Kent Hanson

Date of Award

8-26-2011

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Margaret A. Healy

Abstract

Rural community colleges face many challenges, especially during times of diminished state funding and calls for greater accountability. The Chief Academic Officer (CAO) leads the academic enterprise of the institution and is responsible for setting the overall direction for program and course delivery. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the leadership approaches of rural community college chief academic officers. The following research questions were addressed: How do rural community college chief academic officers perceive their leadership approaches? To what extent does Situational Leadership Theory II (SLT II) apply to rural community college chief academic officers as they provide leadership in complex environments? Data were gathered through in-depth interviewing of six respondents, rural CAOs in a mid-western state. These respondents collectively have over 115 years of administrative experience (ranging from 9 to 34 years), including 48 years as CAOs (ranging from 4 to 13 years). Research data were coded and categorized to develop themes and assertions, representing the findings of this study, which were: (1) The context is a critical factor in the study of CAO leadership. Contextual factors are related to external and internal forces affecting the organization. External forces affecting CAO leadership are diminished state financing, responding to community expectations, accountability demands, and declining rural populations. Internal forces affecting leadership approaches are related to the culture associated with academia. (2) CAOs utilize three levels of leadership (self, dyad/small groups, and strategic) as they lead change in response to environmental forces. (3) Relationships and communication are key leadership tools utilized by CAOs. (4) Many aspects of SLT II do not apply to CAO dyad/small group leadership approaches; however, the prescriptive elements of the theory are limited and the general aspects should be expanded. Findings 1–3 are represented in a proposed Rural Community College Tri-Level CAO Leadership Model.

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