How College Presidents Succeed - by Michael Nelson (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Based largely on oral histories, How College Presidents Succeed weaves together the stories of three college presidents, each a member of the same Virginia family, to draw out what makes for good and effective university leadership. For most of the past six decades, one or another of them (sometimes two simultaneously) have dealt with the challenges of leading varied institutions in a growing, politically and demographically evolving state embedded within an equally changing and complex national, economic, and cultural environment for higher education. In particular, each of the three dealt with issues of race and racial reckoning particular to their times and places. Working from more than one hundred hours of oral history interviews, political scientist Michael Nelson uses these conversations to reflect on the concept of leadership in higher education, while providing contextual material from archival sources, news accounts, and documents relating to their presidencies. Includes a foreword by former defense secretary Robert M. Gates and an afterword by former secretary of state James A. Baker III"--

Book Synopsis

Leadership lessons in higher education and what they can teach us about leadership in all walks of life

In an era when college presidents serve for on average fewer than six years--leaving out of personal ambition for a next post or being forced to leave under fire--there is an inspirational counterexample of leaders dedicated to the long-term success of their institutions. This book weaves together the stories behind what the Washington Post dubbed "Virginia's academic dynasty" to determine what makes for sound and effective institutional leadership. Here are the lessons of three generations of college presidents from one family, the Reveleys, who have successfully led major colleges and universities across the commonwealth of Virginia for decades, an ongoing legacy unrivaled in modern American higher education.

All three generations of Reveleys profiled here successfully dealt with the challenges of stewarding varied institutions--Hampden-Sydney College, William & Mary, and Longwood University--in a politically and demographically evolving state embedded within an equally dynamic and complex national, economic, and cultural environment for higher education. Now, in the Reveleys' own words--drawn from more than one hundred hours of oral interviews and thousands of pages of personal papers--this book tells their story and offers readers insights into best leadership practices gleaned from their unparalleled cumulative experience.

About the Author

Michael Nelson is Fulmer Professor of Political Science at Rhodes College and the author of Resilient America: Electing Nixon in 1968, Channeling Dissent, and Dividing Government, winner of the Richard E. Neustadt Award.