Community College Leadership Competencies: How do Rural Leaders Measure Up?

Pamela L. Eddy, Ph.D., CMU

Eron Drake, Davenport University

The Rural Context

• 60% of Community Colleges are rural• 72% located in North Central and Southern accrediting regions• Small (less 2500 students) 22%• Medium (2500-5000 students) 54%• Large (over 5000 students) 24%

• Residential Living• 21% of rural colleges have

resident halls

• Distance Education• 52% Internet• 24% Broadband

Students

• 34% all CC students attend rural colleges• 49% attend large rural • 44% attend medium rural• 7% attend small rural

• Demographics• 74% White

(54% suburban/45% urban)• 41% Full-time

(32% suburban/31% urban)

Faculty

• Recruiting faculty• Shortages in specialized fields• Lack of culture• Difficulty in recruiting diverse faculty

• Retaining faculty• Early and mid-career turnover• Familiarity with rural areas

• Faculty Development• Led by individuals/committees• Focus on teaching• Support Institutional Missions

Leaders

• Pending retirements (45% of all CC presidents are 61 or older)

• Truth in Advertising

• Grow Your Own Programs• MidSouth Partnership for Rural

Community Colleges• Focus on real problems

• Leadership Development

AACC Competencies for Community College Leaders

• Organizational Strategy

• Resource Management

• Communication

• Collaboration

• Community College Advocacy

• Professionalism

Research Questions

1. How do current rural community college leaders enact the competencies outlined by the AACC?

2. Does leading a rural college make a difference as to what competencies are most critical?

Methods

Phenomenology—understanding leading in a rural locale

One Mid-Western state

President/Vice President Academics

21 Interviews—13 community colleges

10 presidents

11 vice-presidents

Findings

• Key competencies• Collaboration• Resource Management• Professionalism

EMERGING THEMES• Leader of the Pack• Something out of Nothing• Going to the Fair

Leader of the Pack

• Called upon for community convener

• Player in partnerships/economic development

• Assumed roles of advocacy and good communication lines

Something out of Nothing

• Resource constraints more pronounced

• Key ties to economic development

• Community College viewed as a key asset

Going to the Fair

• Insider versus outsider status

• Fishbowl status

• Representing the college at all times

Discussion

• Generic Nature of AACC Competencies• Implications of context• Rating of importance

• Rural Roots• Leader Schema• Communication patterns

• Impact• Tight coupling• See impacts quicker• Deep roots

Implications

• Rural college leaders are the college• Hiring decisions• Training

• Role of the rural colleges as a “stepping-stone” for larger presidencies

• Development of shared meaning• Defining AACC Competencies • Framing change

Conclusion

• Commitment to partnerships heightened

• Need for leadership development

• Frontier mentality

• Multiple meaning interpretations of AACC

• Context driven—changes of outfits

Thank you