Developing Tomorrow's Leaders

The authors’ backgrounds represent experienced community college leadership and higher education faculty with academic credentials in community college leadership. These multiple perspectives add to the richness and strength of the book. . . .The book calls for visionary leaders who are bold, creative, and willing to take risks as community colleges become increasingly more complex in nature. . . .The major strength of the book is the presentation of the past, present, and future in very clear terms. Further, it provides a clear rationale for change that needs to occur due to the shifting environment both within and outside the institution. This book is incredibly bold and forthcoming as a model for a future community college leader. As stated above, this book may make current community college leaders uncomfortable, as it introduces ideas, changes, and processes quite different from what some current leaders may be using today. . . .Overall, this book is a good resource for emerging community college leaders who want to be at the forefront of change as they are gaining the skills and knowledge to prepare themselves to be effective future leaders. This book also provides strategies for current community college leaders who want to inspire transformation in the midst of the rapid growth and change that is happening at their own institutions. * Community College Journal of Research and Practice *
Dick Alfred has been influencing community college and leadership development throughout his 45-year career. Now, with co-authors Pamela Eddy, Debbie Sydow, and Regina Garza Mitchell, he pushes the leadership agenda in ways that community colleges have never before imagined. Community college leaders and trustees owe it to themselves to read this provocative book that highlights the leadership required to engineer the disruptive innovations that will position community colleges for their next evolution. -- Marcia Ballinger, PhD, Provost and Vice President for Academic and Learner Services, Lorain County Community College
Community colleges were created to do what no one else would: address a community’s unmet higher education and workforce training needs. Meeting that dynamic mission requires a generation of creative and bold leaders. This book is an asset for the fearless few who pursue the most important and exciting jobs in American education, knowing that their performance may well determine the nation’s economic future. -- Dr. Glenn DuBois, chancellor, Virginia Community College System
Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders: Context, Challenges and Capabilities is an important new book about leadership in community colleges in a future that will be dramatically different from the landscape colleges are operating in today. The authors describe the skills that leaders will need to be effective in tomorrow’s colleges, where a new generation of leaders will be found, and how they can be developed. Prominent in this work is an analysis of current approaches to leadership development and a blueprint for changes required to prepare the next generation of leaders. Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders is a critical first step in transforming the way leaders are prepared for careers at the helm of the dynamic organization that is the American community college. -- George Boggs, PhD, president and CEO emeritus, American Association of Community Colleges; president emeritus Palomar College
As Chancellor, the success of my district depends on great leaders, and this volume serves as an important “how to” for helping us all to think differently about leadership development. Certain to be another bestseller in the series, Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders: Context, Challenges, and Capabilities provides designs for bold, visionary leadership and creative innovation, vital as our complex environment requires seeing things in different ways. The authors develop important concepts related to new power structures and networked leadership that are extremely timely, and I heartily recommend the volume to everyone who is planning for the future. -- Rufus Glasper Ph.D, President and CEO, League for Innovation in the Community College; Chancellor Emeritus, Maricopa Community College
The authors' examination of the community college movement's evolution through the lens of leadership leads one to agree — the ambiguous future requires leaders who can identify real opportunities and implement change systemically. -- Dr. Christopher M. Mullin, Executive Vice Chancellor, Division of Florida Colleges
Community colleges are the backbone of the United States’ postsecondary system. This truly American invention provides a pathway to the middle class (and higher) for millions of Americans yet despite their ubiquity, they are often misunderstood and under appreciated. However, the ability of community colleges to continue to function in the uncertain funding environment of the future will require leadership that is adept, knowledgeable, nimble, and most importantly, well-trained. Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders is a timely call to action for the training and guidance of the next generations of community college leaders. -- Linda Serra Hagedorn, PhD, professor and Associate Dean, College of Human Sciences, Iowa State University
As a career-long community college educator, I found the ideas presented in Developing Tomorrow's Leaders timely, evocative, informative, and practical. 21st century community colleges cannot support student success if our model remains essentially what it has been in the 20th century. Authors Pamela Eddy, Debbie Sydow, Richard Alfred and Regina Garza Mitchell have the collective experience, vision and courage to both astutely analyze current community college reality and outline how to nurture the disruptive innovation and leadership necessary to craft a compelling and successful future. Anyone concerned about the contribution community colleges make to individual students, local communities, and society will find the arguments in this book persuasive. -- Dr. Kate Douglas, President, Corning Community College