Dissertation

The Academic Senate as a Pathway to and Preparation for Community College Administration

There is a growing concern with the impending retirement of as many as 84% of community college presidents nationwide in the next 10 years. The average age of current presidents is increasing and the percentage over 70 years old has doubled. Chief academic officers/provosts and other vice-presidents have historically replaced retiring presidents, who will in-turn be replace by deans and directors. It is unclear who will be their replacements. Many faculty are not interested in moving into administration and those that do transition feel unprepared and overwhelmed. This study evaluated if serving as an academic senate president facilitated learning the skills necessary to become a dean at a California community college. Four research questions guided the study: 1) In what ways do deans who served as an academic senate president exhibit leadership readiness skills? 2) In what ways do deans who served as an academic senate president perceive their preparedness for leadership as related to the leadership readiness skills? 3) Are individuals with experience as an academic senate president more likely to serve as an instructional or students services dean? 4) In what ways do demographics make a difference in deans’ perceptions of their leadership preparedness? The quantitative method survey research was used. The survey addressed 12 skills shown previously as necessary for community college administrators. Respondents rated their expertise with each skill currently and prior to service. Data were collected regarding participants administrative preparation and demographics. Data were analyzed for 101 deans from California community colleges, 11 had served as a senate president. Findings show that deans with senate experience perceived a greater importance in managing time and documents, leading a group, speaking and communicating succinctly, and being open to new educational theories and ideas. They also felt more prepared to research data and find information to make decisions. The demographics of all deans were similar. Deans with less than 5 years’ experience are more likely to have served as a senate president. Senate experience teaches some of the skills required to become an administrator, and senate presidents should be included in campus administrative professional development.

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