Leadership for Tomorrow's Community Colleges.

Community colleges, traditionally resistant to change, must undergo a major transformation in order to become major democratizing and economic forces in a rapidly evolving future. Strong leadership will be needed to bring about the changes. However, fewer and fewer well prepared individuals are entering community college administration, while seasoned administrators are retiring at a rapid rate. In response to the limited number of strong candidates, colleges have resorted to problematical hiring practices resulting in the appointment of weak administrators incapable of leading transformation. While there are not any quick solutions for solving the problems, there are steps colleges can take. Introduction Throughout areas of public service, the need for change reverberates. The term change has become synonymous with a better future and the avenue to prosperity while the lack of change has become tantamount to failure. Nowhere does the change narrative ring louder and truer than in higher education (Bok, 2006; Commission on the Future of Higher Education, 2006; Guskin & Marcy, 2003; Lorenzo & LeCroy, 1994). Maw who have spent careers in community colleges realize that their institutions, like the rest of higher education, must undergo significant change in order to stay viable in the future. However, as with university counterparts and other sectors of public service, there is a large gap between what community college leaders say they need to do to prepare their colleges for the future, and what actually is done. The way maw community colleges function-with their roots grounded in outdated management practices, outmoded instructional delivery systems, and archaic approaches to student and institutional support services--simply will not work for institutions that are charged with serving as major democratizing forces and economic engines for a changing population, a changing world, and a rapidly evolving future. Leaders need to think differently about colleges, how they operate, and ill general, the whole purpose of their existence (Myran, Seiss, & Howdyshell, 1995). If community colleges do not effectively change soon, they are likely to slide into insignificance (Alfred, 2003a). As stated by Kenneth Walker, President of Edison State College, "to remain relevant in the twenty-first century the community college must prepare to do things it has never done before, nor simply continue to do the same things differently. We must rethink the reasons for our existence" (2000, p. 10). The changes must be purposeful, well planned, and strongly executed by capable leaders. There are large issues that will require not only new actions and organizations, but also new ways of thinking about how best to lead the community college into the future. Walker further indicates that community college leaders cannot merely be "bystanders on the pathway to the future . they [must] take up the challenge of reinventing the community college" (p. 10). Longtime community college leadership scholar, George Baker (2003) reinforces the point. Leaders of tomorrow's community colleges must have the capacity "to implement changes and innovations of their own creation and to continue to steer toward a future that will uphold their institution's mission, vision and values" (p. 13). Where will the new leadership come from to guide such transformation? From all indications, fewer and fewer well prepared individuals are available and willing to enter community college administration, while seasoned administrators at all levels are retiring at a rapid rate (Gulton-Calkins & Milling, 2005). Examination of the problem Over the past several years, a number of reports have been published addressing the growing shortage of community college leaders. A study published in 2001 by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) indicated that nearly half of the community college presidents at that time planned to be retired by 2007 (Shultz, 2001). …