Leadership and Diversity in University and Colleges

Kezar and Eckel (2008) claim that new programs and educational interventions have failed to make universities inclusive and enhance an agenda of diversity which enable all students to develop and learn with success. They underscore the need for making diversity “a campus-wide priority “ (p.380) which depends on the presidential engagement in a diversity agenda.

Presidents play many important roles that help to advance a diversity agenda that most other leaders cannot perform because they do not have the authority or leverage that is critical to institutionalization (p.380)

Only presidents have the legitimate authority to include diversity in strategy plans, budgets and reward systems. The support from the board as well as the campus wide dialogue about the diversity agenda requires the president's engagement in the diversity agenda. Furthermore, the president has a role in changing of curriculum and the measurement of progress and results.

Kezar and Eckel (2008) draw on several other studies when they conclude that leadership might be “the most important factor in ensuring institutional transformation and institutionalizing a diversity agenda”. It leads them to the study of the presidents’ leadership preferences focusing on whether presidents of universities and colleges prefer transactional, transformational or a combination of approaches – and why they do so.

The study is based on 27 elite interviews with college presidents selected on the basis of three criteria. First, the president should have significant experience as a president and had made significant results in relation to a diversity agenda. Secondly, the president should highly reflect on leadership strategy. Finally, the presidents should represent different types of institutions and sectors in different settings, institutional phases  and demographics. Over 50% of the presidents were colored and over one-third were women. 

According to Kezar and Eckel (2008) successful presidents see culture as a crucial factor, and it is important to spend time to learn what constitutes the culture on campus:

Successful presidents spent a year or more getting to know the campus culture, talking to different constituent groups and speaking to people of different races and ethnicities (p.395)

Kezar and Eckel's study shows that transformative as well as transactional style of leadership is used by most presidents. The different approaches are adapted to the target audience to produces different results in different cultures.

References:

Kezar, A., and Eckel, P. (2008). Advancing diversity agendas on campus: examining transactional and transformational presidential leadership styles.  International Journal of Leadership in Education 11(4) 379-405.