This article was downloaded by: [The Aga Khan University]On: 19 October 2014, At: 23:15Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number:1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street,London W1T 3JH, UK

Community CollegeJournal of Research andPracticePublication details, including instructionsfor authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ucjc20

INTRODUCTION:COMMUNITY COLLEGELEADERSHIP:PERSPECTIVES OF WOMENAS PRESIDENTSRosemary Gillett-KaramPublished online: 29 Oct 2010.

To cite this article: Rosemary Gillett-Karam (2001) INTRODUCTION:COMMUNITY COLLEGE LEADERSHIP: PERSPECTIVES OF WOMEN ASPRESIDENTS, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 25:3,167-170, DOI: 10.1080/106689201750068371

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/106689201750068371

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy ofall the information (the “Content”) contained in the publicationson our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and ourlicensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of theContent. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication arethe opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of orendorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should

not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primarysources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for anylosses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses,damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever causedarising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to orarising out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private studypurposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution,reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution inany form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions ofaccess and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

The

Aga

Kha

n U

nive

rsity

] at

23:

15 1

9 O

ctob

er 2

014

INTRODUCTION: COMMUNITY COLLEGELEADERSHIP: PERSPECTIVES OF WOMEN ASPRESIDENTS

Rosemary Gillett-KaramLouisburg College, Louisburg, North Carolina

For many years, I pursued the role of a university professor, a great fortune for me, a

reward for loving to read. Moreover , my emphasis, women in leadership roles and

administration, gave me an opportunity to research women’s ways of leading. In work

at the University of Texas with John Roueche, I began to examine the modest gain

women were making in that most egalitarian institution, the community college.

It occurred to me as it did to others in university research (Twombly, Amey, Sagaria,

Townshend, Pancrazio, Duvall, Desjardiens, Moore, Keim) that women’s leadership

needed a boost. Not content to paint a dismal picture, several thinkers began to

examine what efforts and successes guided women’s leadership. Most of us had been

seriously affected by an insightful new discourse on women led by Gilligan (1982). In

a Different Voiced; was a beacon for research, allowing women the privilege of saying

there is more than one yardstick for measuring moral responsibility. W omen, Gilligan

stated, arrived at their responsibilities through care and concern, a different way from

the path of justice men focused on.

Now almost two decades later, this work is still a favorite amongresearchers who would come later to understand, as did the modernistswho were beginning to make their name �rst in Europe and later inAmerica, that there simply was no ‘‘one right way,’’ no one absolutelyright thinker. Consequently—history, philosophy, and man werequestioned, examined, and deconstructed to make room for othervoices, unheard from for centuries. One can only imagine the liberationof this new framework, one that gave many a chance to air our earliermisgivings that had, covertly at least, questioned the prevailingphilosophies that had silenced women and minorities.

For myself and others, as we moved into the sacred halls, webrandished this new framework with a ferocity that would singeour graduates. They were ready for the trial by �re. Graduate schoolsin education became more feminine; that is, more women were coming

Address correspondenc e to Rosemary Gillett-Karam, Louisburg College, 501 NorthMain Street, Louisburg, North Carolina 27549, USA.

167

Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 25:167–170, 2001Copyright # 2001 Taylor & Francis1066-8926/01 $12.00 + .00

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

The

Aga

Kha

n U

nive

rsity

] at

23:

15 1

9 O

ctob

er 2

014

to community college leadership programs than were men. There wasan inevitable truth that would result: More leaders of the communitycolleges would be women. Although many of us would bemoan thesmall number of women presidents in the 1980s, we looked to a futurethat would have more well-prepared women than men leaders. Fromearly numbers in the single digits in the 1980s, we can predict thatby the �rst decade of the 21st century, probably one-third of communitycollege presidents will be women.

True, states such as California can already boast this phenomenon,and others will catch up. For all our beliefs that women are competentleaders, we are still a phenomena that warrants separate study andunderstanding. In the pages of this issue, then, are the continuingstories of women as college presidents. Some are at the beginningsof their careers and some at the end. All educate us as to the lensof observation that is woman’s own. Before their stories are told,let me share my own.

I came to the college presidency by way of being a professor. Mypresent title is professor–president. Certainly a student oforganizational administration and organizational theory, it is oftendif�cult for me to not frame my present life in my past one. As aprofessor, I drew succor from new information—whether gatheringnew data for research, evincing a research issue, or simply readingthe new books and articles of my colleagues at other universities.An ivory-tower existence, yes; but one with some understanding ofthe need to carry the cause of the underrepresented ‘‘voice.’’ ‘ ‘My’’students had to have their awakening; their existence needed shakingand rattling. I was determined that my role as professor was an ethicalone—I was there to raise questions, to test truths, and to examineknowledge. Knowledge was certainly not to be passed on from oneperson to another; it was to be judged. Ah! What a pleasure to �ghtwords, to make war on thoughts, to pass judgment on ideas. An idyllicexistence.

This is not the life of a college president. One cannot live in one’smind; the world of theory is set aside for the world of practicalityand everydayness. One does not quote Plutarch or Plato when askingfor money or seeking a solution to outsourcing grounds or cafeteriamanagement. Yet, other lessons from the professor are critical.Management of any system is based on knowledge of task andpeople, on knowledge of the goals of leadership and the outcomesdesired. For me, being a professor meant to seek deeper meaningin all things, a maxim that aids me when Solomon would be the onlyperson who could ever solve some problems that come to thepresident’s of�ce.

168 R. Gillett-Karam

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

The

Aga

Kha

n U

nive

rsity

] at

23:

15 1

9 O

ctob

er 2

014

If I ever hear another person say, ‘ ‘we’ve always done it this way,’ ’I sometimes think I will act very unprofessionally and embarrass allthose wonderful people who are my life mentors—my mother, myclergy, my children. At the university, I could knowingly roll myeyes and declare that a particular thinker simply did not collecthis data as carefully as he should and could therefore be disproved.Not so as president: Rolling one’s eyes and declaring one’s employeea poor thinker does not work. What does work is turning thedeclaration in on my own thinking. What is the person really sayingto me? Is it that ‘ ‘I’ ’ just do not understand the culture embedded inthe college? Probably. I have learned that I am parenthetical to thejob. Others came before me and others will follow; my facultyand staff have been waiting for me to catch up to theirunderstanding. Some of them have been around 20, 30, and even40 years.

Being parenthetical to the job is enlightening. I really have only ashort time to accomplish my goals. I simply do not have the timeto ‘‘research’ ’ the needs of the institution for several years before Iact. My realization is that in the time I have, I must accomplish goodfor all the people who count on me—the students, the staff, the faculty,the alumni, and the community. My goal as the ethical professor hasbecome my goal as the ethical president: Understand my ideal, actfor the greatest good of those I represent, and be able to live withthe consequences of my actions.

My story as president is in the process of revealing itself. I amamazed at the lessons of leadership and the practicality of my ownactions. Where before I enumerated the roles and responsibilities, Inow live each role as different scenarios manifest themselves. If SACSis breathing down my neck for past faults, I cannot simply kill themessenger; I must lead the reform for the institution and rememberthat most of the people at the institution know a great deal more aboutthe requirements of an accrediting society than do I.

Perhaps I can summarize best by saying the professor as presidenthas moved theory to practice, and it is in�nitely more dif�cult todo. Presidents’ stories magnify our diversity, remind us of the missionof the community college—to offer another avenue for pursuing highereducation. Here, her stories of the trials and successes of womenpresidents teach us how to successfully demonstrate commitment,enthusiasm, and a strong belief in their power to chart positivedirections for the various cultures in which they work. These arethe journeys of women presidents whose lives are shaped by thecommunities they live in as they accept the challenges of theirpresidencies.

Introduction 169

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

The

Aga

Kha

n U

nive

rsity

] at

23:

15 1

9 O

ctob

er 2

014

Joyce Tsunoda, Chancellor for University of Hawaii’s CommunityColleges, is a Japanese American woman. She was the �rst AsianAmerican woman to head a multicampus system. She focuses onthe balance of her professionalism and her personhood; they are anamalgam. She credits Anne Wilson Schaef with the words for her blendbetween personal and professional life: ‘ ‘I honored my obligation tomyself. I discovered my voice and produced work according to thatvoice.’’ As we follow her busy life, we discover that voice. She revealsher Japanese reference for ‘‘Ls’’; those of leading, listening, liking,learning, letting go, and the language of the lullaby.

Geraldine Evans conjures up a Chinese saying, ‘‘women carry theworld on their backs.’ ’ Using this as a symbolic image, she envisionsa future in which change is carried out by women leaders, not so boundby tradition, not so enamored of power, and so very oriented towardconsensus management and caring processes.

In two accounts of women as leaders, Gwendolyn Stephenson andSandra Sarantos-Giannini examine the trends of leadershipencountered by women as they sought and found leadership positionsin American community colleges. Stephenson, using demographicsand the work force as her mainstay, challenges the new leader tounderstand staf�ng, students, and funding. Sarantos-Giannini, likeEvans, sees women as responsive change agents guiding the futureagendas of higher education to a new leadership challenge.

Speci�cs are the stuff of Cathyrn Addy and Ruth Mercedes Smith’sarticles. Addy’s take on the presidency is viewed from comments thatcolleagues made to her concerning their staff. Addy asked both womenand men presidents their views on their assistants. More importantly,Addy surveyed presidential assistants. Her study is intriguing. Smithlooked at an old question in a new way as well. Based on earlier studiesthat pronounced the president’s spouse as female, Smith is curiousabout Mr. President. She entertains us with poignant and humorousre�ections.

In the �nal two articles, Anne Mulder, and Jeanne Guthrie offerinsights into the personal nature of their own leadership styles.Mulder, in her inimitable style, speaks of grand entrances and gracefulexits as she ends her tenure as president and begins a life as professor.Finally, Guthrie offers a swan song; ‘ ‘been there, done that’’ is herrefrain as she explains there is life after a presidency.

Personally, I’m glad to know there is a professorship.

170 R. Gillett-Karam

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

The

Aga

Kha

n U

nive

rsity

] at

23:

15 1

9 O

ctob

er 2

014