Presidencies Derailed: Why University Leaders Fail and How to Prevent It

by Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, Gerald B. Kauvar, E. Grady Bogue

Overview

How do some university presidents “lose their way,” and why are their consequential dismissals given so much media attention?

Presidencies Derailed is the first book to explore in depth why university presidencies fail and how university and college leadership can forestall, if not prevent, future leadership failures. Former university president Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, along with professor Gerald B. Kauvar and former chancellor E. Grady Bogue, organize, classify, and explain patterns of leadership failures, drawing on firsthand testimonies from "derailed" university presidents, sixteen case studies in four sectors of higher education, and reviews of the scholarly literature on leadership failures in the public and private sectors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421419879
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	06/01/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	184
Sales rank:	651,430
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg was a long-serving president of George Washington University and the former president of the University of Hartford. He is the author of Big Man on Campus: A University President Speaks Out on Higher Education, Reflections on Higher Education, and Speaking His Mind: Five Years of Commentary on Higher Education.

Gerald B. Kauvar is the special assistant to the president emeritus and a research professor of public policy and public administration at George Washington University. He is a coauthor of Presidencies Derailed: Why University Leaders Fail and How to Prevent It.

E. Grady Bogue (1935–2013) was the chancellor of Louisiana State University in Shreveport and the coauthor of Quality and Accountability in Higher Education: Improving Policy, Enhancing Performance

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgments xiii

1 Themes of Presidential Derailment 1

Part I Presidents Off-Track

2 Presidential Derailments at Private liberal Arts Institutions Jason McNeal 21

3 Presidential Derailments at Public Master's Level Institutions Julie Longmire 35

4 Presidential Derailments at Public Research Universities Keith Carver 50

5 Presidential Derailments at Community Colleges Leigh Ann Touzeau 60

6 Firsthand Experiences of Derailed Presidents 71

Part II Averting the Train Wreck

7 The Upstream Solution: More Thoughtful Academic Searches 97

8 Board Dynamics: A Piece of the Presidential Derailment Puzzle 111

9 Lessons Learned about Presidential Derailments 129

Appendix A Year of Presidential Turnover 141

Bibliography 153

Contributors 155

Index 159

What People are Saying About This

Warren Bennis

Without qualification, this book is and will remain the classic on why university presidents succeed or fail. Not to mention the lessons also apply to all top leadership!

Jose A. Cabranes

There are few university presidents like Stephen Joel Trachtenberg—at once knowledgeable, creative, commonsensical, likable, and aggressive (indeed, relentless, even outrageous) in the pursuit of institutional uplift and excellence.

Warren G. Bennis

Without qualification, this book is and will remain the classic on why university presidents succeed or fail. Not to mention the lessons also apply to all top leadership!

From the Publisher

Without qualification, this book is and will remain the classic on why university presidents succeed or fail. Not to mention the lessons also apply to all top leadership!
—Warren G. Bennis, University of Southern California

There are few university presidents like Stephen Joel Trachtenberg—at once knowledgeable, creative, commonsensical, likable, and aggressive (indeed, relentless, even outrageous) in the pursuit of institutional uplift and excellence.
—Jose A. Cabranes, U.S. Circuit Judge (New York) and trustee of Columbia University, former trustee of Yale University and Colgate University

Editorial Reviews

Every derailed presidency has its own story. The risk of failure is high.

Washington Post

This is one of the best professional books I have ever read.

johnboswellblog.com - John Boswell

The authors provide a thoroughly researched account of career fiascos.

Johns Hopkins University Gazette - Sara Michael

In emphasizing the importance of presidential searches, and describing how some fail while others succeed, Presidencies Derailed makes an essential observation that is about neither success nor failure.

Canadian Journal of Higher Education

"Every derailed presidency has its own story. The risk of failure is high."

Washington Post

This book should be read by presidential search committees and purchased by vice presidents worried about their president’s success.
—New England Journal of Higher Education

Individuals concerned for the welfare of their institution should have an awareness of change in leadership and its consequences for the university. Presidencies Derailed is a good resource for those serving on search committees, aspiring presidents, and others interested in leadership transitions. This book certainly offered an overview of many timely, practical examples of derailed presidents.
—Review of Higher Education

A book with relevance far beyond academe.
—Harvard Business Review

The authors provide a thoroughly researched account of career fiascos.
—Sara Michael, Johns Hopkins University Gazette

Every derailed presidency has its own story. The risk of failure is high.
—Washington Post

This is one of the best professional books I have ever read.
—John Boswell, johnboswellblog.com

In emphasizing the importance of presidential searches, and describing how some fail while others succeed, Presidencies Derailed makes an essential observation that is about neither success nor failure.
—Canadian Journal of Higher Education

From the Publisher

A book with relevance far beyond academe.

Harvard Business Review

This book should be read by presidential search committees and purchased by vice presidents worried about their president’s success.

New England Journal of Higher Education

Individuals concerned for the welfare of their institution should have an awareness of change in leadership and its consequences for the university. Presidencies Derailed is a good resource for those serving on search committees, aspiring presidents, and others interested in leadership transitions. This book certainly offered an overview of many timely, practical examples of derailed presidents.

Review of Higher Education

Individuals concerned for the welfare of their institution should have an awareness of change in leadership and its consequences for the university. Presidencies Derailed is a good resource for those serving on search committees, aspiring presidents, and others interested in leadership transitions. This book certainly offered an overview of many timely, practical examples of derailed presidents.

Review of Higher Education - Kim Nehls

Every derailed presidency has its own story. And many resignations, abrupt retirements or terminations do not qualify as a derailment... The risk of failure is high.

Washington Post - Nick Anderson

This book should be read by presidential search committees and purchased by vice presidents worried about their president’s success.

New England Journal of Higher Education - Joseph M. Cronin

It's a book with relevance far beyond academe.

Harvard Business Review - Jeffrey Gedmin