From the first female president of the American Council on Education to the first female and Hispanic president of Texas A&M University, women have been appointed to a number of high-profile presidencies over the past year. Yet, according to ACE’s “The American College President” report for 2007, women and people of color still occupy comparatively few presidencies. Furthermore, female presidents are largely concentrated at community colleges and least likely to head research universities. But in the following Q&As, female presidents leading a cross section of institutions are represented and speak candidly, offering words of wisdom regarding leadership skills, professional goals and presidential aspirations.
A Capstone Opportunity
DI: What has been the reaction to your appointment?
MB: The expressions of support and the offers of help — which I am keeping close track of — are well into the hundreds of messages. So it is clear to me that American higher education believes that ACE can be a force for the good, and they want to help me.
DI: What are some of the challenges you foresee?
MB: I’m hoping that the Higher Education Act will be going into law before Molly Broad walks into One Dupont Circle. It has been the focus of efforts by David Ward during his entire service as president of ACE. Nonetheless, I think we will still be facing issues that are challenging, given the decline in the rate of growth in the economy, issues around the federal debt, the political divisiveness.
DI: What are your top three goals for ACE?
MB: I, frankly, think that the strategic priorities that ACE has set out are really the right ones, and now it’s a question of [looking] within those overarching topics — like leadership development, institutional effectiveness, internationalization and lifelong learning — [to see] where we can make a difference and where we need to do some serious study before we know what kind of action plan to build.
