sure sounds impressive, and some of the people there were what I call “heavy hitters.” The first part of the meeting was spent discussing what exactly the charge of a new commission was and then what we would be doing.

I was waiting for someone to ask the question, and they obliged me, what is leadership? I looked around the room at 16 others and determined we would have 16 different definitions if we were honest. Our commission chair, recognizing the same thing, steered us away from that multi-day discussion.

We had a few presentations regarding various programs that function to expose people aspiring to become presidents. I did not participate in any of the programs prior to coming to Clarendon College. I was fortunate to work with presidents from whom I learned many things, what to do and what not to do.

The first priority we determined was to conduct a survey to review the relevancy of the AACC’s 12 Core Competencies for Presidents. This is something we will accomplish before our next meeting in April.

The issue I championed for was to establish some form of reference material I referred to as “President 101.” When we become presidents, we are expected to know everything when we sit in “the chair.” You can discuss some things with your Board Chair, but there are not many people you can call as a new president. I was fortunate to have built a network of sitting presidents and retired presidents I could call on for support and to talk things through. One of these, Dr. Roger C. Schustereit, agreed to move to Clarendon and serve as my Vice President of Instruction until we successfully completed the onsite visit from SACS. I expect, since I brought it up, that I may somehow be involved in the development of my idea. Our commission will meet again in January by conference call, and I expect to be “volunteered” to assist.

Some of you reading may ask the question, why is this commission so important? Why do we need to focus resources on leadership and professional development for presidents? Don’t we have enough development in doctoral programs and jobs on the way to the president’s office? The answer to that question is “no.”

Nothing prepares you to sit in “the chair” except actually sitting in it. On my desk is a copy of the US Constitution, a Bible open to Jeremiah 29:11, and a dollar bill tucked under them. I try to make decisions with integrity and consistency, and the dollar reminds me there is no one to pass the question to anymore. It is now my responsibility to make those decisions.

The biggest problem facing community colleges in the near future? Depending on what report you read, as many as 50 percent of sitting presidents today will retire in the next five years. The second part of the problem is that as many as 50 percent of senior administrators, where presidents are recruited from, will be retiring as well. Where will the next generation of leaders come from? That was part of our initial conversation, and I fully expect it will continue to drive the Commission’s agenda as long as the group continues.

What does this mean to the College? It means it is my responsibility to identify those who have the talent and desire to move up in the organization, and to do what I can to help them to achieve their goals.

My definition of leadership? Too lengthy to discuss with the space I have remaining, maybe Mr. Estlack will let me write about it later.

Dr. Robert Riza is the president of Clarendon College.