The Roles and Functions

1
The Roles and Functions of a President in
the Collegiate World
Greg Blundell, Jenny Craig, Walter Pechenuk,
Kristina Scott Janet Wilson
2
Introduction

• How has the role changed over time?
• What are the major roles and functions of the
  president?
• How are presidents selected?
• How are they compensated?
• What is the presidents role in governance,
  leadership and management?
• Who is the president accountable to and who does
  the president hold accountable?
• How do presidents handle issues such as academic
  freedom?
• How do presidents work with the communities in
  which their institutions reside?

3
Case Studies

• Case 1.
• University A is a Catholic and Jesuit University
  dedicated to developing women and men with the
  knowledge and character to lead and to serve.
• Case 2.
• University B, a public, four year institution,
  provides open access to high-quality education
  through a broad range of affordable certificate,
  associate, baccalaureate, and graduate programs.

4
History

• First American colleges were founded in the
  1600s
• Harvard College 1636
• The College of Williamand Mary 1693
• St. Johns College 1696

5
History

• Harvard was modeled on Emmanuel College
  Cambridge, educator of John Harvard and many
  Puritan leaders

6
History

• Harvards curriculum followed the English model
  of liberal education before the mid-1800s
• In the mid-1800s, many American universities,
  including Harvard, introduced a curriculum that
  was subject-oriented and based on the German
  model of specialization and seminar discussions
  and research

7
History

• Historically, the president was the scholar
  primus inter pares
• Leader and chief decision-maker of the college
• Head scholar of the institution
• Chief academic officer prior to 1950s
• Originally answered to a lay board, which
  evolved into the Board of Trustees

8
Role Function

• Figure head of the institution
• Work within the mission statement to set the
  direction of the institution
• Assist with fundraising
• Maintain or raise levels of educational programs
• Maintain or raise community relations
• Work with Board of Trustees in a variety of
  areas, including adhering to state regulations
  set by the Board of Regents
• Maintain or raise the quality of faculty
• Maintain or achieve a balanced budget

9
Selection

• Only 19 of current presidents were selected from
  within their university (Blumenstyk, 2005)
• From 86 to 98 (Ross Green, 2000)
• the percentage of women presidents doubled, while
  that of minority presidents rose 38,
• 25 of all newly hired presidents were women,
  while ? of new presidents at community colleges
  were women
• As much as 50 of presidents are hired as a
  result of using search consultants
• 70 had written contracts when they were hired,
• The number of presidents who had never been full
  time faculty rose by 20, and
• Newly hired presidents were significantly older
  average ages was 55.1 years

Ross, Marlene and Green, Madeleine (2000). The
American college president.Washington, DC
American Council on Education
10
Selection

• External president
• spends time working with local legislatures, the
  business community, alumni and financial
  supporters
• leaves the operation of the university in the
  hands of the executive vice president or the
  provost, and
• rarely gets involved in tenure, promotion, or
  hiring issues.

11
Selection

• Political president
• usually carries out work with outside
  stakeholders in concert with administrative
  duties, which include being a mediator among
  various university groups who are vying for
  control and governance
• sees himself as the chief employee of the BoT
  and owes his allegiance to it.
• seldom gets involved in curriculum development
  and research, and
• like an external president, probably does not
  hold a faculty position, is not tenured, is not a
  member of the faculty senate, and spends much of
  the time fundraising and lobbying for his
  state-supported university

12
Selection

• Academic president
• devotes much of his work to fundraising and
  public speaking but tends to concentrate on the
  internal management of the university and is
  visible on campus
• is always a tenured member of the faculty with
  the title of full professor and may even teach a
  course and carry out research.
• is responsible for providing the university with
  a vision and to encourage the institutions
  faculty to develop a curriculum around this
  vision
• also reviews hiring, tenure, and promotion
  decisions that are recommended to him by the
  faculty

In the final analysis, the academic president
is concerned primarily with the academic
excellence of the university (Olscamp, 2003, p.
32).
13
Selection

• Kent State Appoints Educational Innovator with 34
  Years Experience Dr Lester Lefton as 11th
  University President

14
President Lestor Lefton
15
Compensation

• Typically, at all institutions of higher
  learning, with the exception of universities that
  include medical colleges, the president will be
  one of the five highest paid employees(Ehrenberg,
  Cheslock, Epifantseva, 2000, p.3).
• Compensation- Determined by the Board of Trustees
• Salary
• Sign on bonuses
• Deferred compensation
• Other perks

16
Compensation

• disparities tension between president and
  faculty
• Most states have had minimal or no raises for
  faculty and staff members during the past two
  years, a period in which most presidents have
  accepted pay increases (Basinger Henderson,
  2004).
• Private supplements made up at least a portion of
  the pay for ½ of all public university
  presidents in 2004.
• Georgia Missouri - Who hires thepresident?
  Board of Regents vs.Foundations providing
  privatedonations.

17
PAY BRACKETS OF PUBLIC-UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS
The number of public-university presidents
earning 500,000 or more has increased from 17 to
23, according to this year's survey. Additionally,
fewer presidents are in the two lowest pay
brackets. The median compensation for leaders of
public research universities and public-college
systems this year is 360,000.
5
0 to 199,999
200,000 to 299,999
37
47
300,000 to 399,999
400,000 to 499,999
30
15
500,000 to 599,999
6
600,000 to 699,999
2
700,000 to 799,999
SOURCE Chronicle reporting
18
Governance

• The power of persuasion to gain influence
• Wield little executive power
• Must be adept at balancing the interests of
  universitys constituencies
• Must get buy-in from all involved in a given
  matter
• Must share governance with Board of Trustees

19
Governance

• Cannot be considered in isolation from leadership
  and management
• Leadership must show great dexterity in order not
  to offend any constituency
• Stepping on the wrong toes can lead to the exit
  door, regardless of the number of years of service

20
Governance

• Decisions must be made in consultation with
  important stakeholders
• President cannot sequester him/ herself from the
  university community
• President must remember that friends come and go
  but enemies accumulate
• Enemies may be waiting for the right moment to
  remove the president

21
Leadership

• In general, a leader is a leader, is a
  leader. (Francis and Koch, 1996, p. 19)
• Leadership views (relative to mission)
• Knowledge from experiences
• Interactions with students and faculty
• Interactions with off-campus constituents
• Influences and social distance

22
Management

• President as CEO
• Movement to business model of management.
• Presidents board of trustees must work
  symbiotically to manage the university.

23
Management

• Administrative Managing Team
• Provost
• Vice presidents
• Finance
• Administration
• Academic affairs
• Student affairs

24
Case Study

• Situation Alleged racial discrimination.
• The womens white female basketball coach was
  being accused of racially discriminating against
  an African American female student by
• segregating players based on race during trips,
• allowing more playing time for white players and
• causing a large turnover in the number of
  African-American players on the team
• Complaints came from students, staff and parents.

25
Accountability

• How a college deals with a president who leaves
  has a significant impact not only on the
  relationship with that particular CEO, but also
  on the entire institution

• What precedes and what follows this event will
  set the college's admin and operational tone and
  influence how both internal and external
  constituencies view the institution over the long
  haul(Martin Samels 2004, p. B15)

Benjamin Ladner Former president of American
University
26
Accountability

• Three distinct performance expectations are
  emerging where the president is expected to
• consistently raise significant funds,
• to be competent in all areasof management, and
• to maintain theacademiccredibility withat
  least amajority of thefaculty (Cotton, 2005,
  p. C1)

Dr. Edward M. HundertFormer president CWRU
27
Accountability

• Governing bodies should do everything in their
  power not to set the president up for failure.
• they must take every step possible and should
  absolutely practice preventative medicine to
  obviate his or her failure or, at worst, to limit
  the consequences if failure is inevitable.

Lawrence (Larry) H. Summers President of Harvard
(Cotton 2005, p. C1)
the under-representation of women in the
sciences might have a genetic basis
28
Accountability
29
Academic Freedom

• In the 2005-2006 regular session of the 126th
  General Assembly, Ohio Senate Bill 24 was
  introduced by Senators Larry A. Mumper, Jim
  Jordan, Gary Cates, and Lynn R. Wachtmann,
• to enact sections 3345.80 and 3345.81 of the
  Revised Code to establish the academic bill of
  rights for higher education.

30
Academic Freedom

• The Academic Bill of Rights ABOR
• Designed by David Horowitz

• a right wing activist who advocates government
  oversight of university curricula, day-to-day
  coursework and classroom discussions on college
  campuses (Smith, 2006, p. 29)

GOP Most Wanted Playing Card
31
Academic Freedom

• University of Colorado ethnic studies professor
  Ward Churchill
• Interim chancellor of the University of
  Colorado,PhilipDiStefano

32
Academic Freedom

• baffled by the fact that Churchill was able to
  lie about the differences between the American
  public and terrorists, while Summers had been
  forbidden to recognize the truth regarding the
  differences between the sexes

GEORGE NEUMAYR Professors of Stupidity
Executive Editor American Spectator Magazine
33
Community Development

• Inevitable presidential responsibility
• Relationships fostered
• Individuals who benefit
• How Individuals benefit
• Importance of sustaining community relations

34
Conclusion

• Presidents of institutions can face almost
  impossible expectations.
• An effective president must be able to balance
  interests and make decisions under incredible
  pressure.
• What decisions would you make if you were
  president of an institution?

35
Blundell
36
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