Date of Award

8-2004

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Katrina Anne Meyer

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if position announcements and position descriptions posted in The Chronicle of Higher Education, (2002) align with 1) the competencies established by Desjardins and Huff for the community college president in the new millennium and 2) whether these competencies vary with different board structures, majority board gender composition, or gender of board president.

Seventy-six position announcements where compared to a Community College Leadership Competency model in a mixed model research design, using both qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Inter-rater reliability was established by having two educators independently code 20 position announcements and then compare these results to the researcher's results.

The top six competencies, which appeared in 92 percent or more of the position announcements included: Demonstrates High-involvement Leadership; Creates a Shared Vision; Manages Finances Proactively; Influences Strategically; Ensures Effective Communication; and Maintains High Standards. The top 10 competencies appeared in 86 percent or more of all announcements.

Local elected boards identified three competencies significantly more often than local appointed boards: Creates a Student-centered Learning Environment; Invests in Professional Development; and Corrects Performance Problems.

Local boards identified three competencies significantly more often than state boards: Recognizes and Rewards Excellence; Establishes Effective Board Relations; and Maintains High Standards.

Elected boards identified three competencies significantly more often than appointed boards: Maintains Equilibrium; Invests in Professional Development; and Corrects Performance Problems.

Boards with male presidents identified one competency significantly more often than boards with female presidents: Creates a Student-centered Learning Environment. Boards with female presidents identified one competency significantly more often than boards with male presidents: Fosters Creativity and Innovation.

To determine the relationship between the rankings of the competencies by various groups the Spearman's Rank-Difference Coefficient Correlation was administered. The rankings of the competencies by types of boards supported no significant differences in the average rank assigned by each of the three groups compared.

These findings indicate that many of the Desjardins and Huff competencies can be found in position announcements for community college presidents. Although differences between board types were expected, only minor differences materialized within the framework of this study.

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