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MOTHERS AS LEADERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION:
THE PATHWAY TO LEADERSHIP FOR COLLEGE
PRESIDENTS
A dissertation submitted
by
Linda Fedrizzi-Williams
to
Benedictine University
in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education
in
Higher Education and Organizational Change
This dissertation has been accepted for the faculty
of Benedictine University
____________________________ Nancy W. Bentley, Ph.D. ___________
Dissertation Committee Director Date
and Chair
____________________________ Michael Gawronski, Ph.D. ___________
Dissertation Committee Reader Date
____________________________ Cassandra Sheffield, Ed.D. ___________
Dissertation Committee Reader Date
____________________________ Sunil Chand, Ph.D. _________ __________
Program Director, Faculty Date
____________________________ Eileen Kolich, Ph.D. ____ __________
Faculty Date
____________________________ Ethel Ragland, Ed.D., M.N.,R.N. __________
Dean, College of Education and Health Services Date
Eileen Kolich
Sunil Chand
Nancy Bentley
Cassandra Sheffield
Michael Gawronski
4-15-2016
4-15-2016
4-15-2016
4-15-2016
4-15-2016
MOTHERS AS LEADERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: THE PATHWAY TO
LEADERSHIP FOR COLLEGE PRESIDENTS
A dissertation submitted by
Linda Fedrizzi-Williams
to
Benedictine University
in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education
in
Higher Education and Organizational Change
Lisle, Illinois
March 2016
Copyright by Linda Fedrizzi-Williams, 2016
All rights reserved
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
When I first began this dissertation journey, I came across an anonymous quote
that stated, “Some people dream of great accomplishments, while others stay awake and
do them” (Anonymous, 2016). As a wife, a mother of two small boys (3 and 5 at the
time), and a full-time administrator, I knew this journey would be one of the most
difficult in my life, and being able to reflect on the magnitude of this accomplishment is
humbling. This dissertation journey would not have been possible without the love and
support of many people.
First and foremost, I must thank my family. They have been my rock and
inspiration through this entire journey. They have seen me at my best, coming off a high
from interviewing incredible women, and at my worst, stressed out and crying, because I
did not know how I would ever complete my dissertation. I must start by thanking my
parents for always believing in me and being there to watch my children for hours on end
so that I could write my papers and study for my courses. Thank you to my husband,
Glen, for encouraging me to earn this degree, even when it was not easy for me to be
away from him and my sons. Thank you to my sister, Jennifer, and my brother, George,
for providing the knowledge, support, and encouragement to keep working towards my
dreams and for providing me with a shoulder to lean on when I needed them. Thank you
to my extended family and my in-laws for the love and support.
I have the most incredible friends, colleagues, and supervisors who supported me
over the last four years when I was consumed with my doctoral studies. To my best
friends, Dena, Jennifer, and Melanie, thank you for listening to me and for telling me to
believe in myself. I love you. To my colleagues and friends—Mike, Stacey, Anne, Pete,
ii
Candice, Mark, Peter, Irene, Pat, Christine, Alex, my department chairs, and faculty
members—thank you! Your patience, understanding, and support went far beyond what
any colleague should provide. To my mentors, Dr. Bill Richards and Dr. Heather Perfetti,
thank you for seeing something in me and pushing me to pursue my doctorate degree.
Your belief in me gave me the confidence I needed to pursue my dreams, and it means
more to me than you will ever know.
I would also like to thank my dissertation committee members, Dr. Michael
Gawronski and Dr. Cassandra Sheffield, for their commitment to making my dissertation
a success. From the feedback on my proposal and my dissertation to your assistance in
finding participants for my study, thank you for the positive feedback and the endless
advice.
Additionally, I would like to thank the eleven remarkable women who
participated in this study. Thank you for taking time out of your incredibly busy lives to
share the intimate details of your personal life and career journey. I have learned a great
deal from your challenges and successes as college presidents and mothers. Your stories
have prompted me to take a deeper look at my own life and to focus on the things that
matter most in this world.
Most of all, I want to thank my dissertation director and chair, Dr. Nancy Bentley.
There is no way I would have been able to do this without her endless hours of guidance
and support. Nancy is unlike any woman I have ever met. She is brilliant and has an
understanding of qualitative research like no other. From day one, Nancy spent time
critiquing my work, recommending scholarly material to include, and providing me, and
a classmate, with an incredible meal when we were in the Chicago area to conduct
iii
research. Most importantly, Nancy helped me through a very difficult time in my
personal life. More than a director and chair, she has become a true friend, and for that, I
am eternally grateful.
iv
DEDICATION
To my first teachers: My parents, George and Marianna Fedrizzi, who taught me that
anything is possible with hard work, dedication, and a will to succeed.
To the three loves of my life: Glen, my inspirational husband, and Jake and Luke, my
incredible sons—it’s all for you.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xii
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiii
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... xiv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1
Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................2
Purpose of the Study.... ............................................................................................3
Research Questions….. ............................................................................................7
Significance of the Study .........................................................................................8
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................................10
Women as Leaders in Higher Education ...............................................................10
Women in Student Roles ...........................................................................13
Mothers in Student Roles ...............................................................15
Women in Faculty Roles ............................................................................16
Mothers in Faculty Roles .............................................................. 18
Women in Administrative Roles ................................................................24
Mothers in Administrative Roles ...................................................29
Women as College Presidents ....................................................................34
Mothers as College Presidents .......................................................40
Leadership Traits and Qualities .............................................................................42
Gender-Related Leadership Traits .............................................................42
Qualities of a Leader ..................................................................................47
Work-Life Balance: Is it Possible to Have it All? .................................................49
vi
Working Mothers .......................................................................................52
The Maternal Wall .....................................................................................54
Interrole Conflict ........................................................................................54
Female Identity Development Theories .................................................................57
Josselson’s (1987) Theory .........................................................................59
Sidel’s (1990) Theory ................................................................................61
Career Decision-Making for Women .....................................................................63
Bandura (1977) Theory of Self-Efficacy ...................................................64
Holland’s (1958/1996) Career Choice Theory ..........................................66
Super’s (1980) Life-Span, Life-Space Approach ......................................68
Mainiero and Sullivan’s (2005) Kaleidoscope Model of Careers .............70
McMahon and Patton’s (1995) Systems Theory Framework ....................72
Summary and Limitations to the Literature ...........................................................72
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................74
Research Paradigms ...............................................................................................75
Qualitative Research Paradigm ..............................................................................77
Social Constructivism Framework .........................................................................78
Research Design: Phenomenological Tradition .....................................................79
Hermeneutical Phenomenology .................................................................82
Empirical, Transcendental, and Psychological Phenomenology ...............83
Transcendental Principles ......................................................................................83
Epoche (Bracketing) ..................................................................................83
Noema and Noesis .....................................................................................85
vii
Phenomenological Reduction ....................................................................86
Moustakas’ Methodological Procedure .................................................................87
Researcher’s Role (My Story) ...............................................................................89
Data Collection Procedures ....................................................................................91
Selection of Participants .............................................................................92
Recruiting Participants ................................................................................92
In-Depth Interviews ...............................................................................................93
Demographic Survey and Interview Guide .................................................94
Document and Artifact Analysis ...........................................................................95
Field Notes ...................................................................................................96
Data Analysis Procedures ......................................................................................96
Strategies for Validating Findings .........................................................................97
Ethical Considerations ...........................................................................................99
Concluding Remarks ..................................................................................................102
CHAPTER 4: LIFE JOURNEYS OF MOTHERS WHO BECAME COLLEGE
PRESIDENTS. .................................................................................................................104
Individual Profiles ......................................................................................................109
Carrie....................................................................................................................109
Claire……………. ...............................................................................................112
Dena……………. ................................................................................................114
Jen………………. ...............................................................................................117
Karina……….. .....................................................................................................120
Kate……………. .................................................................................................124
viii
Kendal…………….. ............................................................................................127
Kim…………….. ................................................................................................130
Pam…………….. ................................................................................................134
Sybil…………… .................................................................................................136
Tara……………. .................................................................................................139
Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................141
CHAPTER 5: THE CHALLENGES, REWARDS, AND INFINITE SEARCH FOR
BALANCE AS BOTH A COLLEGE PRESIDENT AND A MOTHER........................143
It Was a Calling: Internal Motivators for Being a College President ..................145
Motivated by Values and the Opportunity to Make a Difference ............147
They Never Planned on Being College Presidents: External Motivators for Being
a College President .............................................................................................150
They Believed in Me: Mentors, Supervisors and Colleagues ..................152
We Can Do This: Confidence From Accomplishing Difficult Tasks ......154
It Takes a Village: The Need for Support ............................................................155
Mentors ....................................................................................................156
Children ...................................................................................................157
Spouses ....................................................................................................159
Supervisors ..............................................................................................160
Others .......................................................................................................163
Dealing With Guilt and Sacrifice: There Is Not Enough Time In the Day ..........165
Time With Children .................................................................................167
Time for Self ............................................................................................169
ix
Time With Spouse....................................................................................171
There Is No Such Thing As Balance....................................................................173
Work-Life-Education: It All Blends Together .........................................175
Learn How to Prioritize and Compartmentalize ......................................176
Outsource Domestic Duties or Learn How to Let it Go ..........................178
Childcare ..........................................................................................178
Household Chores ............................................................................180
Their Greatest Challenge: The Doctorate ............................................................181
Being Moms Make Them Better College Presidents: Their Leadership Skills
Come From Being a Mother ................................................................................184
Time Management and Organizational Skills..........................................186
Patience and Understanding .....................................................................187
Conflict Resolution and Negotiation Skills .............................................189
Being College Presidents Make Them Better Moms ...........................................190
Respect for Individual Differences and Diversity ...................................192
Family Comes First ..............................................................................................193
Motherhood Means Everything to Them .................................................196
Challenges and Obstacles of Being a College President .....................................197
Being the “Little Lady” and Often the Only “Lady” in the Room ..........198
Moving Up in the Same Institution ..........................................................202
Disciplining Former Peers .......................................................................203
What the Women Are Most Proud of ..................................................................204
Their Leadership Style: Taking a Team Approach ..................................206
x
The Good They Bring to Their Institutions .............................................208
Staying True to Who They Are ................................................................209
Positive Feedback to and From Others ....................................................211
Concluding Remarks ............................................................................................212
CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS, ADVICE AND
REFLECTIONS ...............................................................................................................213
What Are the Lived Experiences and Perceptions of a Small Group of Mothers in
Presidential Positions at Higher Education Institutions? How Do They Make
Sense of Their Lives?...........................................................................................215
How Has Being a Mother Affected the Career Paths of Mothers in College
Presidencies?........................................................................................................221
What Have Been the Challenges That They Faced in Their Careers, and What has
Contributed to Their Success in Moving Up the Presidential Ladder?.............. 224
In What Ways Do They Think Their Personal Attributes, Skills, and Experiences
as a Mother Relate to Their Personal Attributes, Skills, and Experiences as a
Leader and College President?............................................................................ 226
Recommendations for Educational Leaders ........................................................229
Be Flexible and Update or Change Outdated Policies .............................230
Be Respectful of an Employee’s Personal Time ......................................234
Mentor Women, Including Young Mothers.............................................236
Consider On-Campus Daycare for Employees and Students ..................237
Advice for Mothers Looking to Become College Presidents ..............................238
Build a Support Network and Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help .............239
xi
Get Organized ..........................................................................................241
Find the Right Fit .....................................................................................241
Believe in Yourself ..................................................................................242
Recommendations for Future Research ...............................................................242
Reflections ...........................................................................................................244
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................246
APPENDIX A: INFORMED CONSENT FORM ...........................................................261
APPENDIX B: DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY ..................................................................263
APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW GUIDE ............................................................................266
xii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. 2010 U.S. Census Data, Schooling Level ............................................................11
Table 2. Female vs. Male Enrollment, 1960-2015 .............................................................15
Table 3. Bem Sex Inventory Traits ....................................................................................44
Table 4. Strong Language Vs Weak Language .................................................................46
Table 5. Demographic Information of Participants .........................................................106
Table 6: Career-Related Information of Participants ......................................................107
Table 7. Internal Motivating Factors Related to Their Calling to the Presidency ...........146
Table 8. External Motivators for Being a College President ...........................................152
Table 9. Support for the Women in Their Roles as Mother and President ......................156
Table 10. Areas of Sacrifice.............................................................................................167
Table 11. Skills Learned From Being a Mother That Strengthen Their Roles as
Leaders .............................................................................................................................186
Table 12. Participants’ Family Sequencing Strategies Related to Pursuing a
Presidency ........................................................................................................................195
Table 13. Participants’ Biggest Challenges as Presidents/Executive Leaders .................198
Table 14. Participants’ Proudest Accomplishments ........................................................206
xiii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. StrengthsQuest’s Leadership Equation...............................................................48
Figure 2. Holland’s Career Diagram ..................................................................................67
Figure 3. Super’s Life-Career Rainbow: Nine Life Roles in Schematic Life Space .........70
xiv
ABSTRACT
This study is based upon the lives of eleven women who are not only college presidents,
but are also mothers. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences
and perceptions of mothers in college presidencies and how the skills of being a mother
relate to the skills or experiences of being the president of a college. The study examined
the challenges of being a mother in a presidency and also detailed the successes closest to
the participants’ hearts.
To understand the experiences and perceptions of mothers serving as college
presidents, I chose a qualitative, phenomenological study and used in-depth interviews
and document/artifact analysis to highlight the major motivations, successes, and
challenges in these women’s lives. I used the results of the study to identify themes
related to being successful as both a college president and a mother. Eleven major themes
and 26 subthemes emerged from the data collected in this study, including: The women
felt called to the presidency, the need for support, feelings of guilt and sacrifice, work-life
balance concerns, challenges of earning a doctorate degree, leadership skills learned from
mothering and mothering skills learned from being a president, putting family first,
challenges on the path to the presidency, team-led leadership approaches, and staying true
to one’s values.
This study adds to the literature on women in leadership positions and is also
intended to assist women planning a career in higher education. It helps higher education
leaders understand what is needed to support working mothers, including implementing
new or altering current institutional policies and procedures.
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Take a look around the average college or university classroom. There will likely
be more women in attendance than men, but despite the number of females attending
college, the number of female leaders in executive leadership positions in higher
education is significantly lower than that of males (Aiston, 2011; DeFrank-Cole, Latimer,
Reed, & Wheatly, 2014; Iverson, 2011; Leathwood, Read, & Society for Research into
Higher Ed, 2009; Morely, 2012). Even though women make up the majority of junior
faculty in colleges and universities, that number is not reflected in senior faculty positions
or senior administrative positions (Eveline, 2004; Hart, 2014; Leathwood et al., 2009;
Peterson, 2011). In fact, Dominici, Fried, and Zeger (2009) reported that when women do
get promoted to senior administrative positions, they are usually less respected than their
male counterparts and are paid less. The situation appears to be even worse for women
with children.
For example, several researchers have pointed out a bias regarding mothers in
higher education, including doubt regarding their loyalty to the institution (Wolf-Wendel
& Ward, 2006; Williams & Dempsey, 2014), and other researchers noted that the
workload for working mothers does not decrease at home as the workload in their careers
increases, which is why many women may choose to stay in lower level administrative
roles (Dominici et al., 2009). If a woman does choose to take on a senior position, she
will most likely work between 50-70 hours per week (Peterson, 2011; Williams &
Dempsey, 2014). Moreover, there is a gross inequity among salaries and careers between
2
women with children and men with children. For instance, Williams and
Dempsey (2014) reported that:
Mothers, on average, make significantly less money and work significantly less
than women without children do. For men, the opposite is often true: the birth of a
child correlates with an increased salary and more time spent at work for white
and Latino fathers. (p. 147)
Altbach, Berdahl, and Gumport (2011) reported that the average presidential
profile at a college or university in the United States is white, 65 years old, and male.
Regarding the women who do reach a college presidency, several researchers have
suggested that in order for them to be taken seriously, they must exhibit the same
masculine traits as their male counterparts (Powell & Butterfield, 2013; Tedrow &
Rhoades, 1999; Zhou, 2013). Rabas (2013) discussed the conflict many women face:
“With the number of women holding leadership positions within higher education
organizations increasing in a still male dominated role, these women are being expected
to exhibit the same leadership styles as the men” (p. 3). These findings beg the question:
Do mothers in senior administration positions need to leave their parenting skills at the
door when they become college presidents, or can those skills actually aid in their
success?
Statement of the Problem
Due to the high demand of time and pressure, a number of researchers have
learned that women are less likely to pursue senior level administrative positions if they
have children at home, especially if their children are young (Dominici et al., 2009;
Kahanov, Loebsack, Masucci, & Roberts, 2010; Tessens, White, & Webb, 2011). In fact,
3
many women appear to be opting out of higher education altogether, because both female
faculty and administrators struggle with the time demands needed to fully commit to their
institutions and to their families (Aiston, 2011; Zhou, 2013). While some of the guilt
associated with having a career and raising a family is internal, some of the guilt seems to
be imposed externally (Morely, 2012; Williams & Dempsey, 2014). Wendell-Wolf and
Ward (2006) explained that the time needed to devote to one’s career in higher education
often can be too much for many women with children to handle.
In an extensive qualitative study on women in higher education, Kahanov,
Loesback, Masucci, and Roberts (2010) noted that 61% of women in higher education
administration did not have any children, let alone young children. At the American
Council on Education Annual Conference in March of 2014, Dr. Judy C. Miner, president
of Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California, suggested that there were plenty of
places for mothers of young children in higher education, but presidencies were not one
of them. She may be right, because only 29% of higher education presidents are women
(DeFrank-Cole, Latimer, Reed, & Wheatly, 2014). There is no data on how many of
those women are mothers.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to explore the lives of college presidents who are
mothers in order to identify how being a mother has affected their career paths and how
their experiences shaped them into the leaders they are today. This research adds to the
existing literature on women in higher education and provides insight into how mothers
have been successful as college presidents.
4
The topic of mothers in higher education is timely, because the number of college
presidents retiring is on the rise and this opens the door for more women to seek
presidencies (Altbach et al., 2011; Bornstein, 2009; Cohea, 2015; Fullan & Scott, 2009;
Jones, 2014; Kotter, 2008; Tunheim & Goldschmidt, 2013). Likewise, major changes are
occurring in higher education institutions: (a) the face of students is changing (more
females and more older, employed students); (b) there is less funding for institutions; (c)
there is a bigger push for institutions to be accountable; and (d) the global market is
increasing (Fullan & Scott, 2009; Kotter, 2008). Given these current challenges, there is a
need for transformational leaders with fresh ideas and emotional intelligence to properly
manage higher education institutions (Fullan & Scott, 2009; Goleman, 2008).
Fullan and Scott (2009) explained that what higher education needs right now is
turnaround leadership, and this is an opportunity for women. Turnaround leadership is
about “listening, linking, and leading (in that order) and about modeling, teaching, and
learning” (Fullan & Scott, 2009, p. 97). Fullan and Scott detailed the top qualities of
leaders who make change happen. They said leaders invite people to identify the need for
change, look for evidence that change is needed and achievable, make decisions about
what to implement, and involve the necessary people to make change work. Kouzes and
Posner (1988) noted similar qualities in their study on leadership. The researchers’
Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) was developed through a grounded theory approach
and looks at leadership in terms of leaders’ willingness to (a) challenge the process, (b)
inspire a shared vision, (c) enable others to act, (d) model the way, and (e) encourage
followers. In their book, The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner (2007) said that
5
it is an intrinsic motivation to do something fulfilling that gives leaders a passion to
succeed.
While passion is one motivation for leaders, Fullan and Scott (2009) referenced
an Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) study that found making change in
higher education is less about being visionary and more about optimizing satisfactions
and dealing with challenges in an “informed, proactive, productive, and efficient manner”
(p. 110). The ALTC study went on to describe top traits and key competencies for the
most successful leaders in higher education. The categories were:
personal capability: self-regulation, decisiveness, and commitment,
interpersonal capability: influencing and empathizing,
cognitive capability: diagnosis, strategy, flexibility and responsiveness, and
key competencies: learning and teaching, university operations, and self-
organization skills (Fullan & Scott, 2009)
In the ALTC study, the 513 leaders identified emotional intelligence, as described by
Goleman (2008), as one of the top skills critical to leading higher education institutions
(Fullan & Scott, 2009; Goleman, 2008).
More important than vision was the need to understand one’s own emotions and
feelings and to be conscious of how those emotions affect others. Goleman (2008)
acknowledged that leaders may have a difficult time assessing their own emotional
intelligence and social intelligence, but the best leaders ask their staff: (a) How can I be a
better leader? and (b) How can I help you to develop? Goleman introduced a model of
emotional intelligence and identified five different components: (a) self-awareness—
understanding one's emotions and recognizing one’s impact on others while making
6
decisions; (b) self-regulation—controlling one’s emotions and adapting to changes; (c)
social skill—working with others to steer people in the right direction; (d) empathy—
considering others’ feelings, especially when making decisions; and (e) internal
motivation—being driven to achievement.
Of Goleman’s (2008) five components of emotional intelligence, women tend to
be particularly good at exercising empathy. This skill typically comes easier to women
than it does to men. Goleman (2011) argued that women are naturally emerging as the
organizational leaders of the future and stated:
By the year 2018, according to the Chartered Management Institute in the UK, the
workplace will be one where the demand for ‘female’ management skills will be
far stronger than today. The world of work will be more fluid and virtual, and
women will move up the chain of command because, as Claire Shipman and
Katty Kay write in Time, ‘their emotional intelligence skills may become ever
more essential.’ (p. 2)
The level of emotional intelligence may be even higher in mothers (Guthrie, 2015).
According to Guthrie (2015), mothers receive a boost in emotional intelligence once their
children are born:
One of the biggest brain boosts for moms is the ability to see the world through
someone else's eyes. In so many relationships, if you don't agree with a person
you can just walk away. But you can't walk away from your child. At least, not if
you want to be a good parent. Instead, you've got to stretch your mind to
understand his point of view. (p. 9)
7
If emotional intelligence is a sought after trait for higher education leaders, then perhaps
more mothers need to be encouraged to reach for top-level positions. In order to support
mothers in top-level positions, research needs to be conducted to understand the
experiences of women with children who have achieved the highest status possible.
Current research on the subject of women in higher education is broad, but there is a
major deficiency in the number of studies pertaining specifically to mothers in senior
administrative positions in higher education. Little attention has focused on women who
have children, including young children, and have reached the top level of this field.
Research Questions
This qualitative, phenomenological study explores the experiences and
perceptions of a small group of mothers in presidential positions at two-year and four-
year institutions of higher education. The study was guided by the following research
questions:
What are the lived experiences and perceptions of a small group of mothers in
presidential positions at higher education institutions? How do they make sense of
their lives?
How has being a mother affected the career paths of these mothers in college
presidencies?
What have been the challenges that they have faced in their careers, and what has
contributed to their success in moving up the presidential ladder?
In what ways do they think their personal attributes, skills, and experiences as a
mother relate to their personal attributes, skills, and experiences as a leader and
college president?
8
Significance of the Study
Existing literature focuses mainly on the experiences of women in leadership
positions in higher education or work-life balance of women with families. There have
been few studies that examine the lived experiences of mothers in college presidencies
and how the skills or experiences of being a mother relate to the skills or experiences of
being the president of a college or university. This study benefits several audiences:
Women planning a career in higher education administration can learn from the
experiences of other women with children who have achieved executive
leadership positions.
Current administrators at higher education institutions will learn how they can
successfully mentor and support working mothers to move up the career ladder.
Higher education institutions will be able to look at ways to improve working
conditions for mothers with children, particularly young children, in top higher
education leadership positions.
The current changes and rapid retirements in higher education provide an
opportunity for more women to rise to the role of college president, and the number of
women attending college continues to rise. With the popularity of books like Lean In:
Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg (2013) and What Works for
Women at Work by Joan Williams and Rachel Dempsey (2014), women are looking for
guidance in how to succeed at both having a high-level career and raising a family. This
research will contribute to the literature on women in higher education leadership and
explore how being a mother adds to those leadership skills. Chapter 2 will detail the
varied roles women play in higher education and the work-life balance challenges
9
mothers face, as well as theories that contribute to female identity development,
leadership traits and qualities, and career choice. Chapter 3 will explain the methodology
used for this study. Chapter 4 provides demographic information and shares profiles of
the 11 participants interviewed for this study while Chapter 5 details the 11 themes and
26 subthemes that emerged from this study. Chapter 6 discusses the findings and suggests
recommendations for both administrators in higher education as well as mothers looking
to pursue college presidencies. It also provides recommendations for future research and
my reflections of the study.
10
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
This chapter unfolds a discussion on the role women have played in United States
higher education, from college student to college president. The literature review
provides a foundation for this study of mothers in top-level leadership positions in higher
education. Therefore, the review of the literature is focused on women and mothers in
student roles, faculty roles, and administrative roles. In addition, attention has been paid
to the work-life balance struggles of working mothers, leadership traits and qualities, and
theories of female identity development and career decision-making. These themes serve
as the basis for this study, shaping the conceptual framework and informing the study’s
methodology and analysis.
Women as Leaders in Higher Education
Women in higher education hold fewer leadership positions than men (Aiston,
2011; DeFrank-Cole et al., 2014; Iverson, 2011; Leathwood et al., 2009; Mason &
Goulden, 2002), even though the 2010 U.S. Census in Table 1 shows that the schooling
level of women is higher than it is for men in all degrees except professional degrees.
11
Table 1
2010 U.S. Census Data, Schooling Level by Gender
Degree Number of Males Number of Females
Associate 298,000 489,000
Bachelor’s 685,000 916,000
Master’s 260,000 397,000
Professional 47,000 45,000
Doctorate 32,000 35,000
Note: Adapted from “The 2012 statistical abstract: Education” The United States Census
Bureau, 2012. Copyright 2012 by the United States Census Bureau.
The higher percentage of women in higher education is a more recent trend and might
explain, in part, why a greater proportion of women have not reached top positions, as
men have. Family responsibilities may also prolong the time it takes women to complete
degrees, especially if they are single mothers. As noted previously, the typical college
president is a white male who is approximately 65 years old, and since many women of
earlier generations did not enter higher education until later in their lives, it may explain
why there are so few women at the top.
The vast majority of women working in higher education around the world are not
academics, but “instead are largely employed as low paid and undervalued service
personnel, doing the cleaning, catering and administrative support work” (Leathwood et
al., 2009, p. 41). Eveline (2004) coined the term ivory-basement to reflect the
disproportionate number of women in higher education at the bottom of the leadership
chain. Hart (2014) reported that not only do women hold fewer leadership positions in
academia, but they are also paid less than their male colleagues. Some have referred to
12
this phenomenon as the glass ceiling (Butterfield & Powell, 2013; Mason & Goulden,
2002). Mason and Goulden (2002) explained the glass ceiling theory as a pattern of
discrimination, as well as a socialization process related to gender in our society and
throughout the world, that “bars women from top positions in academia” (p. 5). They
described these patterns as beginning during childhood when baby girls are taught to
display pleasing behaviors, therefore preventing them from making tough and assertive
decisions later in their lives. The term was coined in the 1980s and, according to Iverson
(2011), has many variations to express the mixing of gender and other dimensions of
identity such as:
Latina administrator[s] encounter the adobe ceiling, lesbian administrator[s] bump
into the lavender ceiling, women administrators in Catholic schools reach the
stained glass ceiling, the concrete ceiling that will not break for women of color,
and the Plexiglas room in which tenured faculty are placed, among other related
adaptations. (p. 83)
Butterfield and Powell (2013) explained that the glass ceiling leads women to jump off
the glass cliff since it serves as a “deterrent to women’s aspirations to top management”
(p. 31).
There are many theories explaining the lack of female leadership in higher
education. Iverson (2011) explained that the sticky floors of low ranking jobs prevent
women from being promoted to leadership positions. In other words, it is the current
structure of higher education that is preventing women from having the opportunity to
advance. Another contributing factor forcing women to opt-out of leadership positions is
the challenge of balancing work-life responsibilities, particularly the care of children
13
(Dominici et al., 2009; Marcus, 2007; Mason & Goulden, 2002; Mayson & Tikka, 2008;
Morley, 2012; Ravizza & Peterson-Iyer, 2005; Tillman, 2011; Wolf-Wendell & Ward,
2006). The sub sections that follow will explore the roles of women and of mothers as
students, faculty, administrators, and college presidents.
Women in Student Roles
Women began their journey in academia in the 19th
century. After attending
seminaries for years, three women in the United States attended college for the first time
and graduated with bachelor’s degrees from Oberlin College in 1883 (Oberlin College,
2007). The American Association of University Women (AAUW) noted that it was the
1848 Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, that demanded higher
education for women (St. Lawrence County, New York, Branch of the American
Association of University Women [AAUW], n.d.). In the 1850s, over “forty women’s
institutions were chartered to offer collegiate degrees” (St. Lawrence County, New York
Branch of the AAUW, n.d., p. 50). By 1890, the majority of women were still in single-
sex colleges thought to be “inferior” by contemporaries (Altbach et al., 2011). Once
institutions began to expand their curriculum to include a wider range of offerings,
women enrolled in coeducational colleges at a higher rate (Altbach et al., 2011; St.
Lawrence County, New York Branch of the AAUW, n.d.). At the turn of the 20th
century,
there were broad fears that “a good education would make women unfit for marriage and
motherhood” (St. Lawrence County, New York Branch of the AAUW, n.d.) and that an
education would actually be bad for women’s health. It was not until the Association of
Collegiate Alumnae (the predecessor of the AAUW) conducted a study that proved that
14
not only did an education fail to harm women, the social atmosphere actually enhanced
its participants’ health (St. Lawrence County, NY Branch of the AAUW, n.d.).
According to Leathwood et al. (2009), throughout history, wars and civil unrest
have aided women in entering academia and other professions. The mid-20th
century
brought with it a renewed call for women studies, and the feminist movement of the
1960s and 1970s focused on the need to expand women’s studies to disciplines other than
teaching and healthcare (Patterson, 2009). Since the 1990s, “women’s access to higher
education has increased . . . and in a number of countries worldwide women now
constitute a higher proportion of the undergraduate student population than men”
(Leathwood et al., 2009, p. 3). The 2010 U.S. Census reported there are more women
attending college than men at every degree level other than professional degrees
(associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral). Altbach et al. (2011) reported that the
typical 21st century student is likely to be a 35-year-old woman. Despite this progress,
discipline stratification still remains with less than a quarter of women in fields such as
engineering (Leathwood et al., 2009). Two-thirds of women in undergraduate programs
study education, health, humanities, and the arts (Leathwood et al., 2009). The only
disciplines that have parity between women and men are the social sciences, business,
and law. Table 2 provides statistics from the Institute of Education Science (IES)
demonstrating the major shift over time for female versus male bachelor’s degree
graduates in U.S. higher education from 1950 to 2015.
15
Table 2
Female vs. Male Bachelor’s Degree Graduates, 1960-2015
Year Males Graduating with
Bachelor’s Degree
Females Graduating with
Bachelor’s Degree
1950 328,841 103,217
1960 254,063 138,377
1970 475,594 364,136
1980 469,883 465,257
1990 504,045 590,493
2000 531,840 712,331
2010 734,133 981,780
2015 800,000 1,054,000
Note: Adapted from “Degrees conferred by degree-granting institutions, by level of
degree and sex of student: Selected years, 1869-70 through 2021-22, The Institute of
Education Sciences. (2015). Copyright 2015 by U.S. Department of Education.
Mothers in student roles. Higher education institutions have made strides in
providing access to underrepresented student populations (Altbach et al., 2011). Non-
traditional adult college students, such as those who work full time, attend classes part
time, or have dependents such as children or a spouse, are suddenly becoming the
traditional college students (Altbach et al., 2011; Spilovoy, 2013). According to Spilovoy
(2013), “student mothers are considered by most researchers and academic institutions to
be non-traditional college students, [even though] student mothers comprise a large
percentage of the student population” (p. 22). With the increasing number of online
learning platforms and other non-traditional programming initiatives, the doors to
postsecondary education have been opened for many women with children who had
found it too difficult to attend in the past (Altbach et al., 2011; Patterson, 2009; Spilovoy,
2013).
In her qualitative study of mothers in online bachelor’s degree programs,
Spilovoy (2013) found that mothers enroll in higher education studies for two main
16
reasons: (a) to increase their socioeconomic status and (b) to ensure a better life for
themselves and their families. Although the women chose online programs due to the
convenience and flexibility, Spilovoy (2013) discussed how the participants in her study
had to make personal sacrifices to attend and persist in college:
Because the needs of their children were their top priority, the women sacrificed
other personal needs such as sleep, relationships, or leisure time in order to
accomplish a college degree. The women deeply desired for college personnel to
recognize and understand their unique roles and identities as mothers, their
experiences, their challenges, and their stubborn and unwavering commitment to
meet their educational and personal goals. (p. 175)
Spilovoy also found that students with children needed to be validated both academically
and interpersonally, citing the need to prove they could “do it all” to themselves, their
families, their professors, and their children. She also found that mothers with children
still continued to do the majority of the child and home care. According to Spilovoy, it
was ultimately the desire to succeed and demonstrate to their children the importance of
completing their degrees that motivated the mothers to work hard and earn their degrees.
Women in Faculty Roles
Aiston (2011) reported that “women academics experience working in higher
education differently to their male colleagues” (p. 279), explaining that women remain in
lower rank faculty positions while men hold full professorships and are also much more
likely to be department chairs or deans. This is noted in much research, including
Leathwood et al. (2009), who found that the higher the university status in the United
States, the lower the number of women awarded full professorships. The only type of
17
institution likely to promote women to higher rank faculty positions is the community
college (Wendell-Wolf & Ward, 2006). At all Carnegie classifications, women are hired
more often than men to be adjunct faculty, junior lecturers, and lecturers (Leathwood et
al., 2009). Unfortunately, these positions offer women the least economically secure
positions in higher education (Bethea, 2015).
It is important to note that not only do women secure fewer high rank faculty
positions than men, but they also earn less when in the same position. However, the gap
is closing slightly for women at the assistant and associate professor levels (Bethea,
2015). In 2003, women at the assistant and associate professor rank earned 4.13% less
than men in the same position, whereas in 2014, they earned 2.18% less (Bethea, 2015).
The same cannot be said for women who attain the position of full professor, where the
gap appears to have widened rather than narrowed, as Bethea (2015) points out:
According to AAUP data from 2003 to 2004, a man in the professor rank at a
research institution earned an average salary of $96,238, compared to a woman in
the same rank who earned an average salary of $87,214, a difference of 9.38
percent or $9,024. A decade later according to AAUP data from 2013 to 2014, a
man in the professor rank at a research institution earned an average salary of
$130,299 compared to a woman in the same rank who earned an average salary of
$116,951, a difference of 10.2 percent or $13,278. (pp. 35-36)
The gap is largest at private and research institutions and most narrow at community
colleges and public institutions (Behtea, 2015).
Fisher and Kinsey (2014) reported that gender discrimination is to blame in the
lack of females in higher rank positions. The researchers asserted that “Gender
18
discrimination against women often takes relatively sophisticated and veiled forms which
are difficult to identify and challenge” (Fisher & Kinsey, 2014, p. 45). Fisher and Kinsey
further explained that the boys’ club mentality prevents women from receiving
promotion.
While the boys club may exist in higher education, the main reason for the lack of
women in tenured positions, according to a number of researchers, is that, unfortunately,
the tenure clock and the biological clock tend to be ticking at the same time (Dominici et
al., 2009; Marcus, 2007; Mason & Goulden, 2002; Mayson & Tikka, 2008; Morley,
2012; Ravizza & Peterson-Iyer, 2005; Tillman, 2011; Wolf-Wendell & Ward, 2006). The
average woman seeking a doctoral degree earns her PhD at 34 years old, and if she wants
to be a faculty member in academia, she will go up for tenure at age 40 (Marcus, 2007;
Tillmann, 2011). These are the same years during which many women are contemplating
having children. Because of the timing, women are:
disproportionately represented in non-tenure-track positions at non-doctoral
institutions and among low salary grades. . . . Tenured and tenure track women
are less likely to have children than tenured and tenure track men.” (Hollenshead
et al., 2005, p. 42)
Mothers in faculty roles. Traditionally, academic institutions do not want to
compete with family obligations. Most higher education institutions expect that an
employee’s number one responsibility is to the institution (Wendell-Wolf & Ward, 2006).
Wendell-Wolf and Ward (2006) used the greedy institutions framework, put forward
previously by Coser (1974), to build their case. As the authors explained, “greedy
institutions are those that seek exclusive and undivided loyalty” (Wendell-Wolf & Ward,
19
2006, p. 490). The problem is that women with children still have an expected obligation
to put family life before work life (Morley, 2012). One might call this conundrum a lose-
lose situation. If mothers put their families first, they are perceived as disloyal to the
institution; if they put the institution first, they are perceived as disloyal to their families
(Williams & Dempsey, 2014). Williams and Dempsey (2014) explain this conflict as the
maternal Tug of War (p. 179). Kahanov et al. (2010) reported that “Women may perceive
a greater conflict between professional and family responsibilities because they typically
serve as the family caretaker in addition to experiencing more difficulty when reentering
the profession after an absence for family obligations” (p. 459). Sometimes, women are
each other’s harshest critics. For instance, Marcus (2007) noted, “Younger women say
that it is older women faculty who are most resistant to change, feeling they had to go
through the grueling tenure process; so should everybody else” (p. 31). Claire Van
Ummersen, educator and administrator for the American Council on Education, told
Marcus (2007) that some women made personal sacrifices to ensure tenure and feel
younger women should have to make the same sacrifices. She said this is particularly true
in the sciences. Mayer and Tikka (2008) claimed “female professors in the US are
sacrificing relationships and childbearing to acquiesce to the male-centered academic
tradition” (p. 370).
Wolf-Wendell and Ward (2006) cited data from the 2004 National Survey of
Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF) stating that 31% of junior women faculty members have
children and 49% of full-time women faculty members (of all ranks) have at least one
dependent. Seventy percent of male full-time faculty members (of all ranks) have
children (Wolf-Wendell & Ward, 2006). Because the tenure track often collides with
20
childbearing years, women can pay a high price if they choose to have children (Marcus,
2007). The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education at the Harvard
Graduate School of Education administered a Tenure-Track Faculty Satisfaction Survey
to over 150 colleges and universities (Trower, 2010). They found an increasing
expectation that faculty members need to be accessible to both work and students at all
times, and “the new norm for faculty with partners is the dual-career household; few
faculty members have partners who stay home to raise children” (Trower, 2010, p. 5).
Trower (2010) accentuated that nearly everything in higher education is different in
today’s society except the tenure process.
Marcus (2007) explained that many women leave academia during the tenure
process because they do not know how they will balance families with the tenure
requirements. This occurs to such an extent that only 24% of tenured faculty at four-year
colleges and universities are women (Marcus, 2007). As a result, a number of institutions
have developed policies to assist women in balancing family responsibilities with
contractual obligations. The American Council on Education (2015) created the Alfred P.
Sloan Foundation Projects to assist higher education institutions with developing
workplace flexibility initiatives. The foundation offers the following policy suggestions
for institutions to adopt in order to be more supportive of faculty:
on-ramps and off-ramps, through leave policies (being able to pause the tenure
process and resume the process once done with family/medical leave)
extended time to tenure (tenure clock adjustment)
shortened time to tenure, with pro-rated standard of productivity
active service, modified duties (full-time service with selected reduced duties)
21
part-time appointments (allowing mobility between full-time and part-time work)
phased retirement (partial appointments for finite periods of time)
delayed entry or re-entry opportunities (including practices that foster later-than-
usual career starts) (American Council on Education, 2015, p. 3)
Even though many institutions have some of these practices in place, numerous
mothers in tenure track positions do not appear to be taking advantage of these
opportunities, because they fear it will make them look weak and unable to fulfill their
obligations (Marcus, 2007). Marcus pointed out that Harvard University developed some
of these policies for faculty in order to hold on to the best people, but despite their efforts,
few women appear to have taken advantage of the opportunity. Likewise, Princeton
University amended its policy to offer extended time to faculty with children, but most
faculty members do not take advantage of the opportunity either. The Special Assistant to
the Dean of Faculty at Princeton said people were worried they would be seen as less
committed to their work (Marcus, 2007). This sentiment is not unique to the Ivy League.
Williams and Dempsey (2014) coined the phrase the maternal wall to describe the
roadblock women with children hit on the way to leadership positions. They explained
the maternal wall might be highest in academia because of the timing of the tenure
process. Williams and Dempsey interviewed one participant in their study who returned
to work three days after a Caesarian section, because she was afraid that people would
think she was not committed to her teaching.
The way current policies are written means having children interrupts women’s
academic careers and creates a mommy tax that can amount to nearly $1 million for a
college-educated woman in the United States (Crittenden, 2001). When asked to explain
22
the mommy tax in an interview, Crittenden, author of the book The Price of Motherhood:
Why the Most Important Job in the World is Still the Least Valued, told reporter Katy
Abel:
When you've been home raising children, you are looked at (by employers) as if
your brain has been on ice, so you take a hit in your income, in the kind of wages
you can command. I put a name on it: The Mommy Tax. In other words, what is
your lifetime loss of income if you have a kid, in terms of lowered income for the
rest of your life? There's a lot of variation, but you can say, in general, that if a
college-educated woman has one child, she will lose about a million dollars in
lifetime earnings. I didn't have my child until I was over 40, and I already had a
number of years working. But my Mommy Tax is close to a million. People do
not think about this. When they think about what a child costs, they think about
diapers, school tuition. The biggest single cost is the loss of income to the parent
who takes his or her time to be with the child. (Abel, 2015, p. 6)
Crittenden explained that if a woman wants to narrow the gender gap in academia, she
must adopt the be a man strategy: go to college, get a job, get tenure, and put off having
children for as long as possible. Even if women take advantage of a tenure clock stop, the
most frequently used type of support aid provided to women is family and medical leave,
which is unpaid (Hollenshead et al., 2005). Many women cannot take time off from work
without pay, especially when they are the “breadwinners” (Marcus, 2007; Williams &
Dempsey, 2014). Hollenshead, et al. (2005) surveyed 255 faculty from all Carnegie
classifications and found that only a quarter of the schools in their study provided some
sort of paid maternity leave.
23
In their study, Hollenshead et al. (2005) researched work/family policies in higher
education and revealed five strategies for institutions to use in order to implement
successful work/family policies for faculty:
Use data to promote a work/family balance agenda.
Foster collaboration between individual policy champions and institutional
committees to ensure successful policy development.
Formalize policies and make them entitlements.
Educate faculty and administrators about the policies on a continuous basis.
Address climate issues that discourage faculty from using work/family policies.
(p. 56)
Although institutions are making strides in implementing more family-friendly
work policies, Aiston (2011) has argued that higher education institutions do not take into
account the gendered divisions of childcare and household chores. Aiston pointed out that
male respondents in a study by Deem (2003) were of the opinion that women were
disadvantaged by gender and particularly by motherhood, while fatherhood was regarded
as not harmful to academic careers. Today’s fathers are more active in the day-to-day
lives of their children, but women “continue to cover up to 75% of home-related and
child-related responsibilities” (Ravizza & Peterson-Iyer, 2005, p. 306). A 2012 Business
Week article, titled “Even in Academia, Dads Don’t Do Diapers,” discussed the findings
of a study in which only three out of 109 married, tenure-track fathers with young
children reported doing 50% of the childcare work. Leonard (2013) countered the study
by saying that while male academics are “socialized into a society that renders the home
24
as the responsibility of women” they still feel the consequences of being both parent and
professor (p. A48).
Women in Administrative Roles
The number of women working in administrative positions in higher education
has increased significantly over the past 40 years (Dindoffer et al., 2011). According to
Dindoffer et al. (2011), women in administrative positions made up 17% of the
population in 1980, but by 2010, that number was closer to 40%. Women comprise the
majority of lower faculty positions in colleges and universities and even department
chairs at community colleges, but that number is not reflected in senior level positions
such as deans, vice presidents, and college presidents (Peterson, 2011). Jones (2014)
explained that it is difficult for women to move beyond faculty positions because they are
considered more “nurturing” to students and many believe women will most likely take
time off to have children instead of conducting research. Aiston (2011) reported that men
were three times more likely than women to make it to department chair or program
director. Of all leadership positions in academia, however, department chair seems to be
one of the highest ranks that women achieve (Dominici et al., 2009). Williams and
Dempsey (2014) reported, “The link between professional success and both maleness and
masculinity has deep roots” (p. 23). Because men have been in top positions for so long,
women in administrative positions are consistently compared to the males that came
before them.
Dominici et al. (2009) commented that the path to leadership is slower, if not
blocked, for women. The researchers explained that directing academic programs or
chairing committees is the first step for women aspiring to leadership roles. They cited a
25
few reasons why women do not excel past department chair. The first of these reasons is
that “leadership positions, as currently defined, are less attractive to women than to men,
and possibly are becoming unattractive to men” (Dominici et al., 2009, p. 26). This is due
to the increasing demand for administrators to be constantly available, which is more
feasible through improvements in technology. The second reason women do not easily
get promoted is: “Women already in leadership roles are not as well recognized as men or
appropriately rewarded within their institution” (Dominici et al., 2009, p. 26). Many
female participants in the study conducted by Dominici et al. were recognized nationally
and internationally for their contributions to their field, but were not considered leaders
by faculty and administrators within their own institutions. The third reason women have
a difficult time being promoted in higher education is: “Women are more often excluded
from the informal network of intellectual leadership than men” (Dominici et al., 2009, p.
27). Because mentoring can be a major factor in developing leaders, it can be difficult for
women to advance since senior male faculty members more often tend to form collegial
relationships with junior male faculty members.
In the study “Behind Closed Doors! Homosocial Desire and the Academic Boys
Club,” Fisher and Kinsey (2014) explored the nature and power of the academic boys
club:
The shared interests and values [of men] . . . are associated with what might be
described as ‘locker room’ exchanges around work, sex, sport, cars and alcohol,
which can unite men and exclude women in a variety of occupations and
organizations. The exclusion of women from these powerful decision-making
networks has negative consequences for women’s careers. (p. 48)
26
Because men hold the majority of administration positions in higher education, it can be
difficult for women to enter the club. According to Fisher and Kinsey (2014), male
bonding may be how “men obtain power and how they keep it” (p. 48).
Dominici et al. (2009) mentioned that time is one of the biggest commitments for
women in higher education administration. Peterson (2011) found that women
administrators spend anywhere from 50-70 hours per week on the job and said the work
of a manager in academia is “easily transformed into a servant role” (p. 625). Stone and
Hernandez (2013) add that time is a central factor to demonstrating commitment to an
organization; long hours equal devotion. In their study on female leaders, Williams and
Dempsey (2014) found that women especially appear to feel the need to prove their
devotion over and over again by putting in more unpaid overtime than men. This is even
more common for women without children, who are tagged with the most unpaid
overtime. Other administrators feel these women have the most time to give, which leads
to about 24.2% of women without children reporting unpaid overtime, the highest of any
group (Williams & Dempsey, 2014). Men without children put in the most overtime
hours (8.3 hours extra a week), but they also get paid for that time, whereas women do
not. In their 2014 book, What Works for Women at Work, Williams and Dempsey caution
women to be careful with their overtime, because “burnout is a particularly acute problem
for women . . . [especially since] prove-it-again bias doesn’t let up as [women] move up
the professional level” (p. 51). In their study, Williams and Dempsey learned that the
more senior level position a woman reaches, the harder she works; for men, the opposite
is true.
27
Various studies have examined women’s leadership in higher education and many
have concluded that women leaders exhibit certain characteristics that help them to
succeed (Aiston, 2011; Dindoffer et al., 2011; De Frank et al., 2014; Dominici et al.,
2009; Fisher & Kinsey, 2014; Mehta & Sharma, 2014; Peterson, 2011). For instance,
Mehta and Sharma (2014) conducted a quantitative study examining strategies that have
empowered women to be successful. The researchers administered a survey to 50 female
administrators working in corporate, academic, and professional settings. They found
seven characteristics that talented, confident women administrators share:
They place a high value on relationships and judge the success of their
organizations based on the quality of relationships within them.
They prefer direct communication.
They are comfortable with diversity, having been outsiders themselves and
knowing what kind of value fresh eyes could bring.
They are unwilling (and unable) to compartmentalize their lives and so draw upon
personal experience to bring private sphere information and insights to their jobs.
They are skeptical of hierarchies and surprisingly disdainful of the perks and
privileges that distinguish hierarchical leaders and establish their place in the
pecking order.
They prefer leading from the center rather than the top and structure their
organizations to reflect this.
They ask big-picture questions about the work they do and its value. (Metta &
Sharma, 2014, pp. 8-9)
28
Metha and Sharma (2014) also found that women leaders are more persuasive than male
leaders, are powered by rejection, prefer team-building techniques when problem solving,
and are more likely to take risks.
Powell and Butterfield (2013) conducted a study that examined sex, gender, and
aspirations to management positions. They found something that contradicted their
previous study, conducted in 1981, that claimed women were not as likely as men to
aspire to top-level positions because they are not “genetically predisposed” for those
positions (Powell & Butterfield, 2013, p. 30). They explained the reason for the
contradiction may have had to do with gender identity—the way individuals come to
classify their traits as masculine or feminine. In their 2013 study, Powell and Butterfield
learned that men and women were similarly likely to aspire to top management positions.
The women in the study who aspired for those positions identified with more traditional
masculine traits. The authors recognize there were possible limitations in their first study.
To increase the number of women in administrative roles, many colleges and
universities have developed leadership institutes for women (De Frank et al., 2014; Jones,
2014; Mayer, Surtee, and Barnard, 2015). Mentoring has been credited with encouraging
women to achieve their career goals (Bornstein, 2009; Eddy, 2008; Hertneky, 2010;
Tunheim & Goldschmidt, 2013). De Frank et al. (2014) used Harvard’s Women’s
Leadership Forum to study leadership development at West Virginia University. They
used the Centered Leadership Model, which is comprised of five dimensions, to shape the
curriculum of their leadership institute. The five dimensions of the Centered Leadership
Model include:
29
Meaning, or finding your strengths and putting them to work in the service of an
inspiring purpose; managing energy, or know where your energy comes from,
more constructive way to view your world, expand your horizons, and gain the
resilience to move ahead even when bad things happen; connecting, or identifying
who can help you grow, building stronger relationships, and increasing your sense
of belonging; and engaging or finding your voice, becoming self-reliant and
confident by accepting opportunities and the inherent risks they bring, and
collaborating with others. (Barsh, Cranston, & Craske, 2009, p. 36)
De Frank et al. discovered that their leadership institute allowed a large number of
women to link their leadership challenges to their core values in a meaningful way
without feeling like they had to leave the institution.
Mayer et al. (2015) found that, in addition to having a mentor, women are more
motivated to apply for an administrative position when they deem the work meaningful.
When a woman feels as though her work makes a difference in someone’s life, she may
feel a great sense of satisfaction, which motivates her to continue with her work).
Moreover, the researchers found that a sense of coherence—consisting of cognitive
understanding, confidence of coping strategies, and a sense of purpose in what they are
doing—are the most important factors in driving women to stay in administrative roles
(Mayer et al., 2015).
Mothers in administrative roles. “Women with families who have made it to
senior positions, they’re called freaks” (Williams & Dempsey, 2014, p. 128). This quote
came from a female consultant interviewed by Williams and Dempsey (2014) regarding
top-level administrators with children. Williams and Dempsey stated that gender bias
30
prevails against women with children when “82% of American women—and 76% of
women with an advanced degree—have children at some point in their lives” (p. 127).
Stone and Hernandez (2013) argue: “By virtue of their care-giving responsibilities in the
home, [women] are less able than men to meet the time demands of professional jobs” (p.
236). They studied the flexibility bias facing mothers in higher education who request
work flexibility in order to balance their time between administrative work and care-
giving responsibilities. In their study, Stone and Hernandez found that 76% of all
participants experienced some sort of stigma related to work status and motherhood,
including taking maternity leave. Stone and Hernandez (2013) learned that when a
woman in an administrative role identifies herself as a mother, it links her with the
“inability to carry out one’s job” (p. 244). Even women without children in
administrative roles said when they were of childbearing age they were marked as
“suspicious” because of their status as “potential mothers” (Stone & Hernandez, 2013, p.
244).
Many mothers feel “overwhelmed by trying to be the type of wife and mother
they believe they should be while working in demanding full-time administrative
positions” (Dindoffer et al., 2011, p. 283). For those mothers who do reach the
administrative roles they seek, many feel they have sacrificed personally (Dindoffer et
al., 2011). For some, the pressure of the second shift at home becomes too strong, forcing
mothers to opt-out of managerial positions (Dindoffer et al., 2011; Dominici et al, 2009).
Second shift refers to the second, non-paid job that working mothers face once they
return home from their paid job. This includes responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning,
31
taking their children to after-school activities, helping children with homework, bathing
children, and caring for them when they are ill.
There has been much literature discussing the opt-out revolution of women with
children who decide not to pursue or stay in leadership roles (Belkin, 2003; Dominici et
al., 2009; Herr & Wolfram, 2012; Mason & Goulden, 2002; Powell & Butterfield, 2013;
Stone & Hernandez, 2013; Williams, 2007; Williams & Dempsey, 2014). On October 26,
2003, The New York Times Magazine published an article by Lisa Belkin called, “The
Opt-Out Revolution.” The story focused on eight Caucasian, college-educated, married
women with children who decided to leave their professional jobs in order to stay home
and raise their children (Belkin, 2003). This story launched a media storm that featured
polished, educated women opting-out of their professional roles because they chose to
put family before career (Stone & Hernandez, 2012; Williams, 2007; Williams &
Dempsey, 2014). Williams (2007) noted that the danger in these media reports is that it
paints a rosy picture where women in leadership positions leave work to have children
and come back to work when their children are older, jumping right back into their
former positions; however, Williams reported that this rarely happens. She said
newspapers should explain how “American women are pushed out of good jobs by
workplace inflexibility” (Williams, 2007, p. A14). Williams and Dempsey (2014) argued
that it is not always a “biological pull” that makes women opt-out of leadership, but that
it is often bias and discrimination that “pushes” mothers out of leadership positions (p.
129). Spivey (2005) indicated that when mothers do interrupt their careers, it might take
them over 20 years to regain the negative effects of wages lost after an extended absence
to care for children.
32
In their study, “Do Babies Matter: The Effect of Family Formation on the Life
Long Careers of Academic Men and Women,” Mason and Goulden (2002) learned that
women with children are much more likely to opt-out of academia than men or women
without children. They stated:
Fifty nine-percent of married women with children indicated they were
considering doing so. And women with children were also far more likely than the
other groups to cite children as one of the reasons they changed their career goal
away from academia. Not surprisingly, on another question series asking about
sources of high stress as a postdoc, women with children were the most likely to
indicate that balancing career and family was a source of high stress for them
(over ¾ cited this as a source of high stress). (Mason & Goulden, 2002, p. 15)
Williams and Dempsey (2014) explained the opt-out phenomenon further:
Some women drop out of the workforce, abandoning careers they’ve spent
decades building and becoming economically vulnerable in the process. Other
women keep working and become subject to criticism about their parenting or
their commitment to their jobs or both, placing them in the uncomfortable
position of being the broken ones, the women missing the gene that drives women
back to the home, where, the story line goes, mothers belong. (p. 128)
Although many mothers struggle with the decision to leave administrative
positions in order to stay home with their children, most mothers in higher education
administration return to work shortly after having their children; the consequences of
interrupting one’s career trajectory appear too severe for top-level aspiring mothers
(Spivey, 2005). Stone and Hernandez (2013) reported, “Among mothers, college-
33
educated women have the highest labor force participation rate” (p. 239). They explained
that the overall trend among women fitting the demographic of the opt-out phenomenon
is downward, and “at-home mothers are the minority of college-educated women (on the
order of 20 percent)” (Stone & Hernandez, 2012, p. 50), demonstrating that college-
educated women are remaining at their jobs to assist in supporting their families
financially, even if they would prefer to opt-out.
Many women with children who decide to stay in administrative positions will
face what Williams and Dempsey (2014) described as the maternal wall. They defined
the maternal wall as consisting of:
both descriptive bias, in the form of strong negative competence and commitment
assumptions triggered by motherhood, and prescriptive bias—disapproval on the
grounds that mothers should be at home or working fewer hours. (Williams &
Dempsey, 2014, p. xxi)
They concluded that women with children are rarely at the top of the professional world.
Mothers are stereotyped as benevolent and family-centered, traits that conflict with those
typically associated with administrative leadership. Williams and Dempsey explained that
this conflict forces women to prove their commitment to the institution over and over
again, at a rate higher than men and childless women.
One struggle that mothers in administration face the most is the conflict that arises
when a child is sick. People tend to remember when women have to leave early or stay
home to tend to a child, and may even hold it against them (Marcus, 2007; Williams &
Dempsey, 2014). Marcus (2007) explained that mothers use “bias avoidance” to cloak
family obligations from co-workers (p. 29). In other words, they may call in sick so that
34
no one knows they are home because of their children; they do not want family
obligations to halt their career track. Workplace flexibility is an option to assist men and
women with children, and Williams & Dempsey (2014) reported that 79% of companies
in the US offer workplace flexibility programs. However, they found that only 10-20% of
employees take advantage of these programs because they are aware of the bias
associated with people who use them.
Women as College Presidents
“The academic presidency is one of the ‘most influential, most important, and
most powerful of positions in American Society.” (Tunheim & Goldschmidt, 2013, p. 30)
Women currently constitute 29% of college presidencies in U.S. higher education (Jones,
2014; June, 2015). Eddy (2008) reported that, although women are being promoted faster
through their career paths than men are, “the increased pace of movement has not
significantly influenced the number of women ultimately obtaining their own presidency”
(p. 52). Most of the presidencies occupied by women are found in the community college
sector, which consists of 33% women presidents, compared to bachelor’s and master’s
level institutions, which are only 23% women presidents (June, 2015). Eddy explained
that community colleges have a reputation of being friendlier to women and ethnic
minorities since they are deemed “the people’s college” (p. 49). The Carnegie
classification with the least number of women presidents is the doctoral institution, in
which only 22% of presidents are women.
In 1986, only 10% of college presidents were women (Jones, 2014). The number
of women presidents will most likely continue to increase over the next 10 years due to
the mass retirement of college presidents over 60 years old. In 2011, 58% of all
35
presidents were over 60 years old (Jones, 2014). Altbach et al. (2011) reported that the
average college president in U.S. higher education is 65 years old, white, and male. The
retirement of these presidents opens the door for more women and minorities (Altbach et
al., 2011; Bornstein, 2009; Jones, 2014; June, 2015; Tunheim & Goldschmidt, 2013). In
her article, “The Rise of the Woman President,” McClaurin (2014) included a quote from
Dr. Cynthia Hammond-Jackson, president of Ohio’s Central State University, one of the
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the Midwest. This quote noted
that women are excellent choices for college presidencies, especially for struggling
institutions:
Women can be stabilizing influences at struggling universities because they often
use behavioral processes that are similarly applicable to personal relationship
dynamics. . . . We listen, communicate, plan, follow through and reassess, which
are very similar steps when building stable and strong relationships. (p. 28)
The question is: Will women pursue the highest level of administration at a college or
university?
Some research shows that women are choosing to remain at the level of chief
academic officer (CAO) or provost instead of pursuing a first presidency (Jones, 2014;
Stone & Hernandez, 2013; Williams & Dempsey, 2014). In 2014, women made up “49%
of chief diversity officers, 41% of chief academic officers or provosts, 72% of chiefs of
staff, 28% of deans of academic colleges and 36% of executive vice presidents (Jones,
2014, p. 45). According to June (2015), women choose to remain at a vice president or
associate vice president rank because the work of a president seems relentless, “requiring
presidents to be on duty around the clock, juggling multiple interests, and largely
36
neglecting their family and friends” (p. 3). This is a troubling statistic since most
presidents of colleges and universities rise from academic affairs (Altbach et al., 2011;
Tunheim & Goldschmidt, 2013). Bornstein (2009) identified the three main reasons
female presidents cite for their disinclination to progress from chief academic officers to
college presidents:
They believe that the presidency will distance them from ‘the academic heart’ of
the institution.
They do not wish to engage in the fund-raising and socializing required of a
president.
They want more balance in their life than the all-consuming presidential schedule
allows. (pp. 213-214)
Tunheim and Goldschmidt (2013) learned that while some women do not want to
become college presidencies, the ones who do pursue this role often report having a
“calling” to the position. Living a life of meaning and purpose pulls women leaders to the
role of president. Using the transformative learning theory as a framework for their study,
Tunheim and Goldschmidt interviewed 15 current women presidents in U.S. higher
education and found that 80% of participants experienced some sort of calling to the role
of president. While a few said there was a spiritual calling, most expressed that it was
encouragement from a mentor that persuaded them to look into the possibility of being a
college president. Hertneky (2010) also spoke of the importance of mentors, reporting
that those in her study felt their “career paths [had] been guided by mentors, shaped by
choices for their own learning and development, and driven by the desire to make a
difference” (p. 3). Mentoring provides an important role to anyone in leadership
37
positions, including men, women, and minorities, and it has been cited repeatedly in
numerous studies as the best means to provide women with the confidence they need to
pursue presidencies (Bornstein, 2009; Eddy, 2008; Hertneky, 2010; Tunheim &
Goldschmidt, 2013).
In addition to mentoring, there are other factors that influence a woman’s decision
to take on a presidency. Eddy (2008) notes that one major factor in choosing to pursue a
presidency is a belief that one could actually do the job of a college president. All six
participants in Eddy’s qualitative study on women community college presidents
explained that it was a specific critical incident in higher education and the experience
during the incident that led them to confidently believe they would be successful as a
college president. Another factor in the decision to pursue a presidency was family
obligations. Eddy reported that most participants in her study used family sequencing to
determine the best time in their lives to pursue a presidency. Family sequencing refers to
the strategic scheduling of family members’ careers so that members may pursue their
career goals at times that are best for the entire family.
In the article, “Women and the Quest for Presidential Legitimacy,” Bornstein
(2008) discussed legitimacy as the key to a successful college presidency. Bornstein
(2008) explained that legitimacy in college presidencies refers to having both “the respect
and support of their constituents” (p. 208). Bornstein reported that stakeholders legitimize
presidents they deem to be effective leaders and good fits for their institutional culture.
Her study found that legitimacy hurdles exist for both men and women, but are higher for
women. She notes several factors that presidential search committees have cited as
legitimacy challenges for women:
38
There are fewer women candidates in the applicant pool, making the selection
of a woman appear to be an affirmative-action decision;
Women candidates may seem less qualified than men candidates because they
have traveled nontraditional career paths or taken longer to reach the senior
level of administration;
Initially, women candidates may not appear ‘presidential’ because of their
own lack of confidence and the stereotyped expectations of campus
constituents;
After their hire, women presidents may mishandle management problems at
the start of their presidency because they lack the mentoring that might have
prepared them for this role; and
Women presidents may be seen as inept in developing relationships of
importance to the institution, because many women are averse to the external
requirements of the presidency. (Bornstein, 2008, pp. 209-210)
Bornstein (2008) explained several ways women obtain presidential legitimacy.
The first is by establishing individual legitimacy, meaning the development of prestige,
experience, and personal characteristics that a president brings to an institution. Bornstein
noted that women should rejoice in their ability to operate on multiple tracks at once,
bringing creative and flexible solutions to problems. She also encouraged women to
apply for a second presidency, even if the first was not as successful as they had hoped.
Women are over 18% less likely than men to apply for a second presidency because “of
lifestyle issues and the strain on their personal lives” (Bornstein, 2008, p. 213).
39
The second way to establish legitimacy is through institutional legitimacy, which
Bornstein (2008) says is difficult since women’s leadership styles are typically compared
to men’s leadership styles. Bornstein explains one way to overcome this hurdle is through
forming strong relationships with the board of trustees and faculty governance. Gaining
support from faculty members in particular is an excellent way to gain legitimacy,
because if a leader is deemed a “good cultural fit” (Bornstein, 2008, p. 215) by faculty,
she is more likely to stay in her position. Environmental legitimacy is the third method by
which women presidents can earn legitimacy, and it requires maintaining equilibrium
through difficulties in the external environment. The fourth method of gaining legitimacy
is by gaining technical legitimacy, which refers to a president’s ability to manage the
institution (Bornstein, 2008). Bornstein said one advantage women have in this criterion
is the leadership ability of emotional intelligence. The best women presidents have an
excellent ability to “control impulsiveness, persist in the face of frustrations, regulate
one’s moods, and empathize with others” (Bornstein, 2008, p. 218). The final way to gain
legitimacy as a college president is through moral legitimacy, the ability to behave
ethically while maintaining the mission and values of the institution. In this regard,
Bornstein noted that women sometimes struggle with the demands of fund-raising and
how it may conflict with personal ethics.
While women are slowly pursing presidencies, a “father knows best” (Bornstein,
2008, p. 222) mentality still prevails at most institutions. In other words, many
institutions turn to men to lead them, because it is what they know. This viewpoint
impacts how women perceive their own ability to lead. Some women presidents report
suffering from imposter syndrome, “the sense that they are not qualified or competent for
40
the job and will be unmasked as a fake” (Bornstein, 2008, p. 219). This level of self-
doubt is not unique to presidencies. Women in many different types of leadership
positions report feeling this way (Williams & Dempsey, 2014). The encouraging news is
that these feelings often dissipate with increasing achievement (Bornstein, 2008).
Mothers as college presidents. Of the 29% of women in college presidencies,
only 63% of them are married, and “only 68% have children (89% of male college
presidents are married and 91% have children)” (Martin, 2011, p. xv). There has been
very little research dedicated to studying mothers as college presidents. In the current
literature on mothers in college presidencies, a few themes emerged. The first is role-
overloading (Bornstein, 2008). Role-overloading occurs when an area of one’s life spills
over to a separate area of one’s life. For instance, a woman who is home with her
children may check her work email on her cell phone, or while at work, a mother may
need to leave early to pick up a sick child from school.
Bornstein (2008) found that, for women with children, there is a tendency to
experience role-overloading between presidential responsibilities and “marital and child-
care demands” (p. 212). Overloading is more common for women with small children
(Bornstein, 2008). As noted previously, many women do not take presidential positions
because they do not know how they will balance their personal lives with their
professional lives. June (2015) reported that “family issues remain a big barrier for
women all the way through the pipeline” (p. 2). The care-taking responsibilities that
many women have for both their children and their aging parents make it difficult to
assimilate to the work culture of higher education administration. Shirley M. Tilghman, a
former president of Princeton University, explained to June (2015) that higher education
41
has not “figured out how to get through those old expectations and those old cultural
practices to make it possible for women to think about work and family as
complimentary; until we figure this out, I think we’re always going to be sort of running
uphill” (p. 2).
Another recurring theme in the literature is that of postponing presidential
aspirations until children are older and more independent. Over and over again, women
explained the decision to wait until their children were in high school or out of school
completely before pursuing a presidency (Eddy, 2008; Hertneky, 2010; June, 2015).
Women with children tend to put their family’s stability ahead of their own career path:
Career decisions for several of these women presidents were made with their
family’s well being in mind. A stable home front provided a sense of foundation
for these women, but also added constraints with respect to their ability to easily
move for career advancement. (Eddy, 2008, p. 59)
Some mothers also postponed presidencies until their husbands were retired (Eddy,
2008).
Hertneky (2010) reports that family demands “vary according to the age at which
a woman assumes a presidency” (p. 4). While most women in her study of balance
between work and family for women in leadership positions waited until their children
were out of school to pursue a presidency, the findings indicate a generational shift
wherein younger women with children are exploring presidential aspirations. All of the
mothers in Hertneky’s study reported that the support of spouses and extended family
were key to helping them in their roles as presidents. June (2015) said that many
successful women presidents with children try to reserve at least one weekend a month
42
where they do not attend any events for the institution. Scheduling that time for personal
enjoyment was a necessity for women in this position. Most women presidents identify
themselves on multiple levels, and this personal time assisted the women in their pursuit
of work-life balance. Hertneky (2010) found the presidents in her study identified
themselves with integrated roles as “wives, mothers, daughters, friends, partners,
colleagues, scholars, teachers, and presidents” (p. 9).
Leadership Traits and Qualities
In order to be a college president, one needs to be a leader. While there are many
different styles of leadership, the best presidents invest in their staff and motivate them to
perform to the best of their abilities in their roles (Bentley & Ludwig, 2009; Fullan &
Scott, 2009). The following section discusses research on the differences between
gender-related leadership traits, as well as the top qualities needed to be an effective
leader.
Gender-Related Leadership Traits
With challenges such as the glass ceiling, glass cliff, sticky floors, and ivory
basements, how exactly do women in top-level administrative positions succeed? Much
of the research suggests that women at the highest levels must exhibit similar leadership
styles to men in order to be regarded as legitimate leaders (Bornstein, 2008; Rabas, 2013;
Tedrow & Rhoades, 1999; Williams & Dempsey, 2004). Male leaders tend to represent
“the transactional leadership style focusing on task and goal achievement while the
female leadership style is often described as a transformational, oriented to visions and
creative changes, based on personal respect, team formation and mutual trust” (Silingiene
& Stukaite, 2014, p. 110). Zhou (2013) reported that the leadership skills in higher
43
education are decidedly masculine, and that men, or women who are more androgynous
in appearance, tend to secure senior-level positions over women who appear more
feminine.
People viewed leaders as quite similar to men but not very similar to women, as
more agentic than communal, and as more masculine than feminine. . . . The
implications . . . are straightforward: Men fit cultural construals of leadership
better than women do and thus have better access to leader roles and face fewer
challenges in becoming successful in them. Why does this occur? A prime reason
is because workplaces are often built with a male slant. (p. 12)
Some women decide to imitate men in order to be considered a leader. Eddy
(2008) discussed the need women presidents feel to “play with the boys” (p. 61). A few
participants in Eddy’s study explained that they learned how to play golf just so their
male contemporaries could relate to them; although, men may also pursue similar
activities in order to fit in with others. Fisher and Kinsey (2014) reported that getting into
the academic boys club is nearly impossible, but that does not stop women from trying.
Women may even behave like men on certain occasions just to gain credibility. Tedrow
and Rhoades (1999) explained that women “generally have different opinions than men
regarding war, peace, child care, the poor and education; yet, when in leadership
positions, their behavior resembles that of their male counterparts” (p. 3).
Williams and Dempsey (2014) examined the tightrope women must walk in order
to balance masculine and feminine traits. One chapter in their book, What Works for
Women at Work, begins by asking: “If you’re criticized if you’re ‘too feminine’ and
you’re criticized if you’re ‘too masculine,’ then what’s the ‘right’ way to be a woman?”
44
(p. 60). The authors noted that masculinity and femininity are independent of biological
sex and that people tend to conflate sex and gender. The authors use the Bem Sex Role
Inventory, as described in Table 3, to list the differences between masculine and feminine
traits.
Table 3
Bem Sex Inventory Traits
Masculine Traits Feminine Traits
Aggressive Affectionate
Ambitious Cheerful
Competitive Compassionate
Forceful Gentle
Leadership abilities Gullible
Independent Shy
Individualistic Soft Spoken
Decisive Sympathetic
Self-sufficient Tender
Risk Taking Understanding
Note: Adapted from What Works for Women at Work: Four Patterns Working Women
Need to Know, by J.C. Williams and R. Dempsey, 2014, p. 63. Copyright 2014 by New
York University Press.
Williams and Dempsey (2014) explained that when women exhibit traits in the
masculine column, they are often considered “a bitch” (p. 64). If they exhibit traits in the
feminine column, they are considered “a doormat” (Williams & Dempsey, 2014, p. 64)
Aiston (2011) echoed this remark, noting that when women demonstrate traits in the
45
masculine column, they are likely to be seen as “difficult and disagreeable” (p. 283).
Christman and McClellan (2012) reported that the way individuals identify with these
traits is shaped by other people’s power. They say that dividing gender into these two
norms pushes one into a position of power and the other into a position of subjugation,
creating an internal struggle for women pursuing leadership positions.
Another leadership trait that women in senior-level roles must abide by is
speaking up (Heath, Flynn, & Holt, 2014; Williams & Dempsey, 2014). Williams and
Dempsey (2014) said that most women in leadership positions speak “lowly and slowly”
(p. 83), making sure their voice pitch is not too high. The authors also suggest that men in
leadership roles take part in conversation rituals like “banter, joking, teasing, and playful
putdowns” (Williams & Dempsey, 2014, p. 84). Women often try to maintain a level of
equality, making sure to not insult someone inadvertently. Women also tend to downplay
their strengths more, apologizing “even when they did not do something wrong,”
(Williams & Dempsey, 2014, p. 84) and are less likely to brag about their
accomplishments. Williams and Dempsey said this sometimes puts women at a
disadvantage during negotiations, and they encouraged women to speak up. Heath et al.
(2014) also encouraged women to find their voice in order to be more successful in
meetings by making their “language more muscular” (p. 120); they suggest using
stronger words such as those listed in Table 4.
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Table 4
Strong Language vs. Weak Language
INSTEAD OF THIS… USE THIS…
How about…? I strongly suggest…
I tend to agree. That is absolutely right, and here’s
why…
I think maybe… My strong advice is…
I agree. I agree completely, because…
Maybe we can… Here is my plan…
Well, what if…? I recommend…
Note: Adapted from “Women, find your voice,” by K. Heath, J. Flynn and M.D. Holt,
2014, Harvard Business Review, 92, 120.
Heath et al. argued that the language women use is much more important than the
language men choose to use and that women need to be mindful when voicing their
opinion or they may appear weaker than they intend. For example, Heath et al. collected
more than seven thousand, 360-degree feedback surveys on 1,100 female executives at or
above the vice president level, and they learned that when women said they were
“passionate” about something, men deemed them as “emotional” (p. 120).
The balance between masculine and feminine is not limited to leadership traits
alone—it is also related to physical appearance. Women are frequently judged by the way
they dress. Williams and Dempsey (2014) cited two examples of women in leadership
positions being judged by their physical appearance, including:
One consultant who worked with a major firm was told at her review that she
wasn’t going to be taken seriously if she kept looking so good. ‘Do you think I
dress inappropriately?’ she asked her reviewer. ‘You’re just very attractive,’ he
told her. ‘You dress beautifully, but that means people aren’t focused on you.
47
They’re focused on the way you look.’ On the other hand, dressing ‘too
masculine’ can also lead to backlash. One woman who moved into a relatively
conservative workplace said she learned to blend in with her female co-workers
by adding a scarf to her pantsuits. ‘I’d never worn scarves,’ she said. ‘I hate
wearing scarves. They sort of choke me. But I learned to like them, and I liked the
color and all that. I had to do it.’ (pp. 81-82)
In the article, “Four Gender Stereotypes of Leaders: Do They Influence Leadership in
Higher Education?” Madden (2011) discussed that a stereotypic dimension applied to
women is that they are polar opposites on a single trait: either cold and competent or
incompetent and friendly. Madden (2011) also noted that people who are more masculine
than feminine in appearance are judged as more competent.
Qualities of a Leader
While traditional leadership traits tend to focus on masculine versus feminine
characteristics, there is much literature that suggests leadership does not depend on a
person’s sex, but rather on an ability to know one’s own strengths and invest in the
strengths of others, to assemble the correct mix of people with different strengths on
one’s team, and to meet the needs of those looking for leadership (Bentley & Ludwig,
2009). StrengthsQuest, a tool created by Gallup’s Education Practice, is used “at more
than 600 schools and universities in North America” (Gallup, 2015, p. 3), and provides
people with positive ways to achieve success in leadership development. In a PowerPoint
presentation on StrentghsQuest titled, “How to be a Better Leader: MVCC Administrator
Workshop,” Bentley and Ludwig (2009), detailed StrengthsQuest’s leadership equation,
as shown in Figure 1:
48
Talent (a natural way of thinking, feeling and behaving)
Multiplied by
Investment (time spent practicing, developing your skills, and building your
knowledge base)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
= Strength (the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance)
Figure 1: StrengthsQuest Leadership Equation from Bentley, N. & Ludwig, T. (2009)
StrenghtsQuest, How to be a better leader: MVCC administrator workshop. [PowerPoint
Slides].
Bentley and Ludwig noted that while leaders are not always well-rounded, they surround
themselves with people that supplement their leadership qualities. They explained that the
most successful leaders utilize positive psychology, focusing on people’s strengths.
Bentley and Ludwig (2009) listed StrengthsQuest’s six principles as:
You have a group of talents within you.
Your greatest talents hold the key to high achievement, success, and progress
at levels of personal excellence.
Becoming aware of your talents builds confidence and provides a basis of
achievement.
Learning how to develop and apply strengths will improve your levels of
achievement.
Each of your talents can be applied in many areas including relationships,
learning, academics, leadership, service, and careers.
As you develop and apply strengths, your achievements will increase and you
will experience greater and more frequent successes. (Slide 5)
Kouzes and Posner (1988) concluded that leadership is not something a person is
born with; it is a skill that is learned. Over the past 30 years, the researchers interviewed
thousands of people, collected data and personal stories from 75,000 written responses,
49
and learned that leadership is not determined by gender, age, or culture, but rather
constitutes similar qualities in those that are the best. Kouzes and Posner (2015)
discovered that:
When leaders are at their personal best there are five core practices common to
all: they Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable
Others to Act, and last but certainly not least, they Encourage the Heart. (p. 1)
Kouzes and Posner (2007) suggested that a critical factor for leaders to perform at
their best is finding a career that one believes in, because it helps that person work hard,
face challenges head-on, and attain goals. The researchers cautioned that when people are
motivated by extrinsic motivators, such as money or other rewards, they will be left
feeling dissatisfied and unmotivated “once the rewards are removed” (Kouzes & Posner,
2007, p. 116). Exploring leadership factors that influence mothers and lead to their
pursuit of a college presidency is an important part of this study.
Work-Life Balance: Is it Possible to Have it All?
At the 2014 Annual American Council on Education (ACE) Conference in San
Diego, California, Dr. Waded Cruzado, President of Montana State University, told a
packed room of women working in higher education to forget the idea of work-life
balance because, she said, it does not exist. Williams and Dempsey (2014) stressed that in
a country where employees are expected to be constantly available, it is nearly impossible
to find balance. In the article, “Can American Women Have it All and Be Happy?” Zhou
(2013) found there is almost always an imbalance between working and parenting:
It's not easy to weave the threads of career and parenting into a strong fabric. For
one thing, greater family demands placed on mothers interfere with their work,
50
research shows, and result in lower job satisfaction. Plus, mothers tend to earn
less than childless women, are rated as less competent in and committed to their
jobs, and suffer a 5 percent wage penalty per child on average. (p. 13).
Although men do struggle with work-life balance, the challenge is much greater
for women (Dindoffer et al., 2011; Wolf-Wendel & Ward, 2006; Zhou, 2013). Wolf-
Wendel and Ward (2006) found that the “physical demands of motherhood, gendered
expectations of family obligations, and the ongoing disparity with which working women
can take on the second shift through maintenance of children and home” (p. 489) make it
very difficult for women to achieve balance. There is almost always spillover into other
roles (Bornstein, 2008). Wolf-Wendel and Ward noted, however, that the spillover effect
might be less for women in faculty positions, because the roles may serve as a buffer to
one another, allowing a respite from the stress of the other role. There is also more time
flexibility in faculty roles versus administrative roles where employees are typically
expected to adhere to an 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. schedule.
Cowdery and Knudson-Martin (2005) studied the construction of motherhood and
how balance may be achieved in a dual-parent working household. Because mothers are
considered the experts at raising children, most of the care-taking for children is still done
primarily by women (Cowdery & Knudson-Martin, 2005). The researchers found four
processes that maintained mothering as a gendered talent:
Partners believed that mothers had a natural connection and knowledge.
Fathers stepped back.
Mothers organized time around children.
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Mothers took continual responsibility. (Cowdery & Knudson-Martin, 2005, p.
339)
In the study conducted by Cowder and Knudson-Martin, time was the biggest
factor. Fathers in the study organized their time around work, whereas mothers prioritized
their time around children. This creates an imbalance for working mothers, because they
are almost always left with no personal time. A participant in Cowdery and Knudson-
Martin’s (2005) study said, “[My partner] is out playing golf, and I’m still at home
working. . . . You don’t play until the work is done, and my work is never done” (p. 340).
This sentiment from working mothers is echoed in much of the literature (Cowdery &
Knudson-Martin, 2005; Dindoffer et al., 2011; Eddy, 2008). Women who work full time
and have children often maintain most of the domestic duties (Dindoffer et al., 2011).
This second shift takes away time for any personal interests; it also takes away energy
necessary to perform everyday tasks. Participants in a study conducted by Kahanov et al.
(2010) acknowledged that their energy levels seemed to be insufficient for being effective
at both mothering and working in academia. Personal time was not mentioned.
In addition to struggles regarding time, women often experience significant guilt
when trying to work and establish a career (Barker, 2014; Gilbert & Von Wallmenich,
2014; Oats et al., 2005; Powell & Butterfield, 2013; Sidel, 1990; Williams & Dempsey,
2014; Zhou, 2013). Dindoffer et al. (2011) said, “Women who work while maintaining a
home and family operate under stress, guilt, time constraints, and self-imposed
expectations that are in addition to what men experience” (p. 282). Feelings of
inadequacy add to the challenge of establishing balance.
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Hertneky (2010) studied the role of balance on women’s leadership self-identity.
The study revealed that women presidents enjoyed the challenge of seeking balance in
their personal and professional lives, but admitted that balance was much easier once they
had been in the position for several years. Many confided that family demands made the
role difficult, and that in order to achieve balance, they had to lean on family members
for support. Hertneky also learned that while participants said they did not regret the
decision to become college presidents, they all felt they had sacrificed a portion of their
personal lives in order to fulfill their career responsibilities.
While work-life balance is a topic of concern for most women who have a career
and family responsibilities, the term itself, which was coined in the beginning of the 21st
century, is beginning to take on new meaning. Rather than referring to the work-life
balance, many researchers are in favor of using the term “work-life integration” (Tajlili,
2013, p. 255). About work-life balance for professional working mothers, Tajlili (2013)
maintained:
Professional working mothers find that balance is an unachievable ideal in today’s
fast-paced world. Balance becomes another measure of success in professional
work and motherhood, eating away at the confidence of women already plagued
by feeling the perils of mommy guilt, pushing through the glass ceiling, and
achieving life meaning concurrently. (p. 255)
Working Mothers
According to the United States Department of Labor, 69.9% of mothers in the
United States with children under the age of 18 were employed in 2014, and 63.9% of
mothers with children under age 6 were employed. For mothers with children between 6
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and 17 years old, the percentage of working mothers jumped to 74.7% (United States
Department of Labor, 2014). A Pew Research Survey learned that while 85% of working
mothers felt “happy” most of the time, 86% reported feeling sometimes or frequently
“stressed” (Pew Research Center, 2012). When asked whether or not women with
children should work, 12% of both male and female respondents said mothers should
work full time, 40% said mothers should work part time, and 42% said mothers should
not work at all (Pew Research Center, 2012). Many people have strong opinions about
whether or not women with children should work, and surprisingly, many have no issue
expressing their opinions directly to working mothers. Williams and Cuddy (2012)
reported that this open bias against working mothers is so blatant that a number of
working mothers have taken companies to court over the discrimination.
According to data collected by the Center for WorkLife Law, in the United States
roughly two-thirds of plaintiffs who sue in federal court on the basis of family
responsibilities discrimination prevail at trial. Their success rate is approximately
twice as high as that of plaintiffs in federal employment discrimination cases in
general. Meanwhile the filing of family responsibilities lawsuits in federal courts,
state courts, and government agencies increased by almost 400% from 1998-2008.
As more and more successful suits hit the news, people how believe they have
been unfairly treated and become more apt to seek legal remedies. (Williams &
Cuddy, 2012, pp. 95-96)
Williams and Cuddy said the types of bias against mothers usually take the form of
questions like: “Don’t you miss your children?” or “Don’t you feel bad leaving your kids
home when you go to work in the morning?”
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The maternal wall. Williams and Dempsey (2014) coined the term the maternal
wall to describe the challenges faced by working mothers. The maternal wall speaks to
the bias faced by mothers simply because they have children. Mothers are “both more
likely to be sidelined for being seen as prioritizing family over work and more likely to
be seen as deficient in their devotion to work” (Williams & Dempsey, 2014, p. 133). The
authors explained how mothers are often stereotyped as nurturing and family oriented and
are therefore in conflict with the stereotypes of professional women, who are deemed
career driven. This often compels mothers to work twice as hard as childless women to
prove their devotion to the institution (Williams & Dempsey, 2014). Williams and
Dempsey further explained that some employers discriminate against mothers based on
their own personal beliefs that mothers should stay home with their children. Several of
the working mothers interviewed by Williams and Dempsey reported that they were often
passed over for promotions or travel opportunities without being asked, because
employers believed they would not be interested in those opportunities while still having
children at home. Williams and Dempsey (2014) explained that the maternal wall often
rises when women are most vulnerable:
When they have just returned from maternity leave and are already ambivalent
about leaving their babies, or a little later, as they struggle on the front lines with
babies and jobs, or when they have a second child or a third. If the pressure
becomes overwhelming and they drop out, it’s presented as their own choice. (p.
151)
Interrole conflict. Interrole conflict is a “particular type of conflict that arises
when different roles produce sets of pressures that are in some sense incompatible”
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(Oates, Hall, & Anderson, 2005, p. 210). Oates et al. (2005) found that all participants in
their study on working women experienced some level of tension between working and
mothering. Major effects on interrole conflict included guilt, stress, and depression
(Barker, 2014; Gilbert & Von Wallmenich, 2014; Oates et al., 2005; Powell &
Butterfield, 2013; Williams & Dempsey, 2014; Zhou, 2013). Oates et al. explained that
interrole conflict is not due solely to physical demands, but also to internally perceived
demands. Zhou (2013) noted that women often feel dissatisfied: stay-home mothers may
feel unfulfilled not working, and career women may feel unfulfilled not raising a family.
Stone and Hernandez (2012) explained how some women feel a “pull” to their children at
home and how others realized after returning to work just how demanding it was to work
full time and be a mother. Often, the second shift that begins when working mothers
return home is overwhelming, and the guilt of not being able to cope with stereotypical
mothering and homemaking duties (i.e., cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and care-
taking) when they get home from work leads to extreme stress and even depression
(Dindoffer et al., 2011; Oates et al., 2005).
Working mothers may adopt a superwoman strategy (trying to do all the domestic
duties in addition to career tasks) in order to fulfill their different roles and achieve
balance (Oates et al., 2005). When women cannot meet all of these requirements, it may
lead to feelings of failure. For some working mothers, one way of coping with interrole
conflict is through spirituality. Through a process called sanctification, working mothers
may come to view their careers as a “calling,” which minimizes feelings of guilt and
promotes positive feelings for both their worker and mother roles (DeFrank et al., 2014;
Metha & Sharma, 2014; Oates et al., 2005).
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In their study “Women Administrators in Christian Universities: Making Family
and Career Co-Central,” Dindoffer et al. (2011) found that gender splitting is a prevailing
influence in their participants’ lives. Austrian (2008) described gender splitting as a
“rigid division between male and female that operates on many levels—cultural, social
institutions, everyday social life and the individual psyche” (p. 225). The four basic forms
of gender splitting are:
the domestic sphere and the public sphere as social domains for women and
for men, respectively
the traditional marriage enterprise,’ defined as the split between female
homemaker and male provider
the distinction between ‘women’s work’ and ‘men’s work’
the splitting of feminine and masculine in the individual psyche (Levinson &
Levinson, 1996, p. 38)
Dindoffer et al. (2011) found a number of influences that aid working mothers in
their pursuit to have both a career and children, including: (a) support—having support
from family, particularly their parents and friends, gave the women encouragement to
pursue a career; (b) mentoring—all of the participants reported that counseling and
encouragement from mentors increased their confidence in their responsibilities; and (c)
relinquishing responsibilities—the mothers in the study learned how to give up certain
domestic responsibilities, such as chores and shopping, and they often hired someone else
to take care of these tasks. Williams and Dempsey (2014) advocate that today’s mothers,
especially those working, need to stop trying to be like their mothers:
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For all the guilt that’s heaped on mothers who fail to live up to the ever soaring
standards of helicopter parenting, the fact is that a lot of the little things don’t
matter that much. . . . Holding yourself up to an unrealistic standard of being
always available to your children can leave you in tatters, and remember:
emotional tone is often more important than utter Betty Crockerdom. (p. 159)
Williams and Dempsey explained that today’s working mothers have much more
responsibility than their mothers did, so trying to be a perfect mother and a perfect
employee is not only difficult, but also unrealistic.
Female Identity Development Theories
Pertinent to the study of mothers as college presidents are the concepts of female
identity, specifically, how women identify who they are and what motivates them in their
careers and lives. There are numerous theories regarding female identity, and this section
explores the ways women develop their sense of self and their many life roles. Special
attention will be paid to the theories of Gilligan (1982), Josselson (1987), and Sidel
(1990).
Women labor under the ideal of being superwoman: a star at the office, devoted
mother and wife at home, and in prime physical shape. . . . Throughout history, a
woman’s place has been defined by her society. Even when these definitions are
more implicit than explicit, women are susceptible to cultural definitions of how
they ought to be and sensitive to social guidelines that tell them whether they are
doing a good job at being women. (Josselson, 1987, p. 2)
While female identity theories differ to some extent, most agree that male life is the norm
and the standard to which women identify themselves. Gilligan (1982) noted that this
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male norm has “tried to fashion women out of a masculine cloth [going back to] Adam
and Eve—a story which shows, among other things, that if you make a woman out of a
man, you are bound to get in trouble” (p. 6). When women stray from the norm, they are
deemed deviant (Gilligan, 1982; Josselson, 1987; Marcia & Josselson, 2012; Sidel,
1990).
Typically, girls and boys are treated differently beginning from birth (Gilligan,
1982; Williams & Dempsey, 2014). Girls are taught to be caring, while boys are taught to
be cared for. Because of these early social environmental factors, males and females
experience differences in their personality development (Gilligan, 1982). Females learn at
an early age to define themselves based on the relationships they form with people. This
explains, in part, why much of the literature regards the role of a mentor as an
instrumental part of a woman’s success (Bornstein, 2009; Dindoffer et al., 2011, Eddy,
2008; Hertneky, 2010; Josselson, 1987; Tunheim & Goldschmidt, 2013). In her study on
female identity theory, Josselson (1987) learned that women who made their careers a
priority typically had mentors:
For a woman to anchor herself importantly in work, her work has to matter to
someone who matters to her. When it does not, her occupational pursuits tend to
be transitory as she searches for something else that will give her life meaning.
The presence of even one person who validates the meaningfulness of her work
can change an identity-distant job into an enriching and anchoring aspect of a
woman’s existence. (p. 177)
This theory also supports findings in both Barsh’s (2009) and Mayer et al.’s (2015)
studies that found women in higher education leadership positions were motivated by the
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meaningful nature of their work. Rather than identify themselves by relationships, men
generally identify themselves by occupation or by “distinctiveness from others, which
makes their identity easy to name” (Josselson, 1987, p. 8). Women’s identity
development can be more complicated. The development of female identity is critical to
this study and the following sections explore Josselson’s (1987) and Sidel’s (1990)
theories.
Josselson’s (1987) Theory
Josselson (1987), a psychologist, conducted a longitudinal, phenomenological
study in which she interviewed 60 college-educated women at different stages of their
lives (adolescence through mid-life) in order to explain how they developed their
identities. Building upon Erikson’s psychosocial developmental theory, Josselson (1987)
identified four different classifications of female identity development: (a) Foreclosures,
(b) Identity Diffusions, (c) Moratoriums, and (d) Identity Achievements. Most women
will identify themselves by multiple classifications during their lifetimes. Josselson
(1987) argued that this is because our identities are formed by society and experiences.
The next section explores Josselson’s (1987) four classifications of female identity
theory.
Foreclosures are the most predictable of all four classifications, and are likely to
“continue in the beliefs and practices of their childhoods, without rethinking or
questioning” (Josselson, 1987, p. 42). They are firm believers in moral standards and are
the least likely to question their parents. For the Foreclosures, family comes first. These
women described themselves as being closest to their husbands, then to their children,
then to their mothers. Most foreclosures do not have friends outside of their families.
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Foreclosures fear the uncontrollable, and “religion tends to allay these worries”
(Josselson, 1987, p. 182).
The Identity Achievements are the next classification, and this group of women
seeks autonomy from their parents by choosing to focus on individuation. Josselson
(1987) learned that Identity Achievements are “more flexible, more open to experience,
more firmly rooted in an internal sense of self, and hence, more independent of external
sources of self-esteem” (p. 72). Identity Achievements are philosophical about their lives
and they have learned what they can and cannot control, which allows them to maintain
self-esteem in unpredictable situations. Josselson (1987) reports that “nearly all of the
Identity Achievements see their circumstances as a combination of “luck and hard work”
(p. 104).
The Moratoriums are what Josselson (1987) deemed “daughters of crisis” (p.
106). While they are aware they have choices in life, they are often paralyzed by these
choices. Josselson (1987) said this group consisted of women who “left their churches,
marched in antiwar protests, became feminists, criticized their parents, experimented with
sex—and felt guilty” (p. 106). While Moratoriums tend to be charming and
philosophical, their explorative nature creates lower self-esteem and greater anxiety than
the Foreclosures and Identity Achievements. Josselson (1987) pointed out that, although
Moratoriums struggle with issues, they talk easily about their feelings with others.
The last classification is the Identity Diffusions, who “treat themselves as lumps
of clay available to be shaped by whatever or other whoever is willing to mold them”
(Josselson, 1987, p. 7). While the Moratoriums were noted as having great anxiety,
Identity Diffusions have the highest level of anxiety and have the most difficult time
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forming intimate relationships. These women do not have any attributes of identity and
are therefore often labeled as “deviant” (Josselson, 1987, p. 141). Diffusions have
experiences, but they do not learn from them. This produces a problem for identity
development, because personalities are never quite structured:
[The Identity] Diffusions are so accustomed to uncertainty that they retreat to
passivity, rolling with fate, taking what comes. These women feel so unable to
control any aspect of their lives that they treat life as a kind of carnival ride,
reacting to whatever may be around the next turn. (Josselson, 1987, p. 182)
The four different classifications of Josselson’s (1987) female identity
development offer insight into how women come to identify themselves. Josselson
argued these classifications are created by society and experience. This study will explore
how the participants’ experiences as women and mothers shaped their role as college
presidents.
Sidel’s (1990) Theory
Sidel (1990), a sociologist, conducted in-depth interviews with over 150 women
to “understand the key issues involved in growing up female in the United States during
the waning years of the twentieth century” (p. 4). She interviewed three age groups of
women all over the country: young women (12-25), professionals who worked with the
young women, and older women in their twenties, thirties, and early forties. Sidel (1990)
explored how women view the “American Dream,” and found that women fell into three
different categories: (a) New American Dreamers, (b) Neotraditionalists, and (c)
Outsiders.
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New American Dreamers are “confident, outgoing, knowledgeable, [and]
involved” (Sidel, 1990, p. 15). The women in this group separate identity from intimacy
and express the desire to “figure out who they are” (p. 17) before they form a partnership
with another person. New American Dreamers are optimistic:
They believe that with enough hard work they will ‘make it’ in American society.
No matter what class they come from, their fantasies are of upward mobility, a
comfortable life filled with personal choice and material possession. The upper-
middle-class women fantasize a life even more upper-middle-class; middle-class
and working-class women look toward a life of high status in which they have
virtually everything they want; and some young women who come from families
with significant financial deprivation and numerous other problems dream of a
life straight out of [glamorous TV dramas]. (Sidel, 1990, p. 18)
New American Dreamers believe they can do anything they want with their lives.
The Neotraditionalists are quite different from the New American Dreamers,
because they fall into overlapping roles: “They are either hoping to balance their public
and private activities or are more focused on their ‘domestic’ roles, preferring to mesh
work with home rather than to fit home responsibilities around their work lives” (Sidel,
1990, p. 37). While most of the women in Sidel’s (1990) classification of
Neotraditionalists indicated a desire to have both a family and a career, their career
aspirations were less ambitious than the New American Dreamers. Many women who
were classified as Neotraditionalists expressed guilt when not being able to focus on
domestic responsibilities. Sidel (1990) explained this conflict:
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If our mothers had dinner on the table at six, do we feel guilty if we do not? If our
mothers baked birthday cakes for all of their children, do we feel somehow remiss
when we buy ours? And above all do we feel inadequate as women, as mothers, if
we are not ‘available’ to our children when they ‘need’ us? (p. 46)
Throughout the literature, feelings of guilt were evident in the mothers trying to balance a
career and a family (Barker, 2014; Gilbert & Von Wallmenich, 2014; Oats et al., 2005;
Powell & Butterfield, 2013; Sidel, 1990; Williams & Dempsey, 2014; Zhou, 2013).
The third classification in Sidel’s (1990) study was the Outsiders. This group of
women “can barely see beyond tomorrow” (p. 9). They may feel trapped, denigrated, or
alienated from the norm. While being an Outsider may be temporary for some women,
others experience a permeation of feelings associated with alienation that lasts a lifetime.
Outsiders may be so bogged down by day-to-day living that they do not dream about the
future at all (Sidel, 1990).
Female identity theories helped to shape the context of this study and influenced
the way in which the interview questions were framed. I explored how participants in this
study developed their sense of self and formed their personal identity by using existing
female identity theories as a guide.
Career Decision-Making for Women
A review of the challenges facing women who want a professional career raises
the question: What motivates women to choose one career over another? There are many
theories explaining the career decisions made by men and women, and this section details
those theories relevant to female development. Particular focus is paid to Bandura’s
(1977) self-efficacy theory, Holland’s (1958) career choice theory, Super’s (1980) life-
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span, life-space approach, Mainiero and Sullivan’s (2005) kaleidoscope model of careers,
and McMahon’s (2011) systems theory framework of career development.
Bandura’s (1977) Self-Efficacy Theory
Self-efficacy is a concept central to Bandura’s (1977) social cognitive theory,
which explains the roles played by observational learning, social experience, and
reciprocal determinism in the development of personality. Bandura (1997) described self-
efficacy as the belief in one’s ability to execute a course of action required to exert
control in a specific environment. In other words, self-efficacy is someone’s belief in her
ability to succeed. This concept, in part, is central to understanding why some women
achieve college presidencies and others do not. Bandura (1977) explained that most
people are able to identify goals they want to accomplish, but they also realize action
plans are not always easy to implement. Bandura maintained that:
People with a strong sense of self-efficacy:
view challenging problems as tasks to be mastered,
develop deeper interest in the activities in which they participate,
form a stronger sense of commitment to their interests and activities, and
recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments
People with a weak sense of self-efficacy:
avoid challenging tasks,
believe that difficult tasks and situations are beyond their capabilities,
focus on personal failings and negative outcomes, and
quickly lose confidence in personal abilities (as cited in Cherry, 2015)
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Even though self-efficacy starts developing during childhood, it continues through
adulthood and is either hindered or encouraged by many different sources. The first
source is performance accomplishments or mastery experiences (Bandura, 1977).
Because it is based on our own experiences, this source of efficacy may be the strongest.
When someone accomplishes a task, it strengthens her belief that she will be successful.
Failing at an experience may lower one’s sense of self-efficacy. However, Bandura
(1977) explained, “Occasional failures that are later overcome by determined effort
strengthen self-motivated persistence if one finds through experience that even the most
difficult obstacles can be mastered by sustained effort” (p. 195).
The second source that affects self-efficacy is vicarious experience (Bandura,
1977). Yancey (2014) noted that people learn by observing other people and modeling
their behavior. Bandura (1977) said, “Seeing others perform threatening activities without
adverse consequences can generate expectations in observers that they too will improve if
they intensify and persist in their efforts” (p. 197).
The third source affecting one’s self-efficacy is verbal persuasion. According to
Bandura (1977), this is the easiest way to affect one’s self-efficacy because it is the most
readily available. When others tell people they can succeed at a difficult task, it gives
them the confidence they need to accomplish something. Cherry (2015) asked people to
consider a time when someone gave them verbal encouragement to accomplish a task and
how it affected the way they felt. It should be noted that the opposite is true as well:
Verbal discouragement may lead to low self-efficacy. Verbal persuasion may further
explain the important influence of mentors on women who choose to become college
presidents.
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The last source of self-efficacy is emotional arousal. Stress and anxiety brought
on by a particular circumstance may affect how people cope with threatening situations
(Bandura, 1977). For instance, a person who has severe test anxiety may develop a weak
sense of self-efficacy when presented with a written exam. Bandura (1977) reported,
“Fear reactions generate further fear of impending stressful situations through
anticipatory self-arousal” (p. 199).
Holland’s (1958/1996) Career Choice Theory
John Holland (1958), a career theorist, created the Holland Vocational Preference
Inventory to assess personality traits to explain career choice:
The choice of an occupation is an expressive act which reflects the person’s
motivation, knowledge, personality, and ability. Occupations represent a way of
life, an environment rather than a set of isolated work functions or skills. To work
as a carpenter means not only to use tools but also to have a certain status,
community role, and a special pattern of living. In this sense, the choice of an
occupational title represents several kinds of information: the [person’s]
motivation, his knowledge of the occupation in question, his insight and
understanding of himself, and his abilities. (p. 336)
Holland maintained that in choosing a career, people are motivated by being at a place of
employment where people are similar to them and in a physical environment where they
feel comfortable. He believed that, in addition to physical environment, people choose
careers based on a number of variables, including heredity, societal influences, social
class, and cultural forces.
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Holland (1958) explained that individuals are suited for particular environments
(Gottredson & Johnstun, 2009). These environments and personality types are broken
into six different categories: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and
Conventional (Holland, 1958; Gotterdson & Johnsotun, 2009). Figure 2 details Holland’s
(1958) six personality types as described in his theory of vocational choice.
Figure 2: Holland’s Hexagon Diagram from “Free career assessment: 0 net interest
profiler career assessment, O’Net Resource Center, 2014. Copyright 2014 US
Department of Labor.
Holland stressed that people who choose specific environments aligned with their
personality will be the happiest and most successful in their job choice.
Holland’s (1958) vocational choice model gained popularity in the 1960s and
1970s, and it is still highly used today. It was adapted into a tool at American College
Testing (ACT), where Holland was Vice President for Research, which enabled people to
discern careers that would suit them based on a series of identifying questions. The ACT
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assessment introduces students to the World-of-Work Map that “graphically shows how
occupations relate to each other based on work tasks . . . [and gives recipients] a
personalized report [that] suggests map regions and career areas on the World-of-Work
Map” (The ACT, 2015, p. 2). Holland’s inventory was also adapted by the Department of
Labor’s Occupational Information Network and incorporated into Occupational Interest
Profiles used by counselors, college advisors, and researchers to identify career options
for people (Rounds et al., 1999). The Department of Labor also uses this model as a tool
to assist those currently unemployed in exploring new career options. Holland’s theory,
empirically tested and continually revised over time, serves as the theoretical foundation
for most career interest inventories used today to assist individuals throughout the world
with career exploration. Nauta (2010) explained that Holland’s (1958/1996) theory is still
relevant and cited frequently in counseling psychology journals.
Super’s (1980) Life-Span, Life-Space Approach
Looking to focus more on career development and less on occupational choice,
Super (1980) expanded on his earlier work of vocational development and created a life-
span, life-space approach to career choice. Super developed a life-career rainbow as a
means of conceptualizing careers that change over time due to a multitude of factors,
including how one’s self-concept and life-stages change over time. Super explained that
individuals typically go through nine major roles in their lifetime, although not everyone
goes through all nine roles, and some go through additional roles. The nine roles are: (a)
Child; (b) Student; (c) Leisurite, a term used to describe the point at which one is
“engaged in the pursuit of leisure-time activities, including idling” (Super, 1980 p. 283);
(d) Citizen; (e) Worker, “including unemployed worker and non-worker as ways of
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playing the role” (p. 283); (f) Spouse; (g) Homemaker; (h) Parent; and (i) Pensioner.
Super mentioned that these roles are played in four different theaters (i.e., the home, the
school, the work, and the community), and while roles have a primary theater—for
instance, a mother usually plays that role at home—there is often spillover into other
areas. According to Super (1980):
This impinging of one role on another by spilling over into a secondary theater, as
when the worker role is played at home where the spouse and homemaker roles
are primary, may cause a certain amount of role conflict in the person playing
them, and a certain amount of confusion in the minds or feelings of others in the
same theater; it may also enrich the life of those in that theater, as when a parent
shares some of the interesting events of the workplace with spouse and children
while at meals, at the same time organizing his or her own thoughts about them. It
is important that, as just noted, it is the occupying of positions in theaters that
casts one in roles, for a role is a set of expectations that others have of a person
occupying a position. A parent is expected to assume certain responsibilities for a
child, even though he or she may not have chosen to become a parent, and
similarly a worker is expected to perform certain duties by virtue of having been
employed to fill a certain position at a place of work with a given job description
and with a descriptive job title such as that of bricklayer or cashier. (pp. 284-285)
Super’s life-span, life-space approach helps to explain much of the sentiment expressed
in the literature by working-mothers who often feel interrole conflict with the many roles
they play (Barker, 2014; Gilbert & Von Wallmenich, 2014; Oates et al., 2005; Powell &
Butterfield, 2013; Williams & Dempsey, 2014; Zhou, 2013). It also supports the literature
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that many mothers wait until their children are grown and their husbands are retired
before pursuing a college presidency (Cohea, 2015; Eddy, 2008; Hertneky, 2010).
Super (1980) identified the importance of certain roles over others through one’s
life-span, as depicted in Figure 3. He maintained that the importance comes from
temporal influence and emotion. Super’s life-career rainbow demonstrates how roles
typically shift over time.
Figure 3. Reprinted from “A life-span, life-space approach to career development,” by
D.E. Super, 1980, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 16, 289.
Mainiero and Sullivan’s (2005) Kaleidoscope Model of Careers
In response to the media storm of the “Opt Out Revolution,” Mainiero and
Sullivan (2005) launched a “complex, multi-pronged, three-study approach” (p. 108) that
surveyed over 1,800 professional women and men and asked in-depth questions about
career choice. The researchers wanted to learn how women’s careers unfold and
concluded that:
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The kaleidoscope model fits women’s careers well as a means of understanding
how women operate relationally to others in both work and non-work realms.
Like a kaleidoscope that produces changing patterns when the tube is rotated and
its glass chips fall into new arrangements, women shift the pattern of their careers
by rotating different aspects in their lives to arrange their roles and relationships
in new ways. (Mainiero & Sullivan, 2005, p. 106)
Mainiero and Sullivan learned that women, in contrast to men, make career decisions
based on relationalism. In other words, women make decisions about their career options
only “after considering the impact their decisions will have on others” (p. 111). The
women in their study:
Factored in the needs of their children, spouses, aging parents, and even
coworkers and clients—as part of the total gestalt of their careers. Men, on the
other hand, tended to examine career decisions from the perspective of goal
orientation and independent action—acting first for the benefit of career. Men
tended to keep their work and non-work lives separate—and often could do this
because the women in their lives managed the delicate interplay between work
and non-work issues. (Mainiero & Sullivan, 2005, pp. 111-112)
Mainiero and Sullivan (2005) reported that they purposely used a kaleidoscope metaphor
to describe women’s career choices, because women move the facets of their lives around
in order to find the correct fit for their life circumstances. This corresponds with
Gilligan’s (1982) theory that women often make changes in their lives based on social
environmental factors, particularly based upon relationships and the care and concern of
others.
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McMahon and Patton’s (1995) Systems Theory Framework
In 1995, McMahon and Patton developed the Systems Theory Framework (STF)
“in response to the convergence debate of the early 1990s” (McMahon, 2011, p. 170).
The researchers explained that career choice is determined by multiple influences and
that these influences change over time. McMahon and Patton argued that “three
interconnecting systems (i.e., individual, social, and environmental-societal)” (as cited in
McMahon, 2011, p. 170) interact with each other, change over time, and therefore affect
career choice. STF emphasizes process and how career changes happen, and it signifies
that career development is dynamic, ever changing, and sometimes unpredictable.
Interview questions in this study of mothers as college presidents were developed
to address career path choice and how career/life decisions were made for each of the
participants. The career decision-making theories highlighted served as a lens through
which I examined why these mothers in leadership positions decided not to opt out, but
rather to opt for the top.
Summary and Limitations to the Literature
The review of the literature provided insight into why women with children may
wait to pursue college presidencies, if they choose to pursue that role at all. With
incredible time demands and societal expectations, many mothers experience interrole
conflict that prevents them from pursing college presidencies or has them waiting years
before they move up the ladder, putting them at a time-disadvantage from others pursing
presidencies. The literature provided a solid foundation for exploring the experiences of
mothers as they embark on career paths to college presidencies and shaped the questions
for this study.
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Extensive research has been conducted on women in leadership positions. There
have also been extensive studies on the work-life balance of women in higher education.
One limitation to the literature is that some of the studies reviewed were quantitative and
did not provide in-depth analysis of the participants’ perspectives. There is also a
significant gap in research that focuses on mothers in college presidencies. This study
examines how women with children created a path to the top level of leadership in higher
education and what motivated and challenged them along the way.
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CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
As stated in Chapters 1 and 2, the purpose of this dissertation is to understand the
lived experiences of mothers in higher education presidencies. Through their stories, a
deeper appreciation of how these women arrived at the role of college president became
apparent, as did the themes that demonstrate how they were challenged and how they
succeeded in being both mothers and college presidents. In order to accomplish this
purpose, a phenomenological study, using in-depth interviews and document/artifact
analysis, was conducted. The study was guided by the following research questions:
What are the lived experiences and perceptions of a small group of mothers in
presidential positions at higher education institutions? How do they make sense of
their lives?
How has being a mother affected the career paths of these mothers in college
presidencies?
What have been the challenges that they have faced in their careers, and what has
contributed to their success in moving up the presidential ladder?
In what ways do they think their personal attributes, skills, and experiences as a
mother relate to their personal attributes, skills, and experiences as a leader and
college president?
Framed within the tradition of qualitative research, this phenomenological study
answered these research questions. This chapter will address the qualitative research
paradigm, this study’s conceptual framework, the researcher’s role in this study, the
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methods of data collection and analysis employed, ethical considerations, validating the
findings, and concluding remarks.
Research Paradigms
“Research is a process of steps used to collect and analyze information to increase
our understanding of a topic or issue” (Creswell, 2012, p. 3). When one wants to conduct
research, she usually begins by asking a question. What she wants to know determines
the type of research she will conduct. There are two major types of research: quantitative
and qualitative. Quantitative research often seeks to explain why something occurs in
order to answer a research problem (Creswell, 2012). Quantitative researchers use a
specific instrument, such as a survey or a standardized test, to collect data later to be
analyzed using statistics. Qualitative research, on the other hand, seeks to explore a
central phenomenon (Creswell, 2012). In qualitative research, data analysis is usually
conducted through text and image analysis and thematic coding to determine larger
meanings of understanding. In qualitative research, the researcher is instrumental,
conducting interviews or observations; the researcher does not use someone else’s
instrument or survey (Creswell, 2012).
Creswell (2012) suggested the way to choose the correct paradigm for conducting
research is by examining the characteristics of both quantitative and qualitative research.
Quantitative Research Characteristics:
describing a research problem through a description of trends or a need for an
explanation of the relationship among variables
providing a major role for the literature through suggesting the research
questions to be asked and justifying the research problem and creating a need
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for the direction (purpose statement and research questions or hypotheses) of
the study
creating purpose statements, research questions, and hypotheses that are
specific, narrow, measurable and observable
collecting numeric data from a large number of people using instruments with
preset questions and responses
analyzing trends, comparing groups, or relating variables using statistical
analysis, and interpreting results by comparing them with prior predictions
and past research
writing the research report using standard, fixed structures and evaluation
criteria, and taking an objective, unbiased approach (Creswell, 2012, p. 13)
Qualitative Research Characteristics:
exploring a problem and developing a detailed understanding of a central
phenomenon
having the literature review play a minor role but justify the problem.
stating the purpose and research questions in a general and broad way so as to
[explore] the participants’ experiences
collecting data based on words from a small number of individuals so that the
participants’ views are obtained
analyzing the data for description and themes using text analysis and
interpreting the larger meaning of the findings
writing the report using flexible, emerging structures and evaluative criteria,
and including the researchers’ subjective reflexivity and bias (Creswell, 2012,
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p. 16)
Because I studied the lived experiences of mothers in the role of college presidents, a
qualitative research paradigm was most appropriate.
Qualitative Research Paradigm
Willis (2007) defined a paradigm as “a comprehensive belief system, worldview,
or framework that guides research and practice in a field” (p. 8). When someone decides
to conduct qualitative research, Creswell (2007) said the researcher brings her own set of
beliefs to the process:
These [worldviews] inform the conduct and writing of the qualitative study.
Further, in many approaches to qualitative research, the researchers use
interpretive and theoretical frameworks to further shape the study. Good research
requires making these assumptions, paradigms, and frameworks explicit in the
writing of the study, and, at a minimum, to be aware that they influence the
conduct of inquiry. (p. 15)
Creswell (2007) contended that five philosophical assumptions lead to an
individual’s choice of qualitative research: (a) ontology, the nature of truth; (b)
epistemology, what it means “to know” (Willis, 2007, p. 8); (c) axiology, “the role of
values in the research” (p. 16); (d) rhetoric, the language of the research; and (e)
methodology, the methods used in the process.
I chose to conduct qualitative research because I wanted to understand how the
experience of being a mother has shaped college presidents’ career paths in higher
education. I worked from an interpretive tradition because I “value experience and
perspective as important sources of knowledge” (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 17).
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Social Constructivism Framework
Social constructivism guided the research for this study, because the framework
focuses on the way humans experience life and create subjective meanings, thereby
creating their own sense of reality (Creswell, 2012). Social constructivism is often
combined with interpretivism (Creswell, 2012). According to Creswell (2007), social
constructivists
develop subjective meanings of their experiences—meanings directed toward
certain objects or things. These meanings are varied and multiple, leading the
researcher to look for the complexity of views rather than narrow the meanings
into a few categories or ideas. The goal of research, then, is to rely as much as
possible on the participants’ views of the situation. Often these subjective
meanings are negotiated socially and historically. In other words, they are not
simply imprinted on individuals but are formed through intercultural norms that
operate in individuals’ lives. Rather than starting with a theory (as in
postpositivism), inquirers generate or inductively develop a theory or pattern of
meaning. (pp. 20-21)
Rather than believing that observations alone are an accurate representation of life, social
constructivists, and interpretivists in general, believe that meaning is created, negotiated,
and sustained (Andrews, 2012).
Both Piaget (1972) and Vygotsky (1978) are credited with developing
constructivism, but it was Vygotsky who truly believed that “social constructivism is
both a social and cultural model of learning . . . [and] that learning [should be seen] not as
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development but as a process that results in development” (as cited in Deulen, 2013, p.
91). Vygotsky defined three core concepts of social constructivism:
the zone of actual development (where a person is developmentally at that
time),
the zone of potential development (where a person could/should be), and
the zone of proximal development (the amount of assistance needed to get
someone from actual development to potential development). (as cited in
Deulen, 2013, p. 91)
It is within that zone of proximal development where people shape their beliefs and
identities by outside influence. This is one reason why mentoring is such a strong
component in social constructivist learning models (Deulen, 2013). This is also important
to consider when exploring how our various experiences, relationships, and education
assist us in developing as a person, building our self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, and
leadership skills.
My background in higher education administration, coupled with my experience
of being a mother, made social constructivism an appropriate paradigm for my study. I
understood that my own experiences would affect my interpretation of the research, and I
positioned myself within the research to acknowledge how my understanding was shaped
by personal experience.
Research Design: Phenomenological Tradition
“Phenomenology is a project of sober reflection on the lived experience of human
existence . . . but it is also a project that is driven by fascination: being swept up in a spell
of wonder, a fascination with meaning” (van Manen, 2007, p. 11). In response to
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objectivism, a view that hinges on research conducted by scientific method, a new
paradigm was born—interpretivism (Willis, 2007). Immanuel Kant argued that a
researcher could not be completely objective about subject matter “because we come
prewired, so to speak, with categories of understanding that then influence our
perceptions” (as cited in Willis, 2007, p. 51). In other words, it is impossible to conduct
objective research without completely separating one’s own personal views and
subjective opinions. William Dilthey, a German historian and philosopher who rejected
objectivism, was a social scientist that added to the concept of interpretivism. He stated:
Only inner experience, in facts of consciousness, have I found a firm anchor for
my thinking, and I trust that my reader will be convinced by my proof of this. All
science is experiential; but all experience must be related back to and derives its
validity from the conditions and context of consciousness in which it arises, i.e.,
the totality of our nature. (Willis, 2007, p. 52)
Dilthey emphasized that true understanding is holistic and should be examined that way.
Although Dilthey’s beliefs were expressed in the late 1800s, the majority of research in
the 20th
century was empirical tradition. There were movements in the late 19th
and 20th
centuries that followed Dilthey’s thinking, and phenomenology is one of those
movements.
Phenomenology seeks to understand several individuals’ common experiences
and how they create a deeper meaning. According to Willis (2007), “following Kant,
phenomenologists distinguished phenomena (the perceptions of appearances from the
point of view of a human) from noumena (what things really are)” (p. 53).
Phenomenology, as we know it, is credited to German philosopher Edmund Husserl
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(Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011). Husserl was interested in how individuals “process
experience in their everyday lives” (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011). Husserl and other
phenomenologists believed that most science failed to take into account the first-hand
perceptions of the person experiencing the phenomenon (Moustakas, 1994).
There are several major approaches to phenomenological research. According to
phenomenologist van Manen (2011), there are six major orientations or approaches to
phenomenology:
Transcendental phenomenology is most clearly identified with the path-breaking
work of Husserl and his collaborators and interpreters such as Eugen Fink,
Tymieniecka, and Van Breda.
Existential phenomenology is associated with Heidegger, Sartre, de Beauvoir,
Merleau-Ponty, Marcel, and others.
Hermeneutical phenomenology is linked especially with Heidegger, Gadamer, and
Ricoeur.
Linguistical phenomenology includes the French language oriented work of
Blanchot, Derrida, and Foucault, even though the latter denied that he was a
phenomenologist.
Ethical phenomenology is exemplified in the work of Scheler, but later especially
with the thinking of Levinas, under whom Derrida studied the works of Husserl
and Heidegger.
Phenomenology of practice is used here to designate the employment of
phenomenological method in applied or professional contexts such as clinical
psychology, medicine, education or pedagogy, nursing, and counseling, and also
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to the use of phenomenological method in contexts of practical concerns of
everyday living. Early protagonists of phenomenology of practice were medical
practitioners, such as the psychiatrists Binswanger and Van den Berg; clinical
psychologists, such as Buytendijk and Linschoten; and educators or pedagogues,
such as Langeveld and Bollnow. Examples of contemporary scholars who work
within contexts of phenomenology of practice are Amadeo Giorgi (psychology),
Patricia Benner (nursing), and Max van Manen (education and pedagogy). (p. 4)
The two modern approaches to phenomenology I examined further were: (a) hermeneutic
phenomenology (van Manen, 1990) and (b) empirical, transcendental, and psychological
phenomenology (Moustakas, 1994). The following sections detail both traditions and
their appropriateness to this study.
Hermeneutical Phenomenology
Van Manen (1990) wrote a book on hermeneutical phenomenology in which he
described research as being oriented towards lived experience. A philosophical and
interpretative approach to research, hermeneutical phenomenology is an interplay among
different activities, according to van Manen. First, researchers are drawn to a
phenomenon that interests them. Creswell (2007) noted that the researcher reflects on
themes that develop the lived experience. Next, the researcher writes a description of the
phenomenon, being careful to maintain a strong relationship to the topic while “balancing
the parts of the writing to the whole” (Creswell, 2007, p. 59). Finally, the researcher
makes an interpretation of the lived experiences.
In the article, “Phenomenology of Practice,” van Manen (2007) noted that
meaning is derived from practice and that, for social constructivists, practice is supposed
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to make it possible to “explain, interpret or understand the nature of the phenomena
within its scope” (p. 15). For instance, if someone hears a door shut in a house, it is not
just an acoustical sensation, it is the experience of hearing that sound in prior instances
that let him know it was a door that shut and not a different object. Van Manen (2007)
explained that this is how past practice influences meaning and understanding.
Empirical, Transcendental, and Psychological Phenomenology
Moustakas’ (1994) empirical, transcendental, and psychological phenomenology
is different from van Manen’s (1990) approach in that it focuses less on interpretation and
more on the “description of the experiences of participants” (Creswell, 2007, p. 59).
Transcendental phenomenology, on the other hand, is interpretative and leaves a lot of
room for the researcher to determine meaning. Moustakas (1994) reported that
phenomenological research hinges on two concepts: what phenomena a person
experienced and how they experienced the phenomena. This study sought to determine
how mothers experience being college presidents by using a phenomenology of practice
approach. This approach was most appropriate because I examined the lived experiences
of mothers as college presidents and determined how they make sense of their worlds.
Transcendental Principles
Although this study used phenomenology of practice, it was important to remain
mindful of transcendental principles that guide phenomenological research.
Epoche (Bracketing)
Moustakas (1994) promoted the use of bracketing, or epoche (a phrase coined by
Husserl), in which a researcher puts aside her personal experiences, to the extent possible,
and takes a fresh perspective toward the study (Creswell, 2007). Creswell (2007) noted
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that the term transcendental refers to the way in which everything should be examined as
if for the first time. Because I took a social constructivism worldview and followed
Moustakas’ (1994) approach to phenomenology, I was required to bracket any
preconceived notions I had about mothers as college presidents. I needed to put aside any
assumptions I had about this topic because it could have influenced how I interpreted the
data. For instance, as a mother in an administrative position myself, I know how difficult
it is to balance life and work; however, I could not let my own experiences interfere with
the stories of the women I interviewed.
Rather than forgetting one’s experience altogether, van Manen (2011) suggested
that the researcher focus instead on the uniqueness of each participant’s experience:
It would be a mistake to see the reduction as a predetermined procedure that we
should apply to the phenomenon that is being researched. The practice of human
science is never simply a matter of procedure. Rather the reduction refers to a
certain attentiveness. If we want to come to an understanding of the unique
meaning and significance of something we need to reflect on it by practicing a
thoughtful attentiveness. The term ‘reduction’ can be misleading since reduction
is ironically a protest against reductionism understood as abstracting, codifying,
shortening. So how then is reflection supposed to emulate lived meaning or pre-
reflective experience? As the emulator is ‘language,’ and the process of emulating
is performed through writing. The intent of writing is to produce textual
‘portrayals’ that resonate and make intelligible the kinds of meanings that we
seem to recognize in life as we live it. (p. 4)
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Creswell (2007) explain that qualitative researchers self-disclose about personal
experiences much more than they ever have before. Reflexivity is something I
consciously performed throughout my research, from the data collection and analysis to
the interpretation and writing. Creswell (2007) posed questions that I considered and
reflected upon throughout this study, which included:
Should I write about what people said or recognize that sometimes they cannot
remember or choose not to remember?
What were my political reflexivities that needed to come into my report?
Did my writing connect the voices and stories of individuals back to the set of
historic, structural, and economic relations in which they were situated?
How far did I go in theorizing the words of participants?
Did I consider how my words could be used for progressive, conservative, and
repressive social policies?
Did I back into the passive voice and decouple my responsibility from my
interpretation?
To what extent did my analysis (and writing) offer an alternative to common
sense or the dominant discourse? (p. 180)
Noema and Noesis
The purpose of phenomenological research is to capture the essence of
participants’ common experiences to make sense of a central phenomenon. To make that
happen, Moustakas (1994) said that researchers must understand both of the two different
states of an object. Husserl (1931) introduced these two states as noema (natural attitude)
and noesis (phenomenological attitude). Cilesiz (2011) explained that “the concept of
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reality in phenomenology is based on the ideal material duality; every experience has a
material and ideal component” (p. 496). Even though ideas and objects are separated,
meaning is obtained from their interrelation:
To put it most simply, we are looking for the way in which particular content of
consciousness is related to a particular stance or attitude of consciousness. ‘What’
we see is always a function of ‘how’ we are looking. To perform an intentional
analysis requires that one focus on the ‘content’ of a moment of consciousness
and then, having made this moment ‘one’s own’ through empathy to turn one’s
attention back on this vicariously experienced ‘presence’ in such a way as to be
able to ‘‘thematize’’ how it is that I am standing (even if only in my imaginative
uptake of the subject’s experiential description) such that I see what I see?
(Fischer, 2006, p. 89)
Husserl held that phenomenological researchers must pay attention to the parallel aspects
of noesis and noema when conducting their analysis (as cited in Fischer, 2006).
Understanding that all experiences have two sides, both a noesis and a noema,
shaped how I crafted my interview questions and influenced how I conducted my
interviews. It reminded me to listen for the noesis contributed by my participants and not
by my own personal story.
Phenomenological Reduction
Husserl (1931) argued that phenomenological reduction, through bracketing, freed
researchers from their own prejudices and allowed them to see things in a more objective
way. Finlay (2008) described reduction as a way for the researcher “to be open to
whatever may emerge” (p. 4). There are a number of steps involved in phenomenological
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reduction. The first step is epoche of the natural sciences, which brackets scientific theory
and “reduces the field of investigation to the lifeworld from the standpoint of the natural
attitude” (Finlay, 2008, p. 5). The second step, epoche of the natural attitude, examines
phenomenon as a “presence, without attributing existence to it” (Finlay, 2008, p. 6). In
the third step, transcendental reduction, Husserl proposes, involves “standing aside from
one’s subjective experience and ego, in order to be able to focus on transcendental
consciousness” (as cited in Finlay, 2008, p. 7). The last form of reduction is eidectic
reduction, also called intuition of essences. This is the phase in which the researcher
attempts to explain the phenomenon to be studied.
Moustakas’ Methodological Procedure
For my study, I used Moustakas’ (1994) phenomenological research methods
approach. Creswell (2007) outlined research procedures using Moustakas’ approach to
research that include:
The researcher identifies a phenomenon of interest to study.
The researcher determines broad philosophical assumptions relating to the topic
and identifies how she will bracket out her own experiences as much as possible.
Data is collected from people who have experienced the phenomenon through in-
depth interviews.
Creswell (2007) noted that the number of participants vary between 5 and 25
people.
Van Manen (1990) also noted that additional forms of data might be collected,
such as recordings, text, drama, films, poetry, and novels.
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To gather textual and structural descriptions and provide an understanding of
common experiences, participants are asked two broad questions:
What have you experienced in terms of the phenomenon?
What context or situations have typically influenced or affected
your experiences of the phenomenon?
Other open-ended questions follow these two broad questions.
The researcher analyzes data, first by highlighting ‘significant statements,
sentences, or quotes that provide an understanding of how the participants
experienced the phenomenon’ (Creswell, 2007, p. 61). This process is called
horizonalization (Moustakas, 1994). Next, the researcher develops themes from
the ‘clusters of meanings’ (Creswell, 2007, p. 61).
The researcher takes the themes and develops descriptions to describe the
experiences of participants in the study.
Creswell (2007) explained that textural descriptions are the experiences of the
participants, in other words, ‘what’ they experienced.
Structural descriptions explain ‘how they experienced [the phenomenon] in
terms of the conditions, situations, or context’ (Creswell, 2007, p. 60).
The textual and structural descriptions together explain the
imaginative variation that provides not only the ‘what’ and
‘how’ of a phenomenon, but also provides the ‘context or setting
that influenced how the participants experienced the
phenomenon’ (Creswell, 2007, p. 61).
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Using both the structural and textual descriptions, the researcher crafts a
composite description to provide the ‘essence’ or the ‘essential, invariant
structure’ (p. 62) of the experience.
Researcher’s Role (My Story)
Research begins with curiosity (Creswell, 2012). Phenomenological research
should be rooted in a personal interest to a problem (Moustakas, 1994). Reflecting on my
own dissertation topic, it is not difficult to understand what inspiration led me to study
mothers as college presidents. As a mother of two young boys, I know the challenges of
being a mother and working full time. I regularly discuss these challenges with fellow
mothers; I even started a monthly working-mothers luncheon with some of my colleagues
to discuss our daily juggling acts and to offer each other support. I had both of my sons
while I was a full-time faculty member teaching communication courses to five sections
of students at a community college.
When I first learned I was pregnant with my son, Jake, I was not yet tenured. I
was petrified to tell anyone because I did not want to seem uncommitted to the
institution. Instead of being excited for something I had always wanted, I felt insecure—
and with good reason. When I told my supervisor I was pregnant, he said, “So what?
Women get pregnant every day. You’ll take your six to eight weeks and come back to
work like everyone else does.” Human Resources informed me that only a portion of my
medical leave would be covered, because I only had 24 days of sick leave. They also told
me I would lose time towards my tenured position if I took off more than half of the
semester. A female colleague felt the need to tell me that doctors made a cure for my
“condition.” I was mortified. I was also motivated to prove them all wrong. My maternity
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leave was only eight weeks long, and while I was out, I had to arrange coverage for all of
my classes; the department chair told me it was not in her job description to make these
types of arrangements. I also had to be in touch with all of the instructors covering my
courses on a weekly basis. I also continued my graduate studies throughout my
pregnancy and graduated five weeks after giving birth to my son. When I knew I wanted
another child, I was fortunate enough to be able to plan my pregnancy and have him over
the summer so that I did not need to take time off from work.
It was during these first few years of my young sons’ lives that my career
accelerated, and I transitioned from faculty to administration. From Assistant Department
Chair of Arts and Communication, to Department Chair, and then Associate Vice
President (AVP) of Liberal Arts, I went from being a full-time faculty member with
summers off and being part of a union to being an “at-will” employee with no summers
off. When I became my institution’s equivalent to an academic dean, the comments
started again. A faculty member who was once my supervisor, but who now reported to
me said, “You better be careful taking all of these new responsibilities. . . . Don’t you
think a mother should be home with her kids rather than taking a supervisory role?” Two
female chairs in my division both questioned my ability to do my job while being a
mother of small children. One asked me, “How are you going to do this with your kids
being so young?” I was discouraged that people questioned my ability to be AVP simply
because I was a mother, not that I had only been a department chair for one year or that I
was only 35 years old. Why were they questioning my being a mother? It was then that I
realized the senior-level administrators around me were predominantly men or women
who did not have children. There were a few women with children, but their children
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were full-grown and out of the house. I started to wonder if being a mother and a senior-
level administrator in higher education was possible. This was when my dissertation topic
became clear: I wanted to research the roles of mothers as leaders in higher education. I
wanted to know how these mothers not only made it to the highest level in higher
education, but what their journey was like along the way. I also wanted to know how
being a mother affected their leadership as college presidents.
Qualitative research is a natural fit for my topic. By interviewing mothers who are
also college presidents, I learned from their experiences and can now provide information
to other women with children who aspire to high-level careers. I also used my results to
provide examples and personal stories in order to encourage higher education institutions
to develop programs that support families in both theory and practice.
Being aware of and understanding my role in the research, I used reflexivity
throughout my study, including keeping a reflexive journal to develop an ongoing
awareness of my own assumptions, feelings, and preconceptions. I strived to put aside my
own experiences, distancing myself in order to be open and receptive to being shaped by
the research experience.
Data Collection Procedures
Creswell (2012) explained that there are five steps in qualitative data analysis:
“You need to identify your participants and sites, gain access, determine the types of data
to collect, develop data collection forms, and administer the process in an ethical
manner” (p. 204). This section outlines the data collection procedures that were used in
this study.
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Selection of Participants
Qualitative research uses purposeful sampling. In other words, individuals are
intentionally selected for the study because they meet the criteria for the central
phenomenon being studied. For this study, the participants are women who are both
mothers and college presidents. My aim was to interview a diverse sample of women,
thereby learning from the diverse experiences of these participants and how they make
meaning of their lives. Participants ranged from women with small children to women
with adult children and included women from different generations. The types of
institutions selected for this study also varied. Participants were college presidents at
community colleges, public four-year colleges or universities, private four-year colleges
or universities, and a for-profit four-year college.
Recruitment of Participants
Before participants were asked to participate in the study, I received endorsement
from Benedictine University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). Once I had approval, I
reached out to potential participants via email to explain the purpose of my study and to
give them clear expectations about what would be asked of them for the study. I initially
reached out to women that were referred to me by my dissertation committee, because
they knew some women who were both college presidents and mothers. Several of the
women I contacted agreed to participate immediately. Because of the small number of
mothers serving as college presidents, a snowball sampling technique also was used to
identify participants. Creswell (2012) explained that, in situations where the researcher
may not know the best people to study, a researcher may ask participants to recommend
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additional individuals to be sampled, which is what I did. Those participants brought my
total number of participants up to eleven.
Once participants indicated they were interested in being interviewed, I sent them
an informed consent document that explained precautions taken to minimize risks and
protect their identities. I also sent participants a brief demographic survey, as well as a
calendar request for face-to-face interviews. The survey was used to provide
demographic information about the subjects in Chapters 4 and 5.
In-Depth Interviews
In-depth, semi-structured interviews are a conversation between the researcher
and participant wherein a partnership is formed so that the researcher may discover a
deep, descriptive amount of information about the participant (Hesse-Biber & Leavy,
2011). Interviewing allows researchers access to people’s thoughts and memories in their
own words and sometimes may reveal “hidden experiences” (Hesse-Biber & Leavy,
2011, p. 98). Since this is a phenomenological study, I sought to learn the experiences
and perceptions of participants in terms of being a mother and college president, as well
as what situations typically influenced or affected participants’ experiences of being a
mother and a college president (Moustakas, 1994).
Using semi-structured interviews allowed me to have a certain set of questions
that guided the conversation, while still allowing participants to talk about lived
experiences in more detail and freedom when it is something of interest or importance to
them as it relates to the topic (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 1994). When something developed
during the interview about which I wanted more information, semi-structured interviews
gave me the flexibility to delve deeper into an issue.
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The interviews were all conducted face-to-face. While my preference was to
conduct the interviews in person, there were instances in which I needed to conduct an
interview via Skype. Five of the participants were interviewed face-to-face and six were
interviewed via Skype. It was critical to develop rapport with my participants so that they
felt comfortable sharing their lived experiences. While I was warm and friendly, I also
refrained from discussing my own personal story. My experience as a news reporter aided
me in conducting the interviews. I asked participants a question and let them finish
without interruption. If they did not understand the question, I re-worded it and asked if
they needed additional clarification.
I also kept the interviews among participants as consistent as possible. The
interviews were recorded on an iPad using the Application VoxiePro. They were also
recorded on an external digital audio recorder as backup. Immediately following the
interviews, the audio was sent to a professional transcriber who transcribed the interviews
and returned a manuscript in Microsoft Word formatting.
Demographic survey and interview guide. The demographic survey and interview
guide are attached in Appendices B and C. A demographic survey was used to capture
demographic information for each of the participants. When developing my interview
questions, I asked myself three questions posed by Hesse-Biber and Leavy (2011):
Is the guide clear and readable?
Does the guide cover all of the topical areas in which I am interested?
Are there any topical areas or general questions missing from the guide? (p. 104)
During the interviews with participants, I was sure to use the guide as just that: a
guide. I was not distracted by the questions on the paper, but rather used the guide as a
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checklist to ensure that all of the major lines of inquiry were met before concluding the
interview. I was also open to exploring other questions that were important to my
participants’ experiences related to the phenomena of being a mother and a college
president. After each interview, I reflected in my journal, making notes regarding the
interview and my feelings following the interview. This ritual assisted me in the
bracketing process.
Document and Artifact Analysis
Participants were asked to bring a document or artifact to the interview that
represented their experiences as college presidents who are mothers. These artifacts
included articles, photographs, journals, songs, poems, artwork, or other objects. The
point of this additional data was to gather a different type of information on the
participants. Content analysis is an unobtrusive method of research that allows
researchers to investigate existing materials, whether it is text, video, audio, or otherwise
(Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011). As part of the interview questioning process, I asked the
participants to discuss what they brought with them and included their responses in the
transcript. The idea behind this method is that, by examining physical artifacts, one can
learn about the values or social aspects of the topic being researched. It gave me access to
my participants in a different way and allowed me to analyze this data along with the
responses to other interview questions. It also allowed me to triangulate multiple data
sources, therefore strengthening my qualitative research (Creswell, 2007, 2012; Hesse-
Biber & Leavy, 2011).
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Field Notes
Bogdan and Biklen (2007) recommended that memos (or field notes) be
documented throughout the entire research process. Memos are predominantly for the
person “intimately involved in the research” (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007, p. 165). This
practice allows for reflexivity. Bogdan and Biklen explained that the act of taking notes
allows for the researcher to most objectively keep track of what is occurring in the field. I
took notes on the participants, the environments, the participants’ non-verbal behavior,
and any activities that were observed during the interview process.
Data Analysis Procedures
Since I used in-depth interviews to conduct my research, I used the transcripts
from my interviews to code the data into themes. Examining what participants said line-
by-line, I looked for descriptive codes that generated key concepts within the text. Hesse-
Biber and Leavy (2011) explained that there are several types of coding. Literal codes are
“words that appear in the text and are usually descriptive codes” (p. 311). Interpretative
analytical codes are not tied to the text itself, but rather rely on researcher notes and
memos that illicit interpretation. In focused coding, the researcher examines all data, and
“compares each piece of data with every other piece and finally builds a clear working
definition of each concept, which is then named” (p. 311). Using all codes, I analyzed the
data and developed analytical dimensions or sub-codes that delved into deeper meaning.
Memos were documented throughout the dissertation process.
Once coding is complete, the next step in qualitative data analysis is interpretation
(Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011). Interpretation took place throughout the coding process.
Hesse-Biber and Leavy (2011) suggested that researchers use strong arguments for any
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knowledge claimed from the data while interpreting. I highlighted significant statements
or clusters of meaning that explained how participants experienced being a college
president and a mother through horizonalization, and then used the data to develop
themes and wrote thick descriptions that captured the essence of the experience
(Moustakas, 1994). Pertinent to validation, thick descriptions are rich in detail and
provide the context of the situation; they also create an emotional and social state when
reading the narrative so that readers feel as though they experience the phenomenon
personally or could envision themselves experiencing the phenomenon (Creswell, 2007).
Thick descriptions express the participants’ “voices, feelings, actions, and meanings of
[interactions]” (Creswell, 2007, p. 194).
Strategies for Validating Findings
Strategies for validating findings are more straightforward in quantitative
research; the researcher validates scores, instruments, and research designs (Creswell,
2012). In qualitative research, validation is much different. Creswell (2012) explained:
To check the accuracy of their research, qualitative inquirers often employ
validation procedures such as member checking, triangulation, and auditing. The
intent of validation is to have participants, external reviewers, or the data sources
themselves provide evidence of the accuracy of the information in the qualitative
report. (p. 262)
Through interviews, document/artifact collection, and field recording,
triangulation helped verify my findings. Triangulation through these multiple sources
establishes trustworthiness and credibility of findings (Creswell, 2007). Prolonged
engagement in the field, as well as keeping field notes, also assisted in providing
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credibility. In addition, I used rich, thick descriptions in my analysis, “allowing readers to
make decisions regarding transferability” (Creswell, 2007, p. 209). Because thick
descriptions allow the researcher to explain the behavior of participants and the context
of the experience, readers are able to assign meaning to the experience and transfer the
findings to other settings; this occurs because the findings have shared characteristics.
This “weight of evidence” (Creswell, 2007, p. 204) provides readers with confidence that
the study was conducted thoroughly. I also used member checking to verify my findings.
Member checking occurs when a researcher verifies the accuracy of data and
interpretations with participants, either formally or informally. Member checking is an
important part of qualitative research because it provides clarification for the researcher,
allows for participants to make corrections, and may provide additional information from
the participants (Creswell, 2007). Each participant received a manuscript of our interview
and was asked to provide any corrections or additional information for accuracy
purposes.
Using questions posed by Polkinghorne (1989), Creswell (2007) encouraged
phenomenological researchers to ask themselves several questions in order to validate
findings:
Did the interviewer influence the contents of the participants’ descriptions in such
a way that the descriptions do not truly reflect the participants’ actual experience?
Is the transcription accurate, and does it convey the meaning of the oral
presentation in the interview?
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In the analysis of the transcriptions, were there conclusions other than those
offered by the researcher that could have been derived? Has the researcher
identified these alternatives?
Is it possible to go from the general structural description to the transcriptions and
to account for the specific contents and connections in the original examples of
the experience?
Is the structural description situation specific or does it hold in general the
experience in other situations? (p. 215)
Creswell (2007) added the following questions:
Does the author convey an understanding of the philosophical tenets of
phenomenology?
Does the author have a clear ‘phenomenon’ to study that is articulated in a concise
way?
Does the author use procedures of data analysis in phenomenology, such as the
procedures recommended by Moustakas (1994)?
Does the author convey the overall essence of the experience of the participants?
Does this essence include a description of the experience and the context in which
it occurred?
Is the author reflexive throughout the study? (pp. 215-216)
In order to validate my findings accurately, I asked myself these questions and practiced
reflexivity.
Ethical Considerations
“The moral integrity of the researcher is a critically important aspect of ensuring
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that the research process and a researcher’s findings are trustworthy and valid” (Hesse-
Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 59). Deriving from the Greek word “ethos,” ethics refers to a
person’s “character” (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 59). Ethical considerations must be
carefully examined from the start of the research process to the completion of the
research process. Beginning with Benedictine University’s IRB process, I demonstrated
how my research was to be conducted in an ethical manner, protecting participants’
identities. Upon agreeing to be interviewed, participants were emailed a letter of
informed consent that explained the nature of my study and noted that participation was
completely voluntary. I also explained the options for participants to not answer a
particular question or to leave the study at any time. The letter also detailed the interview
procedure and the fact that the study was confidential. All participants signed the letter of
informed consent and sent it back to me prior to the interview. Pseudonyms were
assigned to each participant so that her anonymity was protected, and these pseudonyms
were used in all written material. In addition, names of other individuals and institutions
were withheld from the study. There was little to no risk for the participants in the study.
Confidentiality is another important ethical concern, and it must be maintained
throughout the research process. In addition to keeping a participant’s identity
confidential, Creswell (2007) noted that sometimes researchers are put in a compromising
position when asked to keep something “off the record” (p. 142). When a participant said
she wanted something “off the record,” I, as the researcher, scratched that text from the
record and proceeded as though it had not been stated.
An additional ethical consideration is the researcher’s level of personal
engagement with participants. While being conversational and personable are good traits
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when interviewing participants, too much engagement and self-disclosure by the
researcher may “lead to unanticipated and unintended deception that can actually raise
even more the possibility of undue power, influence, and authority in the research
process” (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 75). Creswell (2007) added that when
researchers share personal stories with participants in a phenomenological study it
minimizes “the bracketing that is essential to construct the meaning of participants” (p.
142). I made sure to maintain a professional rapport with the participants, being open to
their responses without influencing them by sharing too much about myself.
While conducting research ethically is one area of consideration, storage of the
data is another ethical concern. The only person who had access to the audio recordings
besides me was the professional transcriber. The audio is stored on my laptop computer,
which is password protected, and on an external hard drive that is stored in a locked
cabinet. The hard copies of the interview transcripts and all electronic and audio files
pertaining to the study are stored in a locked cabinet. They will remain there for seven
years and, if no longer needed after that time, will be destroyed.
As I proceeded with my own research, I considered Patton’s (2002) ethics
checklist as adapted by Hesse-Biber and Leavy (2011):
How will you explain the purpose of the inquiry and methods to be used in ways
that are accurate and understandable to those you are researching?
Why should the researcher participate in your project?
In what ways, if any, will conducting this research put people at risk
(psychological, legal, political, becoming ostracized by others)?
What are reasonable promises of confidentiality that can be fully honored?
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What kind of informed consent, if any, is necessary for mutual protection?
Who will have access to the data? For what purposes?
How will you and your respondents likely be affected by conducting this
research?
Who will be the researcher’s confidant and counselor on matters of ethics during
a study?
How hard will you push for data?
What ethical framework and philosophy informs your work and ensures respect
and sensitivity for those you study, beyond whatever may be required by law? (p.
83)
Concluding Remarks
To summarize, the purpose of this dissertation was to describe the commonalities
of mothers who are also college presidents and to provide higher education leaders with a
better understanding of how they may support families and encourage women with
children to apply for senior-level administrative positions. In order to accomplish this
purpose, I conducted a phenomenological study using in-depth, semi-structured
interviews and document/artifact analysis. I also used a framework of social
constructivism for my methodology.
I used the research procedures introduced by Moustakas (1994) with a
phenomenology of practice approach and was sure to utilize bracketing throughout the
process in order to remain as open to the participants’ perspectives and lived experiences
as possible. My participants were selected using purposive and snowball sampling
procedures, and all participants signed an informed consent form detailing the minimum
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risks as well as the benefits of participating in my study. They were all aware of the
purpose of my study and how their participation would contribute to research regarding
women in higher education. I analyzed my research using thematic codes that went into
rich detail regarding my participants’ experiences. By utilizing these methodologies, I
believe that I accurately reported the experiences and perspectives of my participants.
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CHAPTER 4
LIFE JOURNEYS OF MOTHERS WHO BECAME COLLEGE PRESIDENTS
I have yet to solve the issue of how to balance my life and feel like I’m doing it well. I
don’t think I’ve ever done it well. I don’t think I do it well now. I think somebody always
gets the short end of the stick and so, yeah . . . [being a president and a mother] bleeds
over all the time. I try, as the President, to not have that be evident here at work, but,
honestly, I am who I am. Okay, and I have said all along, every job is about fit. Okay, it
is about what you have in the moment, what the institution needs, and not everybody is a
fit for every job in that moment. And, so I am a mother and so when I give speeches here
or when I get up and talk about things, I tend to weave in who I am. And so I talk about
my kids and my husband and my life, and I joke about the fact that I’m the chief bottle
washer and cook, you know. And that’s kind of just who I am and that comes with the
package. And, if there comes a day that that’s not okay, then this is no longer a fit for
me. . . . The one thing that has held true no matter what is—I have to be true to who I am
and myself and my set of values and ethics and morals. I have to be able to sleep at night
and so, if I had a job that didn’t accept the fact that I had a family, that would not be an
okay thing for me and, you know, vice versa. If I had a family that didn’t accept the fact
that I could work, you know, I would have to have a different conversation with my
husband and such.
Tara
For this study, 11 mothers were interviewed from diverse backgrounds in
different regions of the United States. Each participant, like Tara, had an individual story
to tell describing the challenges and successes she has had on her way to the most
prestigious position in higher education—the college presidency. Each participant is
identified as a mother first, because that is the role each woman identified as the most
significant part of her life and identity. As the mothers shared their stories with me, there
was laughter, tears, and moments of reflection on parts of their lives they had not thought
about in years. Every participant mentioned the love and support of one particular person,
or in some cases many people, who they credit with their success. This chapter tells the
stories of these 11 powerful women, beginning with their personal journeys in higher
education and how their careers began, to being a mother and a college president.
105
Demographically, nine of the 11 participants identified themselves as Caucasian.
One participant identified herself as African American, and one chose not to disclose her
race/ethnicity. Of the 11, eight are married and three are divorced. One of the eight
married participants has also been divorced. The ages of the women ranged from 46 years
old to 69 years old with the median age of 56. For all but two presidents, this is their first
college presidency. Only three of the women are long-term presidents, serving over 10
years in the role, two have been president for 5-6 years, and six have been serving three
or less years. Only two of the women have been presidents at more than one institution,
although a third participant has also been an interim president at another institution. Of
the participants, seven are presidents at community colleges, three are presidents at
private 4-year colleges and universities (including one for-profit college), and one is a
president at a public 4-year university. All of the participants have two or more children:
five have two children, four have three children, and two have four or more children.
More than half of the women moved into an executive leadership role when their children
were newborn to five years old, and only one participant had adult children when she
assumed a senior-level administrative position. None of the participants had children after
assuming a presidency. In terms of the presidency, the age of children varied: four
women had one or more children 13 years old or younger when they became president,
four had one or more children between 14-18 years old, six had one or more children
between 19-24 years old, and five had children 25 and older. Geographically, the women
have lived or previously served as presidents in the East, West, South, and Midwest
regions. Eight participants worked in academic affairs prior to becoming president (seven
were vice presidents for academic affairs), four were vice presidents of student services
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(although, one was also an academic dean and one was also a vice president for finance
and administration and a chief information officer), and one participant was a vice
president of institutional advancement, although she was also an academic department
chair at one time in her career. Three of the vice presidents for student services were
internal candidates promoted to president at their current institutions, one president from
academic affairs was promoted internally, and the seven other participants were all
external presidential hires. Table 5 details the women’s demographic information and
Table 6 details the women’s career-related information; the participants in the study
provided this information in the demographic survey completed prior to the interviews.
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Table 5
Demographic Information of Participants
Participant’s
Name
Age Race/
Ethnicity
Marital
Status
# of
Children
Age of
Children
When
Promoted to
an Executive
Leadership
Position
Age of
Children
When
Promoted
to First
Presidency
Carrie 60-
65
Caucasian Divorced 2 Newborn- 5 25 and
older
Claire 60-
65
Caucasian Married 3 Newborn- 5 6- 13
Dena 50-
55
Caucasian Married 2 Newborn- 5
6-13
14-18
19-24
Jen 45-
50
Caucasian Married 2 Newborn- 5 6-13
Karina 50-
55
Caucasian Divorced 3 6-13
14-18
6-13
14-18
19-24
Kate 50-
55
Chose not
to answer
Married 3 6-13
14-18
19-24
14-18
19-24
25 and
older
Kendal 65-
70
Caucasian Married 2 Newborn- 5
6-13
19-24
Kim 60-
65
Caucasian Married 4 or More 6-13
14-18
19-24
25 and
older
Pam 65-
70
Caucasian Divorced 2 19-24 25 and
older
Sybil 60-
65
African
American
Married 4 or More 14-18
19-24
25 and older
19-24
25 and
older
Tara 45-
50
Caucasian Married 2 Newborn-5 6-13
14-18
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Table 6
Career-Related Information of Participants
Participant’s
Name
Types of
Institutions
Where
Served as
President
Prior Roles
Served
Is This Their
First College
Presidency?
# of Years as
College
President
Carrie 4-Year
Public
VPSS,
Academic Dean
Yes, but served
as interim at
another
institution
Over 2 ½ years
Claire CC VPAA, VPSS,
HR Director
Yes 14.5
Dena CC VPSS Yes 1 year
Jen CC VPSS Yes Less than a year
Karina 4-Year
Private,
For-Profit
Academic
Dean,
Regional
Executive
Director, VP
Enrollment &
Marketing
No 10 years
Kate CC VPAA,
Academic
Dean,
Faculty
Yes 3 years
Kendal 4-Year
Private
VPAA,
Academic Dean
Yes 6 years
Kim 4- Year
Private
Faculty,
Department
Chair, VP of
Advancement
Yes 5 years
Pam CC VPAA,
Academic
Dean,
Chancellor after
presidency
No 12 years
Sybil CC VPAA,
Academic
Dean, Faculty
Yes 3 years
Tara CC VPSS,
VPFA
CIO
Yes 1 year
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Individual Profiles
Carrie
When I was growing up, especially after I had left home, . . . my mother worked outside
the home as a waitress and then in a nursing home. And she often, even when we would
come home for holidays or come home for breaks, she always felt as if she had to work to
earn money, and I didn’t want my children ever to feel like they were second to my
position. Now, I’m in a kind of life and in my career where they can be part of the
environment. They can come to events; they can experience things with me. So, I feel like
. . . our environment is conducive to families, I think, which is good. So, I try to include
them.
Carrie, a strong, resilient woman, is the president at a 4-year public university.
She has been president at the university for two years and was inaugurated only a few
days after her very supportive mother had passed away. Carrie comes from a large,
blended family. Her biological father died when she was only 4 years old, leaving her
mother a widow with four young children. Her mother then remarried a widower with
five children and then the two of them had two additional children; Carrie is the eldest of
11 and had the heavy responsibility of looking out for her mother. She was emotional
reflecting on her relationship with her mother and disclosed:
[My stepfather] was an alcoholic, actually, so he wasn’t present much. So, she
raised a lot of us alone, and I supported her a lot. So, I was very close to her. I
probably, in some ways, was too close to her in terms of I did for her things that
probably children shouldn’t do for their moms, you know. I was her confidant.
She told me things probably I shouldn’t have known when I was younger, stuff
like that. So with my own children, I haven’t . . . how can I put this? I’ve been
very careful to not put on them any undue responsibility for my happiness or for
my wellbeing. . . . I’ve really tried to allow them to be who they are and, you
know, I held them accountable . . . and even when they were little and even
through high school, their father was always the fun one and I was the one who
held them accountable.
Carrie, currently in her early 60s, is divorced from a man who never really
supported her career. Though her ex-husband remained married to Carrie as she moved
around the United States progressing professionally from admissions and financial aid
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director, to dean of academics and student enrollment, and then vice president of student
services, they divorced a few years before Carrie secured her first presidency. Carrie
remembers several occasions when her former spouse announced he did not want to be
the spouse of a college president. During our interview, Carrie laughed and noted, “And
he’s not the spouse of a college president.”
One of the biggest bones of contention in Carrie’s marriage was when she decided
to pursue her doctoral degree while working full time. Her ex-husband told her that all of
the time spent working and going to school was damaging her relationship with her two
daughters, but earning her degree was never a question in her mind. Carrie knew she
wanted to work in higher education from a young age because neither her mother nor her
father received a college education. Her mother never graduated from high school, and
her father, who always wanted to attend college, died before he had the chance. On
Carrie’s college application, she noted that her goal was to receive a doctoral degree.
When the high school guidance counselor laughed and said, “Carrie, isn’t this dream a bit
big?” she replied, “Well, if you don’t shoot for the moon, you won’t reach the stars.”
Carrie’s daughters have since told her that not only did they never feel neglected as
children, they are incredibly proud of their mother. Her younger daughter even followed
in her footsteps and works in higher education. While Carrie remembers how difficult it
was to earn that doctoral degree, she says it is the best thing she ever did for herself,
noting that the only thing she felt that she really sacrificed was her own personal time.
When Carrie became pregnant at 30 years old, she recalled that she was the only
woman in her circle of friends having a child. She also remembers that among her family
members, she was the only mother who had to work full time to support her family,
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especially since her husband was unsuccessful in his business ventures. Carrie said, “It
hasn’t always been easy. It’s been very lonely in that regard.” In order to make it through
those difficult years, Carrie built her own support network with peers in organizations
like ACE and the Women’s Network Executive Council. In fact, it wasn’t until Carrie
became president that she felt closer to her brothers, who are also working professionals.
At her inauguration, one of her brothers was interviewed and said how proud he was of
Carrie. She said that made her laugh, because he has never told her that. She noted, “I’ve
always been this person. Now I just have this position.”
Carrie’s daughters grew up in higher education. When Carrie’s oldest daughter
was an infant, the college president was incredibly supportive and allowed her to bring
her to work for a few months. She cried as she remembered the amount of support her
mentor gave her at that time. Even though most of Carrie’s peers did not have children,
they welcomed her young girls to campus. Carrie made it a point to bring her daughters
to theatre and musical events on campus and incorporated them into her work life.
Carrie’s daughters also got to know the students. For years, Carrie would invite
international students over to the house for holidays, since they could not always fly
home to be with their families. Carrie’s daughters joke that their dinner tables were like
the United Nations, and Carrie is proud of the cultural diversity her daughters were
exposed to at a young age.
While Carrie wonders what life may have been like had she had a supportive life-
partner, she acknowledges that it was her challenging life experiences that made her who
she is today. In her words:
Sometimes we don’t give ourselves the credit [that] is due, the credit that we
deserve, the credit that we would give somebody else, and that I’ve probably
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reach[ed] the point in my life where I, yeah, I do acknowledge I’ve worked very
hard.
Claire
Resilience is huge. I talk a lot about balance and resilience. In order just to be a
president I think you have to practice those things and then I think it applies in your
personal life as well. Again, health—mental and physical health—kind of underscores
the whole thing. Because if you don’t feel good physically everything is difficult, and if
you aren’t healthy mentally, everything is difficult. And if you sort of have those two
things going for you and you can keep them going for you, then . . . if stuff happens
whether at home, or with your kids, or with your husband, or with your mother, or
whatever, or even at work, you’re just able to be resilient and sort of take the stuff and
like deal with it and go on.
Claire, a self-assured, focused woman, has worked in higher education her entire
life, and she has been a community college president in the Midwest for the last 15 years.
A wife and mother of three adult children, Claire is in her early 60s and has held a
number of positions in just two different institutions. Even though Claire received her
undergraduate and graduate degrees from big-name universities, someone suggested she
apply for a job at a community college, which was an area she knew nothing about.
Originally working in student development, Claire took a promotion in the human
resources area that gave her access to responsibilities like collective bargaining. After 11
years at that institution, a dean of students position was posted at another local
community college, and Claire applied for and received the position. Once at that
institution, Claire served in multiple departments from human resources and marketing to
veteran affairs and instruction. Claire was directly appointed to the position of college
president. While very unusual to be appointed to the presidency, Claire was close to her
former president, and considers him a mentor. Several of Claire’s former presidents also
were mentors to her and encouraged her to keep applying for new positions. She even
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remembers people telling her at 23 years old that she would be a president one day,
although that was not something she had ever considered at the time.
At the same time Claire accepted the dean of students position at her current
institution, she also started exploring doctoral programs, knowing that she would need a
doctorate in order to be promoted. She had all three of her children while she was
working on her doctorate and says she barely remembers those years. All of her children
were under seven years old when she completed her degree. She does remember that her
husband’s job flexibility and support made it easier for her than perhaps for other women,
and she says she never felt guilty for going back to work. Claire and her husband hired a
full-time nanny to care for their children, which she says was a tremendous help.
Even with the number of supports in place for Claire, she says discussing work-
life balance is on the top of her list when she is asked to be a public speaker. She
remembers what life was like before she started asking for help:
I made it a priority to get help in terms of household stuff so we hired somebody,
and we made the financial sacrifice and commitment to hire somebody because I
can remember as we were in-between I thought like, ‘This was nuts!’ I hated
Sundays because I was spending all of Sunday doing laundry and all this stupid
stuff, and so we hired somebody who I sort of would delegate, like literally
laundry, like everything household stuff. And also it was nice because my
husband always has taught evenings once or twice a week, so not having to be
stressed out about getting a babysitter during that awful time between like 3:30
and 7:00, where sometimes you have a lot of evening meetings or receptions. So
by having this person who had flexible hours I got rid of all that stress. Never had
to worry about the kids getting picked up from school or this and that, and so that
was like huge.
Claire also talks about the importance of something a mentor taught her called “benign
neglect,” which she defines as letting go of trying to do everything and learning to say
“no” to taking on certain projects or responsibilities.
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Claire says it is critical to think about the big picture and not get hung up on the
day-to-day. While appearing extremely confident, Claire says there was a point in her life
where she was feeling physically ill all of the time and eventually learned that nothing
was actually wrong with her; she was stressed. She worked through that time and vowed
to eat better, to exercise more, and to make a commitment to being healthy.
Claire feels fortunate that she and her husband have not had to make major
sacrifices to have the life they share: they never had to move to a new location, they
never needed to take a leave of absence, and their family has been very healthy. Claire
notes that if she did not have such a supportive spouse or someone to help out with the
domestic and childcare duties, being a president would be impossible, because it has
turned into a 24/7 job. She does acknowledge that she makes it a point not to interfere
with her staff’s lives at night or on weekends, and she also personally invests in her staff.
She regularly shows appreciation for jobs well done, and she has made it a point to meet
every single employee that works for her institution.
Dena
I didn’t ever really identify . . . as a woman until I was in my professional world—when I
was the only one of very few women in the room. And then, you know, if you think about
like racial development theory, they talk about when you’re the minority, suddenly that
particular identity piece becomes very important to you. I totally resonate with that. So,
when I was more in the minority as a woman, then you start to really think about what it
means to be a woman in this room. . . .‘How are my comments received?’ Anyway, so at
that point in my career I think I started to identify more as a woman role model. I hadn’t
growing up. That wasn’t part of my agenda at all.
Dena is an optimistic, enthusiastic president at a community college in the
western part of the United States and has two sons: one in college and one in high school.
She is in her early 50s and has spent her entire adult career working in higher education,
even though that was not her original plan. Her bachelor’s degree is in organizational
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communication, a field she describes as a mix between business and communication.
After graduating and moving out West with a friend, Dena was hired as a receptionist in
the admission’s office at a university. Dena “just loved being on campus, loved the
college, liked the environment, [and] working with prospective parents and students.” It
was not until a colleague told her she could get a master’s degree in higher education that
she pursued that next step. From that point forward, Dena spent her time in higher
education, working next in residence life and then finally securing a position as dean of
students at a community college about 10 years later.
Dena did not have a desire or goal to become a vice president or president; she
had already reached her career goal as dean of students. It was a mentor’s push that gave
her the encouragement she needed to go back to school and earn a doctoral degree so that
she could eventually become a vice president. Her mentor, a former vice president and
immediate supervisor, continued to increase her responsibilities so that her portfolio
demonstrated broader experiences than someone who worked only in student services.
Dena gives her mentor much credit, stating: “He was really encouraging and helped kind
of navigate my lead, sooner than I had thought, to make that happen.”
Even though Dena was able to take a staff development leave in order to pursue
her PhD, she felt like she sacrificed time with her two sons in order to do so, responding
in this way:
When I was getting my PhD, my son was in kindergarten when I was in
coursework and so I was reading. . . . I was working. . . . At that point I had a
leave, but I was doing a grad assistantship, so I had a little bit of time with him in
the morning. But then I would go to school and I would either work or take
classes and then I was always studying. And so, even though my husband was
home with him, I feel like I kind of missed his entire kindergarten year. Like I
don’t have a good memory of him in kindergarten and even 1st grade. I was so
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busy working and studying that I feel like I kind of missed a little bit of . . . those
couple years with him.
Dena says the main reason she continued with her education and path to leadership was
in large part due to the constant support and encouragement from those around her,
especially her husband.
As Dena continued to get promoted to higher positions, she and her husband
decided that he would stay home and do a majority of the child and home care. Even
though it was difficult at times financially, Dena acknowledges that having a stay-at-
home-husband gave her the peace of mind she needed to work full time in executive
leaderships positions:
If I hadn’t had that option, I think my experience would have been very, very
different and I, in many ways, might have limited myself, if I didn’t have that
comfort. So I recognize that that experience is very different than some other
women, but I do think that it’s an important question that our society should be
having. . . . If we’re so excited about women in the workforce and equity and pay
and credibility, we should also be as excited about men at home being dads and
giving dad the credibility of making that decision in their life.
One of Dena’s biggest challenges on the path to the presidency was convincing
people that she could handle the job. At 5’2”, Dena has always struggled with “the little
lady” stigma. She described the state where she currently resides and works in as having
a strong patriarchy. She counters this perception by using humor and asserting her
strengths through building credibility with her faculty, staff, and fellow administrators.
When asked to describe her biggest success as a college president, it was the
announcement that she was selected to be the president, because the feeling of support
was overwhelming:
They announced it in a formal meeting of the Board of Regents, but it was open to
the public and, since it was on our campus, the room was packed. . . . And part of
this is because I had been at the institution for so long and people know me, right?
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. . . When they announced me, the room really, literally, just erupted into applause
and it was . . . a really heart-felt, emotional moment because I just had a lot of
support from the community. And I knew that with that kind of energy in the
room, we could do unbelievable things together.
At her inauguration, the college community engraved Dena’s favorite quote on a
plaque that is displayed in a reflection area for students; each year that she is president,
they will engrave another quote to the plaque. Dena loves words and enjoys sharing
quotes with others. Her artifact for this interview was a book of quotes called Love Life.
Dena is an optimist that believes when teams of people work together, anything can
happen. As she insisted:
I don’t know that you can’t have it all. I actually think you can have it all. . . . I
know that’s debatable. I know people would take issue with that, but I think if
you frame it right in your mind, you can have both a really positive career and be
a great mom.
Jen
My kids and my family are still very much my priority, and if at some point this made it
impossible for me to be a good parent I would step away. I haven’t had to do that, but I
would if I had to. I mean, they’re more important to me than my job, but, you know,
they’ve been very much a part of my job. I have a fabulous husband who is incredibly
supportive, which there is no way I could do this without having an incredibly supportive
spouse.
Jen is a devoted wife and mother and is open about her family being her first
priority. In the early part of her career, Jen put her husband’s career above her own,
following him to different parts of the country so that he could have the job that he
wanted. Her PhD is in counseling psychology, and while her original goal was to be a
counselor in a college setting, she gave up that dream to be with her then boyfriend. Jen
says her dream of being a counselor is one of the only sacrifices she feels she made on
her journey to become college president. Once her husband settled at a job in the
Midwest, Jen took a transition job at a 4-year university in residence life, but she knew it
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was temporary. Her boss told her she would be great at a community college, something
she knew very little about, but she gave it a shot, and realized just how much she supports
and believes in the community college mission. Jen said:
I loved the community college setting and environment. . . . Our commitment to
social justice and access and the ways in which community colleges really change
students’ lives was very fulfilling to me, and kind of allowed me to match my
social justice passion, [which] really is what got me into psychology in the first
place.
Jen, a kind, thoughtful woman in her mid 40s, is the youngest participant in this
study and has two children. She has been at the same institution for over 13 years and
worked her way up the ladder, starting as the dean of students, becoming the vice
president for student services, a role she served in for 10 years, and then securing the
college presidency this past year. Jen reports she never had aspirations to do any of this
and credits her mentors with pushing her and believing in her. In fact, when the previous
president retired, it was she who strongly encouraged Jen to apply for the presidency:
I never thought I would be a college president, but worked very closely with the
college president at the time and she kept saying to me, ‘Jen, you know you really
need to think about, you know, being president.’ I said, ‘No, I don’t think I want
to do that.’ And she just kept planting those seeds and sending me to, you know,
executive leadership institute training. Then when she announced her retirement I
had to decide like, ‘Is this something that I want to do?’ And I found that I loved
this college. I believe in what we do. I wanted to make sure that our tradition of
student success and community continued. I’ve seen a lot of really bad
presidents, to be honest with you. So I knew that I was going to get a new
president, or I could try to be the new president, so I put my name in the hat.
When asked what finally gave her the confidence to apply for the position, she
said the leadership institute she attended made her realize she was able to be a president.
Because she never had presidential aspirations, Jen says she made it clear during the
interview process that she did not want to be a college president anywhere else; she
wanted to be a college president at her current institution.
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While Jen is calm, composed, and compassionate, she also struggles with trying
to find balance in her life. In fact, she says there is no such thing as balance. In thinking
back to when she learned she was pregnant, she was afraid to tell her supervisors for fear
that they would react negatively. The opposite happened; all of her supervisors were
incredibly supportive of her having children, and they had no issue with Jen bringing her
children to college events. Jen notes that her roles of mother and professional often bleed
over into the other role. For instance, she remembers when she was vice president and
was breastfeeding her son while on the phone with the college lawyers. The balance is
difficult, but Jen says mothers need to be upfront about their priorities:
There is no balance, and, for me, what I have to decide is what’s the priority right
now. And sometimes my priority is my family and then I need to tell people at
work like, ‘This is what’s going on with my family and so this is my priority. It’s
not like I’m going to check out from work, but I need to let you know what’s
going on at home.’ Or, for my family, ‘This a priority right now at work, and I’m
not going to be as present as much or I’m going to miss these things.’ I’ll just be
very clear about it, so it requires having really good communication with my
partner and with the college about what’s going on in my life.
In order to keep as much balance as possible, Jen will drive home in the afternoon on
certain days to spend time with her children before she needs to go back to work for an
evening Board of Trustees meeting. She also incorporates her children into her college
life. At Jen’s inauguration, for instance, her children played the music and were featured
in the program, something she could not be more proud of.
Jen and her husband have a healthy and supportive relationship. Jen used the word
“we” every time she discussed a major decision the two were faced with. She also said
her interfaith marriage (she is the daughter of a Lutheran minister and her husband is
Jewish) is a large part of her identity. The one thing she feels guilty about is how her
husband may question his own identity with her achieving such a high status. She
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jokingly says he calls himself a “trophy husband.” He has also told her that he does not
want to live in her shadow and only be known as the president’s husband. Jen is very
clear that her husband and children are her first priority, which is confirmed in the way
she prioritized her husband’s career over her own for the first part of their marriage. Jen
also says she would not want to move from the area since her children have only lived in
that one location.
Although the job of college president is challenging, Jen loves that she gets to
make changes that positively affect students’ lives. She loves that she has the ability to
support students and encourage them to realize their dreams. Students are the reason she
comes to work every day. She even has lunch with a different group of students each
month, because it helps her feel connected to them. Jen says she felt a calling to be a
community college president. It was through working with homeless students,
immigrants without running water, and students working three jobs and then seeing them
graduate and move on to 4-year institutions that made her fall in love with her job.
“When you see stories like that, Jen remarked, “It’s like how can you not believe in what
we do? I very much believe in our mission.”
Karina
It is my philosophy that family comes first, and I convey that with all of my staff and
faculty so everyone knows family comes first and they never ever have to feel guilty. And
the same thing with . . . this phone sitting here. If my daughter calls, I’m answering it no
matter what I’m doing. I’ll be in an interview interviewing a candidate for a position and
I will step out and take a call from my child. But everyone is encouraged to do that, so, I
mean, it’s a family-first culture.
“Family first,” was a message Karina learned from her father. Throughout her
life, Karina, the president of a private, for-profit college in the East, heard stories from
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her dad that she now shares in public addresses and with colleagues. Karina grew up in a
poor family and knew at an early age that she had to get an education. In her words:
I saw that [education] could change me and my life and my stars, and it changes
socioeconomic class. . . . I grew up very, very poor, you know. My parents
scrabbling for every dollar or paying what they could towards the electric so they
wouldn’t shut the lights off. And [we] were just really poor, and now I [am] in,
you know, this crazy percentage of income earners, especially if you say women,
and my children now. . . . I’ve gone from a family where no one was educated in
higher education to a daughter who just completed her third degree.
Karina, herself, is an overachiever when it comes to academic degrees; she is
currently working on her fifth degree. She has two bachelor’s degrees (one in business
and marketing and one in education), a master’s degree in writing and literature, and a
Doctorate of Education. Her latest degree is an MFA in creative writing. Karina says this
degree is all for her. Karina identifies herself as an artist first, and the only reason she did
not pursue art from the beginning is that her parents only gave her two options for her
studies: education or nursing. While she chose nursing and excelled in the discipline with
a 4.0 GPA, she dropped out after the first semester because she hated the sight of blood.
She did not return to school until after her children were born.
Karina pursued all of her degrees while being a mother, and although she
remembers how difficult and challenging those years were, she said making her children
part of her education made it easier and taught them to love school as well:
The real early years I was running a daycare, so I was there for them during the
day while I was earning my pay. . . . And then in the evenings and on Saturdays
periodically I would take [them], especially the oldest one, with me to class, so
she still was sort of by my side. But when I was home I was doing homework
right next to them so they watched me studying, which I think was a great
message.
Karina had a supportive husband at that time, which made it easier to balance the
challenges of going to school, working, and being a mother. At one point in her studies,
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Karina and her family lived in Japan, an experience that Karina says only added to her
education:
I think part of doing the undergrad with kids is that you recognize the value of all
the different ways that you learn. It’s not just this . . . school-based learning, but
it’s all the people that you meet, the travel that you do, the exposure to other
cultures and experiences.
Karina taught in public education for a few years, and although she was not making much
money, she enjoyed being home with her children every evening to make dinner and
spend time with them.
When Karina’s family relocated to another state, her teaching certification was
not reciprocal, so, Karina secured her first job in higher education as a director of
education at a for-profit institution. Even though she had no experience in higher
education, it was her many years of experience as a student, her experience teaching, and
the number of education courses she had taken that landed her the job. She worked with
faculty in developing their professional skills and worked her way up the ladder. During
that time, Karina’s responsibilities at work grew, and she and her husband were growing
apart. That is when the opportunity came for her first presidency in the South:
And part of my decision to leave that circumstance was actually I was working a
lot, but [my ex-husband] was someone who valued me as a woman as a pretty
thing on his arm, and so it was my ambitions and my accomplishments in my
professional life that made me realize that, ‘Wow, I’m capable of a lot more than
this’.
The move down south was a difficult decision for Karina, because her eldest daughter
stayed behind to complete her final years of high school.
Karina and her two younger children moved together, and Karina admitted to
feeling a little over-her-head as a president of a regional campus that reported to a
chancellor. It was a job she was not used to. During this time, Karina says she had a
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difficult time balancing work and family, something she is much better at now. There is
one particular memory involving her father that she still feels guilty about and relayed to
me in this way:
I was working at [a former institution] and my father, who was recovering from
pancreatic cancer, had come for a visit in April. And he wanted to spend time
with me and I didn’t see him all week. I kept having crises at work; I kept getting
called in. I met him for dinner one night, but I kept checking my watch. . . . And
[I] remember that Saturday when I took him to the airport I was so upset, and
when I was driving to the airport I was playing chicken with a truck. And I had a
little convertible, and I’m weaving in between cars and just acting out because I
was pretty upset that I hadn’t seen him. And finally . . . I pulled up to the airport
and I said, ‘I’m sorry.’ I said, ‘I’m a jerk. You know, I’m sorry I didn’t see you.
I’m sorry I drove like this.’ And he said, ‘It’s all good.’ . . . And he came back in
the summer . . . and passed away [shortly after that]. So, of course, a month later
he died and I had that whole week with him all to myself and I didn’t see him at
all.
That experience, along with her strong belief that family always comes first, has made
Karina make many changes at her current institution that lets her employees know that
they never have to choose between being loyal to their family or being loyal to their job;
they can be loyal to both.
Karina has been president at her current institution for three years and is most
proud of the way she has been able to engage the community and bring a culture of the
arts to her college. With new facilities for the performing arts and additional elective
offerings in the arts, Karina wants students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community
members to be the best they can possibly be while enjoying their lives. She hopes to
inspire her employees to seek self-actualization through professional development and by
allowing them to put their own families first. Karina is currently single and very close to
her three children. She makes every effort to spend as much time with them as possible,
and now that she is back living near where they live, she is able to do so.
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Kate
I love being a mom, even though it’s the hardest job of all. It can be extremely
unpleasant, you know. . . . And honestly, you know, my daughter’s been extremely
challenging, . . . and it does make it hard to be dealing with that as a vice president and
now a president.
Kate, an ambitious, confident woman, is in her early 50s and is the president at a
small community college in the East. The above quote refers to the challenges Kate’s
teenage daughter has given her as a result of the relocations over the past few years. The
first challenge was when Kate took a job as a vice president a few states over from where
her daughter was raised on the West Coast, and then the more recent challenge when the
family moved from the West Coast to the East Coast to secure Kate’s first presidency.
She expressed it in this way:
When we moved, let’s see, she was just entering freshman year of high school.
So, we thought, ‘Well at least its bridging middle school to high school.’ But she
. . . was so upset. It was traumatizing for her and . . . we did not predict that. We
knew it would be hard, but we didn’t predict that it was really traumatic, but it
was. It was very traumatic, and . . . it involved lots of serious counseling. I mean,
she reacted so strongly, negatively, and just punished us. She was so mad at us
that it literally took two years to kind of work through that.
Kate’s daughter moved back to the West Coast one month after she turned 18. Kate
searched and interviewed for a job back west just over a year into her presidency so that
she could get back to her daughter. She notified the Board of Trustees at her college that
she was having family difficulties and was searching for a new job back out West. She
did not get the job and remains at her current institution in the East. Her daughter has
since moved back to live with Kate and her husband. Kate’s husband does not like the
area either:
He has trouble connecting to [people on the East Coast], because he’s an Idaho
person. Idaho males are . . . they’re stoic. . . . They’re not nearly as expressive as
[the men here are].
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When asked how she handles this type of stress, since she likes the East Coast and her
husband does not, Kate answered emphatically:
He’s number one. Period. So, if he said start looking for jobs, I would start
looking for jobs, because . . . he’s been giving it his full effort. He’s been trying
and . . . you know, when you’re in . . . almost year three . . . if it’s still not
working for you . . . Yeah.
Kate came from a modest upbringing where her parents worked very hard for
very little. Although they always had food, they did not have much in terms of material
goods. Kate said the big move to a middle-class neighborhood was huge for her family.
Kate worked as a waitress throughout college and when her advisers asked her if she ever
thought about going to graduate school, she said, “What is grad school?” She received a
paid graduate teaching assistantship at a major university and had her entire master’s
degree paid for. She received her first part-time teaching job at a community college and
fell in love with the community college mission. She knew she would stay in the
community college sector. At the time, she began pursuing her doctoral degree, but felt
burned out after being in school for so long, so she put her education on hold and
continued to work. Kate received her first full-time, tenure-track position after one short
year of being an adjunct faculty member and got involved with the faculty union. After
receiving tenure, having two children, and going through a divorce, Kate realized she
needed to take a leave of absence, without pay, and finish her education. She and her new
boyfriend (now husband) moved back to her hometown with her six-year old and 16-
month old, and she took two years to get her degree while working three part-time jobs.
The same university that paid for her master’s degree, paid for her doctoral degree.
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Once Kate returned to her tenure-track position, she regained her post with the
union and became its vice president. This allowed her to be active on the regional, state,
and national level. It also gave her invaluable experience in the collective bargaining unit.
When an interim dean position became open in liberal arts and humanities, Kate jumped
on the opportunity; then she applied and got the permanent position. After 22 years at the
same community college, Kate wanted a promotion and knew she would not get one
under the current president, so she took an executive vice president job at another
community college. Eventually, she became vice president at another institution, and
finally landed her first presidency across the country:
I was surprised how fast I got [a presidency] to be truthful with you. I mean, I
was really shocked. I really thought it would take a couple of years.
Kate secured the first presidency that she applied for, which she credits to the vast
experiences she has encountered in her career. She credits the support of her husband as a
main reason why she was able to work full time and have such a high-power career. She
also credits the support of particular supervisors along the way who provided her with
flexibility to care for her family at difficult times. The most challenging time in Kate’s
life was when a car hit her son while standing on the side of a road after he had just been
in a car accident. Kate’s supervisors allowed her to bring a portable cot into her office so
that her son, who had suffered a concussion, could rest in between classes during his first
semester of college. She was amazed at the kindness of her supervisors.
When asked what keeps her motivated during these tough times, she discussed the
artifact she brought with her that defines her experience as a mother and president, her
parents’ wedding photograph, and says she did not have it nearly as tough as her parents
did. She relayed this story to me:
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[Kate]
[My dad] was in Amsterdam in World War II and almost died several times, just
weight loss or being picked up by Nazis. . . . And he had to hide at a farm,
because his mom and dad were worried that they were going to make him become
a Nazi soldier. Because they were doing it at that time, rounding up Dutch boys
when . . . the ranks were getting smaller, and they were forcing young Dutch boys
to join the Nazi soldier troops. And my dad never had to do that, but it was not
easy to avoid. . . . So, you can imagine how hungry people were in Amsterdam at
the time. It was really bad, and then he saw the . . . genocide of Jews was just
awful. But the whole thing was just awful, and then my mother was in Indonesia,
and her parents were victims; her dad was killed. That’s a very long story, but he
died when she was young because of Dutch friendly fire. Her mom got sick and
died, so she was an orphan and ended up in a Japanese concentration camp for
five years between the ages of 7 to 12.
[Interviewer]
Your mother did?
[Kate]
My mother did, and so, she was lucky when the war ended, she lived. Most
people didn’t. She was a foster kid and was shipped to Holland, because the
Dutch had colonized Indonesia, and then after the war, they re-colonized.
And so, she ended up meeting my dad when she was going to college at the time,
and they were at a teacher school, and so, it ended up working out okay, but you
know, when I think about my hardships, I think that’s nothing.
Unfortunately, Kate’s parents died over 20 years ago and did not see her become a
college president, but they were alive to see her get her doctorate, and her mother got to
meet Kate’s first son.
Kendal
As I look back on it, I don’t regret it. I don’t feel . . . that my children . . . made a lot of
sacrifices. I think they felt loved. I think they felt supported. I think they were proud to
have . . . a parent who was in a position of leadership. . . . They came to my office a lot
after school, I remember. And on snow days, they would come to my office, and they
learned that they had to behave. And they would go out and talk to people, and, in fact,
they started calling my daughter ‘the deanlit,’ as that year we had. . . . a lot of bad
weather. But, you know, I always had a table in my office and . . . they were really a part
of my life.
Kendal, a thoughtful, introspective mother of two, is a college president in her
mid-60s at a small private college in the Midwest. Kendal stressed that including her
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children in her professional life is what makes her a “whole” person. Strong and resilient,
Kendal is a woman who paved the way for other women by being the first woman leader
in many institutions where she served. On her path to the presidency, Kendal was the first
woman to be department chair in her academic department, the first woman to be a dean
at her institution, and the first woman president at her current institution. Although she
began her career teaching advanced English courses in high school, her experience
working after hours to assist adult learners positioned her to transition to higher
education. Kendal recalled:
I had Vietnamese refugees; I had women who were forced out of school because
they became pregnant. I had industrial manufacturing foremen who could not
read or write but did not want anybody to know that.
The diversity of working with these students encouraged Kendal to make the switch to
higher education, to pursue her doctoral degree, and to teach at the same time. While
working on her dissertation, she was hired for a tenure-track position at a state university,
stayed for one year, and then took a different tenure-track position at a large state
university. Kendal and her husband literally moved to several parts of the state where
they lived.
While going through the tenure process, Kendal learned she was pregnant with
her second child, which was a shock since she had just recently miscarried and was
devastated. Because her second pregnancy was not planned, the timing was not
conducive with a faculty schedule. Kendal was also only one of two women in the
department and the only woman with children. She did not take any type of maternity
leave when she had her son:
People are horrified by this, but I had him on Friday morning and then I went
back to work on Monday. . . . I decided that I would just see it through, so I did
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arrange for, you know, two weeks of guest speakers if I needed them the week
before the due date and two weeks afterward. But it turned out by that time, we
had someone, um, who was coming to the house to care for our daughter, and so,
really, it was a pretty easy transition. She already knew our routine. She knew,
you know, she knew the drill, in terms of my coming and going, and so I lived
close enough to the university. I actually nursed him for six months. I would go
home during the middle of the day and nurse him, and I had great flexibility,
because I was teaching all my graduate seminars so I could, you know, come and
go more or less, as I pleased. . . . In retrospect, I think women are always horrified
when I tell that story thinking that I was insensitive and not a good mother and so
forth, but it was a personal choice. And it actually, you know, it actually worked
for us, and . . . he slept a lot as a baby, as babies do, and I was there when he
needed to nurse. I lost a lot of sleep, certainly, but it was okay, and I got a healthy
baby.
Kendal’s colleagues were actually very supportive of her being a mother, and they hosted
numerous baby showers for her leading up to her delivery.
After teaching for 13 years, Kendal made the transition to administration by
becoming department chair and then system-wide dean at the same institution. She then
accepted a dean position at a larger university in another state where later she was
promoted to provost and then executive vice president. After 13 years at that institution,
she accepted her current position as college president at a small private college. Although
Kendal enjoyed the time at her previous institution, when she lost respect for her
supervisors and was struggling to deal with state politics, she knew it was time to move
on. She did not realize the major challenges waiting for her, however, and had a lot of
obstacles upon taking her first presidency: the college had just lost over one million
dollars, the recession was hitting, and Kendal’s first order as CEO was to tell employees
that the college had to cut retirement benefits and were not giving raises that year. Kendal
says the timing of the new position, coupled with her husband’s displeasure of leaving
the previous institution, may be the only thing she would do over in her career, in
addition to taking care of her own health more. About this, she stated:
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I didn’t take good care of myself. I used to run a lot, ran a marathon, and did a lot
of 10Ks and so forth, and I really stopped doing that. That was the thing that kind
of went out the window. I just didn’t have time to exercise, so yeah, there was
time for the kids and there was time to do my job, but I didn’t really, you know, I
would walk. I would try to run, but it was just really hard when you’re nursing
and things like that. [Even now it is difficult, because] there are a lot of early
morning meetings. There are a lot of late evening meetings, so I do try . . . to be
good at my job, to feel good, to be productive. I need to take care of myself.
While there are still challenges at her institution, Kendal views all challenges as
opportunities and depends on her executive leadership team to help her fulfill the
college’s mission. If one of her vice president’s is not fulfilling his/her job duties, she
brings that person in and has a frank discussion. If that person does not amend his/her
behavior, she removes him/her from her team.
Kendal expressed a desire for retirement in her near future so that she may spend
more time with her children and her granddaughter. In the meantime, Kendal says she
will continue to collaborate with fellow female presidents in the area, because she
appreciates the advice and support they provide each other. Kendal hopes that more
women seek presidencies and that they encourage each other along the way.
Kim
You learn not to expect perfection of yourself as a mother, don’t expect perfection of
yourself as a president or of those around you, but . . . perpetual improvement is a good
thing.
Kim appears to be a calm, collected, and confident college president at a small
private institution in the Midwest. In her early 60s, Kim is married and has a large family
that she remains connected to, even though most of her children live all over the country.
She and her husband text and call their children and visit them while on vacation. Kim
received her BS in Education with a major in English and planned on teaching high
school English. That all changed in graduate school when she was offered the opportunity
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to teach English composition. Kim felt right at home in higher education. Although she
currently lives in the Midwest, Kim began her career in higher education in the South,
with her first job as a professor of English at a small, Methodist, liberal arts college. Kim
was the only female faculty member in the department for a few years; about this
experience she stated:
I became very close to the men in the department and have a lot of respect for
them. But I think, for the senior members of that department, there . . . was an
extra level of proof . . . I had to bring to the table.
Although she had her doctorate before she was a professor, she did have a few children
before her dissertation was complete. Kim laughs as she admits that she barely
remembers those years, but she says that she and her husband “just worked it out.” Not
wealthy, not poor, Kim’s family was comfortable, but both she and her husband needed
to work in order to support their family:
That’s the reality we live in, and if you’re going to need to work and if you’re
going to make a decision to have a large family, you don’t want to bring them up
in poverty. Then do the best work you can that is . . . meaningful to you and
provides the resources your family needs. And so that’s what we did, and . . .
occasionally, of course, the two things didn’t go really well. I’d have . . .
conflicting demands on my time on a given day or during a given week, but over
time I learned that I could balance. And my children knew then and know now
that they were very important to my husband and me. . . . Though I wouldn’t say
that we were organized enough to plan this. We were not.
Kim admits to feeling exhausted and guilty in those early years, but she put faith in the
fact that her work in higher education was a calling, and that belief has gotten her through
the challenges she has faced and continues to face in her career. Kim’s faith in a higher
entity than herself allows her to keep perspective, stating: “When it seems overwhelming,
I remember that I have a certain level of responsibility, but I’m not really ultimately in
charge.”
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Although Kim’s career began as an English faculty member, a position she is very
proud of, she got involved with the Office of Institutional Advancement, because the
department needed to secure an endowment for a newly created communication position.
Kim learned that she was good at fundraising, and the college president at her institution,
a former mentor, encouraged her to get more involved with advancement by continuing
to write grants. For a number of years, Kim worked in both the English department and
the advancement office until finally being promoted to the Vice President of Institutional
Advancement. At that point, she needed to give up teaching, something she was
disappointed about. When promoted to the position, there were some grumblings from
former faculty colleagues about her switch to administration. Kim thought this was
ridiculous, but understood their concerns at the same time; she shared:
The faculty felt that I had deserted [the] pure calling of being a faculty member,
not because I was a woman. I don’t think that was particularly it, but that I’d
gone to the dark side. We faculty people are very interesting, and I just never
quite bought in. Even when I was doing no administrative work, I was a faculty
member. I never quite bought into this divide. I mean, I thought there were
people behaving badly among the faculty and people behaving badly among the
administration.
After serving as the vice president of advancement for years, breaking fundraising
records, and securing the institution’s future, Kim’s president announced his retirement,
and Kim was contacted by a hiring consultant about applying for her first college
presidency. At the time, she was still at her prior institution. Kim and her husband
decided this was a good time in their lives for Kim to take this opportunity—as their
children were all grown and out of the house. She applied and received the job even
though she had never had plans or aspirations to be a college president until that time.
The opportunity, however, was too good to pass up.
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Kim credits her success in higher education to many of her mentors who taught
her the ins and outs of advancement, as well as providing the encouragement to try new
things. She admitted that she has had to deal with a lot of obstacles along the way with
regards to being a woman in senior-level administrative positions and stated:
Yeah, I mean, I worked with people who were supportive and very excited about
and understood the value of [being a mother] and with others . . . who kept
thinking surely I would fail, because, . . . I would just go home and not be able to
do the work.
When asked how she deals with that type of criticism, Kim said she either deals with it
head on or lets it go entirely, responding in this way:
For one thing, my approach to any kind of conflict, doesn’t matter what the
situation, is to consider the perspective of that person. And, if there is a real issue
that needs to be addressed, for us to go on to address it calmly, respectfully, and
clearly one-to-one . . . and try to resolve it and move on, so that you both have
your dignity, and in many cases, that works. But I also am . . . slow to be
offended, because . . . it does not serve a person well or serve the cause of women
in leadership well to be looking for offenses everywhere you turn. . . . And over
time, I think what you do is gain respect by not fighting every battle. . . .
Sometimes, you just go around the battle. Sometimes, you [have] to plow right
through it, and sometimes you just decide the battle is not even worth it.
Kim’s current institution is doing very well under her leadership. They have gone
against the national trend with three years of enrollment growth and have just completed
a large capital campaign, raising millions of dollars for the small private institution. Kim
is proud of her executive team and makes it a point to regularly acknowledge the good
work of her employees. Kim hopes that higher education institutions start spotting
emerging leaders, whether they have children or not, and encourage them to succeed by
supporting them in whatever means they need. Kim emphasized that at the end of the day
employees who are satisfied at their job will be loyal to the institution.
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Pam
I know I didn’t have as much leeway to stay home or be home. I managed to do all the
things that I needed to do and be at [my children’s] activities as best I could. Definitely
the piece that my own daughter talks about [is] being involved in the school booster and
volunteering. . . . And in my day there weren’t as many working mothers, and that was
always a challenge. Not that…I didn’t feel bad about it, but I wanted them to feel, you
know, that I was there for them.
Pam, a strong, poised woman, is a retired community college president, as well as
a retired chancellor, and is in her late 60s. After being a college president for 12 years out
West, Pam took a chancellor job closer to where her two daughters live. The job also
posed new challenges, something that the ambitious woman views as exciting. While
Pam describes herself as “retired,” it should be noted that she is currently working as a
full-time faculty member for a doctoral program. Pam has always been one to take on
additional responsibility—just for the intellectual stimulation. For instance, when her ex-
husband was transferred to Germany and her children were small, Pam earned a second
master’s degree. Pam originally went to school to be an English teacher, because, as she
puts it, back in the 1960s women went to school to be nurses or teachers. She took a job
working with adult students in the U.S. Army, teaching the veterans basic writing skills
and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses. Pam’s husband left her and their
children while they were in Germany, and so Pam went through her entire career as a
single mother. Pam notes that her children were in daycare at a young age:
I would pick them up. And there were a lot of nights, graduations, you know, for
this veterans group and all sorts of stuff, and I just took them to it. So they grew
up in higher education and education in general. . . . Yeah, they became kind of
used to like sitting in a room where I could kind of see them and coloring while I
did things. When I was in Europe, . . . I was the curriculum director for ESL, and I
would have to do workshops on the weekend. And I would put them in the car
and they’d go with me. And then we would kind of sightsee the way home. I was
just lucky to have, I think, a more flexible kind of job outside of the regular work
time. I could take them along and bring them along.
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When asked if her supervisors were generally supportive of her being a mother, Pam said
that no one was easy on her just because she was a parent:
I think as I moved up that there was not really any allowance made, or I didn’t ask
for it, for having children. I think now there’s more of that, for men too. But
back then, you know, as a woman, one of the few women . . . in administration,
basically I just had to get the job done and that’s partly why when I had to be at a
lot of these night things and stuff I would, in many cases, be able to bring the
children when they were younger.
Pam moved her daughters around a lot when they were young, because she was
ambitious and wanted to aim for high-level leadership positions, even when they were
sometimes above her skill level. Pam says she never had a hard time applying for a job,
but does admit that daydreaming about a new position and new location, and then not
getting it, was “humiliating.”
Pam’s daughters were used to moving a lot, but Pam made sure she stayed rooted
in one location through her daughters’ high school years, because she did not want them
to have the same experience that she had as a child. Her dad was “peripatetic,” she
stated, and Pam was in 13 different schools from kindergarten through her senior year of
high school. Once in high school, Pam was in a different school each year. Pam cites the
many moves through her lifetime as one of the most challenging parts of her life. Now
that she is retired from being college president and chancellor, she is happy to be back in
the location where her daughters currently reside and where they attended high school
and college.
Although she experienced some guilt about putting her daughters in daycare, Pam
would not change her career path. She says her strong work ethic is what got her all of
the many promotions she earned. She also says her desire to work and go to school full
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time provided a good model for her daughters to look up to. She is extremely close to her
daughters, and it was being away from them at times in their lives when they were having
children and securing full-time jobs that motivated her to retire. Although she, like many
of her retired friends, feared she might experience a degree of sadness and loss of purpose
once stepping down from being a community college president and chancellor, that has
not been the case for Pam:
I thought, well when you’re done and you go to the Walmart or wherever you go
and you’re just like, you know, when you buy your meat, you’re just nobody.
Nobody is going to acknowledge that you were important and that’s absolutely
the case. . . . But it just doesn’t seem to bother me.
Sybil
I’d like to be able to continue to do this work for another few years but you’ve got to have
the stamina to do it. . . . And at home the grocery shopping still needs to be done, the
laundry still needs to be done, and so sometimes that can be pulling at you. I do have
somebody who comes in to clean every other week, you know, to do the bath and that
kind of stuff, but you know, I don’t think I want anybody to buy my groceries . . . and
then, being a mother, to make sure even that our youngest daughter who just finished
college is at home and still job hunting. I don’t want her to think I’m too busy for her
and sometimes I think she gets that impression that I’m always gone. You know, those
kinds of things . . . and then because of that, you also want to say to the people at work, ‘I
can be here for you, too.’ And then reminding myself, ‘Okay, Sybil, you’re one person.
You can only be in one place at one time and do so many things.’ And so learning how to
delegate some things has been something I’ve learned how to do.
Sybil, a soft-spoken woman, is an African American president in her mid-60s at a
large community college in the Midwest. A mother of four children and several
grandchildren, Sybil has been a college president for three years, and it was not until her
children were all grown and out of the house that Sybil applied for her first presidency.
Sybil never had aspirations to be a college president, but she knew she liked working in
higher education. After receiving her BA in English education, Sybil accepted a
fellowship for a master’s program in library science, and her graduate education was paid
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for. Her first job was working at a private institution in New York in library science.
When her husband was offered a job in the Midwest, they moved, and Sybil took a job as
a part-time librarian at the community college where she is now the president.
Sybil worked her way up from part-time librarian, to library director, director of
professional development, vice president for academic affairs, and finally college
president. She earned her PhD in education and human resource studies along the way.
Sybil says that she never intended on transitioning to upper level administration or
getting her doctoral degree until a supervisor and mentor encouraged her to do so:
She said, ‘Sybil, you know you have the potential. You have the leadership skills,
but what you need is the credentials that opens that door for you and that’s the
doctorate.’ And at that point I decided, ‘Okay, I will go ahead and pursue it.’ Up
until that point actually I hadn’t honestly thought about it. I enjoyed the work that
I was doing in the library, I enjoyed the opportunities working across the board in
different committees and so forth, but I never really saw myself as being in upper
administration. I really didn’t, and it’s not that I didn’t think I could do it. I just
didn’t think that that was a path that I wanted to take. And having a family with
young children, you have to make priorities.
Sybil knew she wanted to stay in higher education for the next 15-20 years and that is
what motivated her to pursue her degree and branch out to other areas.
Sybil credits much of her professional accomplishments to the support and
encouragement from a long list of mentors, former supervisors, current employees, and
family. She says her husband was especially helpful, and the fact that he already earned
his doctorate and was established in his career before she began her studies was helpful.
She acknowledges that she probably would not have been able to earn her doctorate any
other way.
Sybil comes from a background of modest means. Her parents were both
schoolteachers and encouraged Sybil and her siblings to go to college. She finds it ironic
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that people see her differently now that she is a college president, especially since she has
been at the same institution for 30 years. In fact, one of her biggest challenges has been
moving up the ladder in the same institution where she was once faculty and is now
college president. About this, Sybil commented:
Sometimes I have to remind myself what position I have, because I still see
myself as the same person that I’ve always seen myself as just Sybil, the person
who grew up in a very small town in [the South] who just made it from one step
to the other. And in some ways . . . if you look back, a pretty normal life that was
not exceptional but some people might think it’s exceptional simply because of
the accomplishment. But I didn’t see anything as exceptional nor do I see
anything I have to say or do that’s exceptional except other people sometimes
think that way. So I just see myself as a normal person who has been given an
opportunity to help other people, and I’m thankful that I realize that and I’m
doing it.
Sybil’s family is spread out all over the United States, and so in order to be fair,
she and her husband plan their vacations so that they can visit each child. Sybil says she
has also gotten very good at using Facetime, text messaging, and other social media
platforms in order to stay in contact with her family. They text throughout the day and
often share photos of their children and grandchildren.
While Sybil notes that she would not have done anything different in her career,
she explains that the job of being a college president and a mother is not an easy one. To
get through those difficult days, she seeks advice from her former college president, her
peers, and her 91-year-old mother. In Sybil’s words:
You know, it’s not easy and I take advice from a lot of people and listen to a lot of
people, . . . and I’m just like anybody else. You know, I get very frustrated on
some days, very impatient sometimes with people, but then I remember, my
mother reminds me, that you can’t change people. You just do the best you can
and you learn to listen and work with people. And, at 91, I think she’s seen it
all—so she gives good advice.
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Tara
I don’t know how to split myself up appropriately and I never have. So, do I feel like
maybe other people have made sacrifices for me. Yes, I do. I think that people continue
to make sacrifices on my behalf. I have guilt around that, which probably differs from
any man you would interview about this. Because, you know, somebody’s always mad at
me, because they feel like they’re getting the short end of the stick. So, you know, there’ll
be the institution and there’ll be some part of the institution that I work at, you know,
whether it’s the board, whether it’s the staff, whether it’s the community, that feels like I
haven’t paid enough attention recently to them. There’ll be my husband, who misses me;
my children, who ask me where I’ve been or, you know, why I can’t do this or why I can’t
do this or why I’m not the mother that bakes the cakes and hosts the parties at school.
And, honestly, my daughter has come to the realization at 13, now (she realized this at
about 10.) that, even if I was a stay-at-home mom, I wouldn’t be that mom. That’s just
not where my skillset lies.
Tara, a driven and ambitious woman, is a community college president and has
three children. In her mid-40s, Tara has been a president for one year. Tara did not take
the traditional path to a college presidency. She earned her MBA while working for a
bank that was constantly being bought and sold, and when the company was ready to
downsize, her department was first on the list. Because she was single at the time and did
not have children, Tara offered to resign so that employees with families did not have to
make any sacrifices. The bank fired other people anyway and did not fire Tara; that is
when she knew the banking business was not for her and started networking with contacts
she had made at several community events.
Tara’s go-getter, positive attitude resonated with a local community college
president, and he offered Tara a job at his institution. She declined, because she did not
have experience working in higher education. She took another job as a product manager
for a manufacturing company, and the college president who offered her the job
continued to ask Tara to at least consider working in higher education. She declined
again. The man, who later became her mentor, said, “I don’t know anybody who turns
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down a job without ever exploring the opportunity.” That resonated with Tara, especially
since she was having parallel discussions in her personal life as well:
I was very serious with my (now) husband and he was starting to have
conversations with me about, ‘I don’t know if we can ever get married, because
you’re never home long enough for us to really have a meaningful relationship, if
we were to get married.’ And, you know, we had been talking about getting
engaged and if we were going to get married, when it would be, and we really
couldn’t even get a date where I was home long enough for us to have a
honeymoon coupled with it and all of that.
Tara decided to interview, was offered the job at the local community college, and
accepted.
Tara acknowledged that her mentor realized potential in her that she had not
realized yet. She credits the support of her mentor, along with the support of her husband
and others, as the reason she is successful in her career. Her husband quit his job several
times so that Tara could follow her dreams. Tara has worked at multiple institutions
across the country and has had jobs that varied from chief information officer and vice
president for finance and administration to vice president for student services and finally
college president. Even though she has had the support of her husband, Tara said those
early years in her career, when she was earning her doctoral degree and working full
time, were the toughest years of her life:
All of my children were very, very small (preschool age). I was still nursing the
twins. So, literally I had my pump with me. I was pumping in the car. I had a
little attachment. I was pumping in the bathroom. I had the cooler I would carry
around. I had a little sign for the door at the office. I mean, it was totally nuts,
right? I can remember even passing my husband on the Beltway, which is a crazy
highway in [major city in the US]. We pull over and switch out the car seats
midday, because he was like, ‘You take them. I’ll take the afternoon.’ And, it
was so nuts.
Tara remarked that she was feeling resentful towards the men with families in her
doctoral cohort, because they did not have the same level of responsibility at home that
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she and one of her female friends in the cohort did. She even commented that at one point
the two friends joked that what they needed to get through the program was a wife,
someone to take care of the housework and the children.
Because Tara is someone wired to give 100% effort to everything she does, it has
taken a toll on her physically. She says her own health is the first to go when she gets
busy. She even gave up exercising at one point, because she could not find the time to fit
it into her schedule. After two weeks, she was so miserable and stressed that her husband
told her she needed to add fitness back into her routine. Now, she wakes up at 5:00 a.m.
so that she can squeeze exercise into her routine.
Tara has much guilt in what she perceives as sacrifices that others have made on
her behalf. Getting emotional many times during the interview, she repeatedly said how
blessed she was to have such support from both her family and her former supervisors.
She hopes that being a college president makes them proud:
People have literally given me opportunities and I hope, in reflecting back over
my life, that I have, you know, met those challenges and even exceeded those.
You know, that’s what I always try to do. . . . I guess it’s always been instilled in
me, even, you know, with my parents, is that you work as hard as you possibly
can. You always give a 100% to everything you do or there’s no point in doing it.
And so, you know, I kind of hope that people giving me these opportunities is a
reflection of that and so, kind of regardless of what I’ve done, I hope that people
would say that I gave it my all.
Concluding Remarks
This chapter provided demographic information and painted a portrait for each of
the 11 women who participated in this study. The commonalities, as well as the
differences, that were introduced within the portraits will be explored in subsequent
chapters. Chapter 5 will focus on the themes that emerged across the women’s stories
regarding what motivated them to become college presidents, how they attempt to
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balance the many challenges of being both a college president and a mother, obstacles
and successes they faced along their career paths to college presidencies, and lessons they
learned along the way. Chapter 6 will discuss the findings and implications of this study,
as well as provide advice to both higher education administrators and women with
children who may aspire to be college presidents.
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CHAPTER 5
THE CHALLENGES, REWARDS, AND INFINITE SEARCH FOR BALANCE AS
BOTH A COLLEGE PRESIDENT AND A MOTHER
I’m a very rational thinker. I’m very much a realist. So, I believe in being truthful. I do
not think that you should go into anything thinking that it’s something it’s not. . . . I think
the reality of the situation is it’s really, really hard and you will always feel like you’re
shortchanging someone. And you need to know going in that, if you want to be a college
president or any . . . senior leader and a mother and a wife, and a daughter, and, if you
want to have all of those hats, . . . it’s very tough. And, again, you know, it will be a
mixture of emotions nearly every day, . . . and I wouldn’t continue to do it unless I wanted
to. You know, I don’t have to be a college president and I guess I wouldn’t have to be a
good mother. You have a choice, right? I certainly don’t have to be a wife, right? So, all
of those are choices that you make. . . . So, I think if somebody wants to say, ‘Look, I do
want to be a senior leader and I do want to be a mother and, you know, I’m okay with
hard work’, then there shouldn’t be any reason why that is not appropriate.
I have had two women who had babies while they were working for me and it was
important for me to kind of give back the way people had done for me. So, you know, I
was very flexible with them as well. I said, ‘You know, as long as you’re getting the job
done, . . . it’s not about punching a clock to me. If you get the job done, and I know both
of you are very dedicated women, it’s really important that your mind is at ease and
relaxed with knowing that your child or children are being well taken care of. And so, if
that means you have to go get them because they’re sick or you want to leave and attend
their recital or their game and it’s not a board meeting, . . . I’m okay with that, as long as
you’re getting the job done.’ When I left [name of institution], it was interesting, cause
you don’t know the impact you have on people’s lives sometimes, right? But, both of
them came up to me and said, ‘You know, it was possible for us to be a professional and
a mother partly because of you. Because you were supportive of that and you allowed us
to not feel guilty about work or about our kids.’ And that was really meaningful to me,
because that’s what I was striving to do, because I think it’s okay to have all of that and
still be damn good at what you do.
Tara
The portraits of the 11 women in the previous chapter give voice to the path to
leadership for these mothers and college presidents. It is also evident how their different
paths directed them to a career they all felt was “a calling,” an opportunity to give back to
the community in which they live, enriching the lives of the many students entrusted to
their educational care. During this phenomenological study, I spent between one to two
hours with each participant in a private setting where I took notes on their non-verbal
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communication while recording our conversation. Using Moustakas’ (1994)
phenomenological methods of analysis of epoche and bracketing, phenomenological
reduction, imaginative variation, and the synthesis of meanings and essences, I was able
to unfold the major themes and subthemes for this chapter in order to answer the
following research questions that guided this study: (a) What are the lived experiences
and perceptions of a small group of mothers in presidential positions at higher education
institutions?; How do they make sense of their lives?; (b) How has being a mother
affected the career paths of these mothers in college presidencies?; (c) What have been
the challenges that they have faced in their careers, and what has contributed to their
success in moving up the presidential ladder?; and (d) In what ways do they think their
personal attributes, skills, and experiences as a mother relate to their personal attributes,
skills, and experiences as a leader and college president?
In this chapter, I explore how these participants made sense of their lives and
what motivators contributed to them seeking the most prestigious role in higher
education: the college presidency. There are 11 themes that emerged from this study and
26 subthemes. Before narrowing the women’s responses into these 11 themes, I initially
came up with 131 pages of significant statements from the 11 participants from combing
through each transcript several times. I explored how the women came to identify
themselves, what being a mother and a college president meant to them, and how they
eventually became college presidents. The 11 themes are: (1) It Was a Calling: Internal
Motivators for Being a College President; (2) They Never Planned on Being College
Presidents: External Motivators for Being a College President; (3) It Takes a Village: The
Need for Support; (4) Dealing with Guilt and Sacrifice: There is Not Enough Time in the
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Day; (5) There is No Such Thing as Work-Life Balance; (6) Their Greatest Challenge:
The Doctorate; (7) Being Moms Make Them Better College Presidents: Their Leadership
Skills Come From Being a Mother; (8) Being College Presidents Make Them Better
Moms; (9) Family Comes First; (10) Challenges and Obstacles of Being a College
President; and (11) What the Women are Most Proud Of.
In addition to the 11 themes, the following chapter explores what, if anything,
would make these mothers vacate the presidential position. Together these stories form a
deeper understanding of what it takes to be both a college president and a mother and
how the two roles may complement each other in assisting women to reach both their
personal and professional goals.
It Was a Calling: Internal Motivators for Being a College President
There’s work to do here that I can do, and I feel called to do this. I mean, I’m motivated
by faith and . . . animated by that . . . and so, when it seems overwhelming, I remember
that I have a certain level of responsibility, but I’m not really ultimately in charge.
Kim
Every single participant in this study said she felt that she was “called” to be a
college president, yet not one woman in this study ever planned on becoming a college
president when she began her career in higher education. It was the ultimate call to
“serve” and “give back” that eventually motivated each participant to apply for the
esteemed position. This supports previous research by Tunheim and Goldschmidt (2013)
who also found that women presidents reported being called to serve. While seven of the
11 participants mentioned “faith” or “spirituality” in describing their calling, all 11
participants felt called to the position because of the good they knew they could do in the
world and the positive experiences they could pass on to students. Table 7 shows the
internal motivating factors that “called” the women to be college presidents.
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Table 7
Internal Motivating Factors Related to Their Calling to the Presidency
Participant’s
Name
Could
Make a
Difference
Support
Students
(Give
Back)
Motivated
by Values
Need
to
Serve
Faith/
Spirituality
Carrie X X X X X
Claire X X X
Dena X X X X
Jen X X X X X
Karina X X X X
Kate X X X X
Kendal X X X
Kim X X X X
Pam X X X X
Sybil X X X X X
Tara X X X X
When asked why they applied to be a college president the answers all centered
around a calling, such as these comments by Carrie, Jen, Pam and Karina:
Carrie:
It’s interesting. I’ve identified myself by what I do first and foremost, and that’s
because I feel like it’s a calling to me. It’s not . . . a job. It’s a profession. It’s a
calling. It’s my career. It’s who I am. It helps change lives and we transform. . .
. We’re in a transformative environment. I mean, I believe that. I really feel like
we all make a difference.
Jen:
I believe in what we do. I wanted to make sure that our tradition of student
success and community continued. I’ve seen a lot of really bad presidents, to be
honest with you. So I knew that I was going to get a new president, or I could try
to be the new president, so I put my name in the hat.
Pam:
I have a social justice tinge and so I think the community college is so critical.
But I’ve also always been very fascinated by change and all of the stuff that’s
going on, you know, keeping the organization . . . particularly when I got to be a
president and then a chancellor . . . up with the times or even anticipating so that
when the students are coming in five years what you have is what is going to help
them.
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Karina:
You know, I obviously take it serious about educating future generations. I kind
of went from educating myself, educating my children to realizing that I’m
passionate about educating everyone. (Laughs) [I enjoy] leading, [being]
visionary, serving. I think serving is probably, actually . . . put that number one,
because I definitely see my role as serving the constituents here at the college,
internal and external community.
One subtheme emerged from the overarching theme of being “called” to be a
president: the women were motivated by their values and by the opportunity to make a
difference.
Motivated by Values and the Opportunity to Make a Difference
The participants were very vocal regarding what it is about their current
institutions that motivated them to serve there. 100% of participants mentioned their
institution’s mission being aligned with their personal core values. The opportunity to
“make a difference” was cited by all 11 participants. This supports the work of pervious
researchers who found that women leaders are intrinsically motivated by doing
something personally fulfilling (Kouzes & Posner, 2007; Mayer et al., 2015). This was
especially true for the seven community college presidents who even went as far to say
that community colleges are the most significant in making positive change in U.S.
higher education. Kate, who mentioned her faith, had the opportunity to work at several
different Carnegie classifications including one prestigious state university and chose to
take the presidency at a community college instead. In Kate’s words:
I really believe in the mission of community colleges. . . . I was raised Catholic
and I think part of what was instilled in me through that experience, even though I
don’t practice anymore, was just the notion of service to others, and you know, a
better world is a world where we do try to help each other. . . . And I really
believe that was somewhere in my thoughts when I was choosing between [a
four-year university] and [a community college], because I really had that choice
at one point.
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It didn’t take me long to realize in addition to not liking the research, I
don’t even like the mission that much [of research universities]. Just being with
people who, some of them, this truly is their second or third chance at a decent
life through public higher education is definitely why I’m here, and I’ve never
questioned that . . . I really do feel blessed. I feel like, oh my goodness. I did not
plan that I would end up here. I did not go to a community college.
Kate is not alone. Not one of the seven community college presidents ever attended a
community college prior to working in that sector. They all received their degrees from a
four-year public or private institution. They all mentioned that someone told them what
the mission of community colleges was, and it was the access to postsecondary education
for all that steered them to serve at those institutions. Claire emphasized that community
colleges are leaders in higher education:
It’s the best sector of higher ed hands down. I mean seriously . . . I feel like it’s an
environment where you have the best of both worlds because we are higher ed
and we are education, but yet we have a lot more flexibility. We move a lot more
quickly. We’re not tied to . . . , ‘It’s always been done this way.’ We’re younger
institutions. Like we are going to have our 50th
anniversary in a year. . . . An
organization that’s 50 years old is pretty young in the big scheme of things and so
I like that. I love our students. I mean, our students are real people. Not that
they’re not elsewhere, but they are here. Their stories are amazing. I like the
community connection. It is so ingrained in me that we are one with our
community, but I like that you have to know your community, and you have to be
involved and I like that part of it, you know.
And in the last 10 years we’ve done what everybody has been talking
about in terms of the economic issues with the recession—being an economic
engine. . . . So it ended up being a real good fit for the kinds of things that I like to
do. I guess in my heart I’m pretty much, you know, someone that believes in
opportunities for everybody, and even though I went to larger schools, you know,
[we are] much more into kind of our open admission, our sense of equality, our
sense of working with the community, our commitment of diversity, all those
things I like. So when I hear my husband’s stories [who works at a private
university] or I go to some of these things and just the whole elite stuff and all
that, I’m just so done with that.
Sybil likened the opportunities provided to students at community colleges to her own
college experience at a land grant institution in the South:
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It just gives me an opportunity, especially being in a community college, to be
able to help many, many people who may not have the opportunity for higher
education. . . . I went to school in [the South] where I grew up. I went to a land
grant institution that was established for people who either couldn’t go to a
private institution or couldn’t afford to go away to private institutions, but the
land grant colleges were there. And if it had not been for those colleges, I
wouldn’t have had an opportunity to go.
So I look at community colleges in the same venue. And also look at it as
a place where students who are not prepared yet for college. We can help them to
get there. They have to do their part. We don’t give away academics. We have
high expectations but we hire the best faculty that we can find, and then we have
expectations for our faculty and staff to help . . . the students. So I look at my role
as president as setting that standard.
Although the community college presidents were most vocal in the colleges
where they served aligning with their personal values, the four remaining presidents also
spoke about being called to their institutions for similar purposes. Carrie works at a four-
year public university and made the decision to leave a private institution at one point in
her career, because it was making a major change in its mission, a change that Carrie did
not support. About this, she stated:
One institution [where I worked] was considering changing its identity and thus
changing its name. . . . It was an institution that was considering moving from
single sex status to co-ed status. And we did a lot of research and looked at
institutions that stayed single sex, others that went co-ed. And it was clear to me
that the current president at that time was interested only [in] going co-ed,
because that’s the only information that was ever shared with the Board of
Trustees.
The success stories of a single sex status were never shared. So I knew
that I really needed to think long and hard about if I could support that move, and
made a decision that it wasn’t the right place for me at that point in time, and that
was very, very hard. I loved the institution, but I made a decision not to be there.
[I had] no place else lined up. I did a lot of work with the career coach and
really tried to determine what I wanted to do next. . . . Because of my
connections, because I was working with these professional women across the
country, I had a close connection with the woman president of a nearby institution
and I said to her, ‘What kind of projects do you have? I want to be involved. You
know, I’ll help you.’ And instead she hired me on a contractual basis. . . . She is
now retired, but to this day she says I changed her institution. . . . So, I was
reminded of this—that by remaining true to my values, listening to my inner voice
and my intuition, and also corroborating that with facts and what was happening
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in reality, I knew that it just wasn’t the place for me. And sort of when that door
was closing it helped open another one.
Kendal, who works at a four-year private university, had a similar experience when
administrators she was working for started making decisions that went against her
personal beliefs. Even though her husband did not want to leave the area, Kendal said she
could not work for people she did not respect, and she quit her job and went on to her
first presidency.
Between feeling spiritually pulled, following their principles and believing they
could make a difference in the world, the 11 participants in this study all expressed that
they felt called to be college presidents. The internal motivators were powerful; none of
the participants in this study mentioned extrinsic factors, such as money, as a motivator
for pursuing a college presidency.
They Never Planned on Being College Presidents: External Motivators for Being a
College President
Not one of the participants in this study ever thought she would become a college
president early on. One participant figured it out earlier in her career than the others, but
not one single woman planned on becoming the chief executive officer. Kim pointed out
this is not surprising for women:
I think you’re more likely to hear men in their early career or mid-career say,
‘This is where I’m going’. . . . I don’t think that’s good or bad. I just think that
maybe it’s nature. Maybe it’s environment. I don’t know. . . . I have always
tended to be adaptable and to believe that . . . you ought to be brave enough to
take opportunities when they come, but with . . . any kind of real leadership
position, there is the risk of public failure, and that holds a lot of people back—
men and women. It’s easier to be an armchair quarterback, right, than to run balls
or to throw the ball.
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Kendal echoed Kim’s statement and said she never planned on becoming a college
president either:
No, I never thought about [being a college president]. . . . I think that is the case
for a lot of women. They don’t really aspire to [it]. It is not . . . a direct line. It’s
meandering. It’s the labyrinth that people talk about. No. I didn’t think about it
until, I guess, I got into upper level administration, probably when I became a
dean at [name of institution]. It wasn’t as large an institution, . . . and so I got to
know the President. . . . He was encouraging me. I think also some other
colleagues encouraged me to certainly seek the next level.
The other participants expressed Kendal’s sentiment; the women credited mentors and
former supervisors repeatedly as a major external factor in why they applied for college
presidencies. This finding directly relates to Bornstien’s (2008) study on college
presidents that found women with mentors are more likely to become college presidents
than women without mentors. The findings also relate back to Josselson’s (1987) female
identity theory that notes when a woman’s work is validated by someone she knows, it
“can change an identity-distant job into an enriching and anchoring aspect of a woman’s
existence” (p. 177). All 11 participants credit a mentor or several mentors as someone
who encouraged them to apply for senior level administrative positions, including the
presidency. Two subthemes emerged in external motivators for applying for a college
presidency: (a) they believed in me: mentors, supervisors, and colleagues and (b) we can
do this: confidence from accomplishing difficult tasks. Table 8 details the external
motivators for being a college president.
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Table 8
External Motivators for Being a College President
Participant’s
Name
Others
Encouraged
Them
Mentors
and
Supervisors
Provided
Support
Gained
Confidence
Through
Accomplishing
Difficult Tasks
Carrie X X X
Claire X X X
Dena X X X
Jen X X
Karina X X
Kate X X
Kendal X X X
Kim X X
Pam X X
Sybil X X X
Tara X X
They Believed in Me: Mentors, Supervisors and Colleagues
When asked why they decided to pursue a college presidency, especially if they
never planned on doing so, the women all said the same thing: someone believed in them.
For example, when Dena was asked when she knew she wanted to be a president, she
responded in this way:
[Dena]
That’s an interesting question. I had been asked by several people, including the
previous president, when I was going to apply to be a president. She was very
much interested in me moving on to be a president. And she asked me four or
five years ago and I would always say to her, ‘You know, I really like being the
vice president. I don’t think I really want to be a president. I’m not sure that job
duty portfolio is really something I’m interested in.’ And, so . . . it really wasn’t
on my radar and then I started saying, ‘Well, if it was the right place, I would be a
president. I would go for the presidency.’ And I had a good friend that became a
president at a community college that she was very, very happy in and she talked
to me a lot about the fit and how great it was. And so I started to see that as an
opportunity and, probably my biggest barrier was I didn’t see myself as being
very presidential. I had a very particular view of what it’s like to be president. I
don’t think it was entirely real . . . and I didn’t fit that picture.
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[Interviewer]
What was the picture? What did you picture in your mind?
[Dena]
The picture was very extremely polished, very formal, very legislatively savvy,
great fundraiser. It was more style than substance, I think. I’m very informal,
kind of open. I like to laugh. I like to involve a lot of people. I come from
student affairs, so I’m ---- (laughing), you know. . . . The presidents that I had
seen from afar never acted like that. I had a hard time reconciling my style with
that role. And what I found is that that style is actually, in many ways, helpful as
a president and that people appreciate it, so that was a learning curve for me.
Like Dena, Tara had a mentor that pushed her to take on challenges and roles
outside of her comfort zone. At times giving some tough-love advice, Tara’s mentor saw
potential in her before she did; she spoke about him in this way:
It’s almost like when you raise your own kids, right, and you know you hope that
later in life they figure out that what you did was in their best interest. So, what I
realized later in my life was that. . . . He kind of realized things in me that I had
not yet, and so to the point where he actually said . . . , ‘I thought you were smart
type of thing,’ because he was hoping that I had enough fire in [my] belly.
And, so he kind of . . . knew that more than I did, and he has been a
mentor to me since and continues to be. And it is one of those things where I
have reflected back, you know, as long ago as a decade, something that he has
said to me that has just made sense in the moment and I thought, ‘Wow! That’s
kind of crazy that that would make sense to me now.’
Sybil, too, said her mentor, who was the former president, pushed her to get her
doctoral degree and apply for a presidency:
I went back to school and earned my doctorate . . . and then started to think
seriously about upper administrative positions. But the president’s role was
something that I didn’t actually. . . . It may have crossed my mind and I think I
went through the same kinds of thoughts that many people have. You know, ‘Do
I really want to be a president? No, I don’t think so. Can I be a president? Yeah,
probably, but do I want to do that? No, I don’t think so.’ And then all of a
sudden the opportunity is there for you and you say, ‘You know, I probably could
do that.’ You know and then say, ‘It’s okay for me to try.’
And that’s when it happened. So in 2010 when I was appointed Vice-
President of Academic Affairs, I had an opportunity to work directly with the
college president and to get to see more firsthand the role of the college president
and the opportunity and the influence that the position has that can help more
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people. So it kind of fell in line with my philosophy all along with taking
different jobs and different responsibilities. This gave me an opportunity to help
more people, and so that’s the view that I’ve always taken. Up until then, though,
it’s not like I planned a path to get here.
Having someone, usually a mentor and/or supervisor, express that they believed
these women had the leadership skills to one day be a college president was the impetus
that they needed to believe in themselves. Had someone not acknowledged the skills that
these women had to lead an institution, it is difficult to determine if they would ever have
aspired to become a college president.
We Can Do This: Confidence From Accomplishing Difficult Tasks
Like Bandura’s (1977) social cognitive theory states, self-efficacy is a person’s
ability to believe that she will be successful. The theory notes that factors influencing
self-efficacy are: (a) receiving positive verbal feedback (as many of the participants
mentioned); (b) overcoming difficult tasks; (c) dealing appropriately with emotional
arousals; and (d) performing mastery experiences. The last is considered the strongest
form of self-efficacy because it is based on our own experiences. Five of the participants
said gaining on-the-job experience, as well as participation in leadership institutes, gave
them confidence that they could succeed in a presidency. For example, Jen noted her
participation in an executive leadership institute:
It is very intensive. You apply to be a president. . . . It’s pretty rigorous training,
and at the end of that I came away with, ‘Okay, I think I can do this.’ It’s still a
question of whether or not I want to do this, but I left thinking, ‘I could do this.’
But, I wasn’t certain still that I really wanted to. You know, I’m an introvert by
nature. I’m a quiet leader, so I knew that there was a lot more public stuff with
this role, which I can do, but it takes more energy from me.
Sybil said it was her work as Vice President of Academic Affairs that helped her to
realize she was capable of being a college president:
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When I was Vice President of Academic Affairs, I had [multiple] deans reporting
to me and, you know, [hundreds of] faculty depending on the semester, and
there’s not one decision that you can make that everybody’s going to be happy
about. So what you always have to do is do what you think is best for the
students, best for the college at large, and to be fair to people.
And so I think after realizing, you know, this is hard work and I can do
this, then maybe being a president isn’t that farfetched from what I’m able to do.
But it wasn’t until that point when I got into that position that I made that
realization. Being a dean was good work, you know, you’re closer to the faculty
then and it’s more about scheduling and faculty hiring and evaluations and student
complaints. But you still don’t quite get the same sense of what it means to the
whole institution picture until I became the vice president.
Equally, Pam noted that while she was always ambitious, similar to the other participants,
it was her experience in the ACE Fellowship program that made her realize she had what
it took to be a college president, and eventually a chancellor as well.
The participants who attended formal training programs and accomplished
challenging tasks were often introduced to those experiences by a supervisor and/or
mentor. The more each participant received positive feedback while serving in a
leadership role, the more she began to believe in her ability to be a college president.
It Takes a Village: The Need for Support
I think support is really important, and different people play different supportive roles in
the life of a president. . . . I think I have several members of my administrative team who
could be presidents. And I’ve really been trying to encourage them to go ahead and sort
of take the plunge and consider it and do it because we need good leaders. You know, we
need people that want to do these jobs, so we can’t make them look horrible or look so
stressed that nobody wants to do it. And we also can’t make them that way, you know. So,
that requires [commitment from] everybody at different levels to be supportive.
Claire
Each participant confirmed what previous research states: being a college
president is a 24/7 job. There is no downtime, because even in one’s downtime, she is
expected to represent the college. It is hard work, and no one is given special privileges to
make the work easier—not even mothers. What each woman said helped her be
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successful is support from others. No matter where the support came from the message
was clear: we cannot do this alone. This theme has several sub-themes that speak to the
various ways that these women have felt supported in their roles, including: (a) mentors,
(b) children, (c) spouses, (d) supervisors, and (e) others. Table 9 shows a breakdown of
the people the participants cited as providing support in their roles as mother and
president.
Table 9
Support for the Women in Their Roles as Mother and/or President
Participant’s
Name
Mentors Children Spouses Supervisors Others
Carrie X X X X
Claire X X X X X
Dena X X X X X
Jen X X X X X
Karina X X X X
Kate X X X X X
Kendal X X X X
Kim X X X
Pam X X X X
Sybil X X X X X
Tara X X X
Mentors
While most of the participants had mentors that were previously supervisors, the
roles are not one in the same. A mentor is someone who encourages you on your career
journey, providing invaluable insight in what it takes to be successful. Bornstein (2008)
and Josselson (1987) both cite the power a mentor can have over a successful woman’s
career. The participants in this study were no exception; 100% of the participants said
they had a mentor at one point in their careers. Kim, for instance, said that multiple
mentors showed her the ins and outs of higher education:
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I was able to learn from those mentors who had helped develop that fundraising
success and to build on it. And I learned a lot about the importance of authentic
relationships with donors and being sensitive to what gives them joy and not
taking it personally if my cause was not their cause.
Jen, too, spoke highly of her mentor, her former president, and said she aspires to be the
same type of leader:
She was at [this institution] for 30 years. So when I got here she had already been
the President for almost 10 years at that point, and just the most student-focused,
mission-driven, humble beyond belief, you know, values. She led by her values. .
. . She just always did the right thing—ethical, moral, nurturing. I mean, she . . .
created a community here for students and employees, and so she is a remarkable
woman. She really is a remarkable woman.
I care about students. It’s not about ego. I work hard. She worked
incredibly hard, but it wasn’t about her and, you know, I want to be that same
kind of leader. She was remarkable and interesting and well-loved. I mean,
everybody loved her.
One thing to note, Jen was one of three participants who had female mentors. The
eight other participants had only male mentors, most of whom were former college
presidents. Of the participants, nine of the 11 had more than one mentor throughout their
careers and seven of the 11 said a former college president mentored them.
Children
Every participant in this study felt proud of the work they were doing and said
having their children see them succeed as a college president and a mother is an
invaluable lesson for their children. At the time of this study, only two participants still
had children in the 6-13 year old age range. Additionally, two participants still had
teenagers living with them and the other seven participants had adult children. For the
seven with adult children, all seven said their children have told them how proud they
were to have a mother who is a college president. Pam was particularly proud at how well
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each of her two daughters adapted to life as a president’s daughter, especially since she
did not have a supportive husband:
My daughters just learned to be extremely comfortable in this kind of milieu, you
know. They became very comfortable with moving since we moved a lot. . . . I
don’t think they struggled that much. They were in German schools for three
years and, you know, very Germanized. And then when we came back to the job
[in the Midwest] and they went into [a public] high school, which was about the
yuppiest, you know . . . All-American. And they did the transitions very well.
They didn’t seem to have any problems at all.
And . . . they were very appreciative once they got old enough of how hard
I worked and, you know, what I was doing for them. So I think it was a good
influence on both of them. Not all kids could adapt to that.
Although Kendal’s daughter and son are adults now, Kendal can remember putting her
son to sleep one night when he was very young and shared this story:
He didn’t want to go to bed, and I said, ‘Well let’s talk, you know. Let’s talk
about when you grow up. What would you like to do? Would you like to be a
writer like your father or would you like to be a professor like your mother?’ He
gave me this little smile, and he said, ‘Mommy, women can’t be professors.’ I
said, ‘Really, why can’t women be professors?’ He said, ‘Men are professors.
Women are deans.’ (laughing) I guess I would say both of them were proud of my
achievements, I think, and supportive.
For the four participants with non-adult children still living at home, all but one
said their children have expressed pride in their mother’s presidency. Jen, for instance,
said her children are very proud that she is a college president and loves that her son
constantly brags about her position to both his friends and his teachers.
Since being a college president is a 24/7 job, many of the women reported feeling
pangs of guilt from having to spend time away from their families. It was ultimately their
children expressing pride in their mothers’ careers and accomplishments that helped the
women realize they made the right career-related decisions.
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Spouses
Eight out of 11 participants are married (one is re-married); three are divorced. Of
the three that are divorced, one said she had a very supportive husband when her children
were young, the other two did not have supportive spouses, and the participant who is
remarried said her first husband was not supportive at all. They each credit their ex-
husband’s inability to deal with their success as a major reason that led to their divorce.
The eight married participants are very appreciative of the amount of support provided by
their spouses. Dena’s husband is a stay-at-home father and Tara, Carrie, and Kate have
husbands who quit their jobs or tried to transfer positions so that their wives could pursue
their careers. While Tara’s husband found success in his own business, Kate’s husband
lost his job after the move, and Carrie’s ex-husband struggled with his identity and was
anything but supportive of Carrie’s career. He even told her at one point that he did not
want to be the husband of a college president. Pam’s ex-husband was also unsupportive
of her career, and this was before she was an administrator in higher education; she
shared these experiences about their marriage:
I did that business of staying home, teaching, and having the job while he went to
graduate school. In fact, one day I came home . . . (I used to sometimes be able to
leave at 1:30 from my job because we had block scheduling and they didn’t make
you stay so much then), and I got home like at 1:45 and he was still sleeping
away. ‘Wait a minute,’ (laughing) . . . I remember saying, ‘I’m not going to sort
your socks anymore.’ I was in that first wave of feminism where I could see the
change in the way I saw my role evolve over that first few years with him. And
he wasn’t objecting to it so much but it was, you know, when I first got married it
was . . . folding his laundry and all that. I mean, I was working and he wasn’t.
By the end there I certainly had a much more egalitarian view of things,
and he didn’t object . . . back then at least. . . . I still kept all the mental
responsibility for the kids. And I’ve talked to people that still do that. You know,
the woman is the one that has to know about everything and the dental
appointments, and schedules, and daycare.
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While a majority of the participants expressed the challenges of being in charge of
both their personal and professional lives, it was the support of their spouses that made
doing both roles possible, at least for nine of the 11 participants. Jen said she could not do
the job at all without the support of her husband. Claire agreed that having her husband’s
support has been critical:
I was like 32 when we got married. I had [my son] at 37 and the twins at 40. And
so when you’re sort of at that point, yeah, I could have stopped working. But I
married the right person, so that helps too. Because [my husband] has never,
ever, ever said to me, ‘I think you should stop working.’ I mean, like it’s never
part of the conversation.
So I’ve always had that support from him, and I think generally from our
families, you know. And so at that point you’re kind of making like a big life
decision about, yeah, I could stop working at 37 or 40 for a while, but you’re
never going to regroup. I mean, you can maybe, but relatively speaking it’s pretty
hard to regroup. I was already at the dean/VP level.
Kate, who admitted her ex-husband was not supportive at all, said her current husband is
incredibly supportive, even though he does not like the area they moved to and lost his
job just two years after they moved in order for Kate to follow her dreams. Kate said his
support means everything to her.
A supportive spouse made all the difference in the participants’ lives. For the
women without supportive spouses, the stress was enough to dissolve their relationships.
The divorced participants with less than supportive husbands were forced to find support
from other people.
Supervisors
Out of all the people whom support them in their careers, former supervisors were
one of the most frequently mentioned when asked who supported the women on their
paths to the presidencies. It was often a specific instance of support during a difficult time
as a parent that the participants remembered kindness from supervisors. For the younger
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participants, a few feared telling their former supervisors they were pregnant for fear that
it would appear as though they were not committed to the institution. For nine of the 11
participants, maternity leave was encouraged and celebrated. For the other two
participants, one had her children prior to entering higher education and the other one
returned to work just days after giving birth. In the latter case, it was not because her
supervisor asked her to, but because she felt she could go back to work so soon. Former
supervisors were mentioned as being most supportive of their dual roles as mother and
administrator for all of the women working at public institutions. For the three
participants working in the private and for-profit sectors, supervisors were mentioned in
regards to supporting their careers, but not in reference to supporting family obligations.
Tara, one of the community college presidents, was emotional when asked if she
had taken any type of maternity leave and relayed this story:
So this will tell you who I was back then. No, everybody was very, very
supportive. . . . And, again, you know I have really felt blessed to have not been
held back, because of . . . being a mother, being a woman, . . . any of that. Again,
I’ve had opportunities given to me that were probably far beyond where I was
professionally and, you know, I’ve had to make leaps rather than, you know, a
linear path. I worked up until the day I went into labor and I told [my boss] at the
time, ‘I’ll be back in six weeks.’ And he looked me in the eye and said, ‘No, you
won’t,’ and I kind of was ticked and he said, ‘I’m telling you to take at least two
months. You can come back, but I’m not paying ya.’ And I had time, but he said,
‘No, I will withhold your pay. You will not come back.’
Two months rolled around and I called him and I said (crying), ‘I need
another month,’ and I did. I, um . . . (crying), you know, I needed to get him
sleeping through the night.’ [He is a] very high maintenance individual. Still is
today. I mean, totally, for him to be born to a type A mother, I was like, ‘Oh my
god! This is totally out of control!’ He is like four people rolled together, so very,
very high maintenance individual. And, so I ended up taking three months and I
was so appreciative of that time. And, again, it nearly drove me mad, because I
just was not good with the whole staying at home thing, you know, but I felt a
great deal of support. . . . And I know that that is an experience for other people.
They have told me that they have felt like, you know, having kids, having to,
perhaps, take time when their kids are sick and things like that might have hurt
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them. I do not feel that way. Again, I feel like other people made sacrifices on
my behalf and not the other way around.
Carrie was also emotional remembering how her former supervisor supported her when
she wanted to quit after her pregnancy. In fact, she actually did quit:
When I had my second [child], I actually quit at the arts college. I had been in the
director role. I quit, thinking, ‘I can’t do this full time. I can’t work full time and
have two kids.’ Well, he hired someone. Let’s see, how was it? Within a month,
all the department chairs were saying, ‘Please bring Carrie back.’ They called me
I-Carrie, like iconic.
This was in 1987. Now I look back and think, ‘Oh my goodness.’ I didn’t
have any plans. I just trusted it would all work out, and so the president at the
time then called me in and said would I come and consult. Actually, this was in
the first six weeks. . . . Would I come back to campus and work a day a week, or .
. . I don’t even know what it was . . . some time per month, and then he fired his
dean and called me and said he wanted to talk to me. I did not know he was going
to fire that dean and he fired her and then he said . . . (this is an incredible man)
that . . . he wanted me back in whatever role I wanted and however [many] days
per week.
(Crying) You know, I have thanked him many times for that. . . . So he
said he wanted me to be the dean. I said, ‘I’ll be the dean, but I only will work
three days a week.’ Because my younger daughter was three months old and I
said, ‘I need a little more time with her.’ So, we agreed that I could bring her to
work with me.
Carrie brought her daughter to work with her for a few months, and she was not the only
participant to do so. Seven of the 11 participants report regularly bringing their children
with them to their institutions and thanked the kindness of a former supervisor for
allowing them to do so.
Likewise, eight of the nine participants who had children while in leadership roles
were surprised at the amount of support shown to them when they were pregnant.
Supervisors and colleagues threw them baby showers, and many asked for them to bring
their children in for a visit. The participants stressed that they made it a point throughout
their careers not to overuse the kindness of supervisors and made sure their jobs were
being fulfilled. In addition to support when their children were young, participants
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mentioned the support of supervisors when their children were teenagers. As noted in her
profile, Kate’s son was in a bad car accident during his first semester in college, and
Kate’s supervisor allowed her son to sleep in her office in between classes for the entire
semester. Sybil also said just having the support of supervisors and colleagues who were
experiencing similar difficulties with their children was invaluable:
There’s another woman who is a vice president here whose children now are both
medical doctors. We’ve known each other for the 30 years I’ve been here, and so
I knew her children when they were young and in high school. And I helped them
with their research papers and she’s helped my children with different things.
And so it’s those kinds of things that you learn as professionals but as parents first
. . . That you find other like people with like situations and you help each other
out. . . . That has been tremendous.
In addition to supporting the women when they had young children, a few
participants noted how supervisors often staged them to build up their resumes during
their rise to the top. Dena remembered how her former vice president and mentor did this
for her:
I can think of a couple incidents where, I think probably as the Dean of Students, I
was staged . . . I was at the table in big conversations, right, with the President and
other administrative leaders and either I was staged by the Vice President to
present or provide input or dialogue and I was very well prepared to do it and I
just could see. . . . You could just gain credibility in a room, not because of
power, but because of intellect and credibility, right? And so I remember a couple
of times where the Vice President specifically asked me to present things and I
was really ultra prepared and I did a really good job and I started getting the
attention of some of the academic deans and then the Academic Deans would
actually ask me my opinion and so when you start getting the nods in higher ed
from the Academic Deans as a credible source and as a good colleague, that’s
pretty empowering.
Others
While the support of family, friends, and mentors may seem obvious when it
comes to support networks, it often can be someone you least expect support from that
provides the most significant amount of help. Nine of the 11 participants mention other
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sources of support such as other women at the college, external women’s groups, the
Board of Trustees, students, and other college employees. Pam and Kate each shared an
example of how the kindness of others gave them the much-needed support they needed
in a very difficult time. In Pam’s case, she was nearly homeless. Her husband had just left
her and she did not have a full-time job. In a matter of days, Pam secured a full-time
position, and an unlikely group of men that she had been teaching in a military program
came to her aide:
I remember, this was when I was working with the Veterans Upward Bound. . . . I
mean, . . . a couple of them, you know, I believe had been in prison for some
pretty bad things since or whatever. But when my husband went nuts, you know,
and I had to suddenly move out of my rental house because he was in the
neighborhood and scaring other people, I was told to get out. . . . That bunch of
guys, you know, they came over and moved me. You know, you find support in
other places. Scared the hell out of the people in the neighborhood—all those
military, all those veterans.
Kate, along with Jen, Claire, and Karina, all said that the Board of Trustees is a
huge support system for them. In Kate’s case, she had to approach the chair of the Board
of Trustees to confide that she applied for a presidency just two short years after securing
the presidency at their institution:
I was keeping very close communication with the board chairman and the board.
And I told the board chair, you know, . . . I’m only in the top 12, so don’t even
worry about it until I get in the top four. Then, we need to talk to the entire board,
which never happened. And I just said, ‘Listen I’m only doing this for family.
That’s all it is. I feel really terrible about it, because I’ve only been here two
years, but my daughter needs us.’ Unfortunately, she’s over the age of 18, so I
can’t pull her back right now, legally. It was tempting. We were getting close, so
uh. . . . So I didn’t get the job. . . . My husband actually moved there and lived
there in a hotel for three weeks . . . trying to help my daughter . . . get her shit
together (laughing).
Kate said her board understood the situation, and she said she now has a very strong
relationship with them.
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Without support from people in their lives, all 11 participants said they would not
be able to be a college president while being a mother. Every single woman said she
could not do the job of being a college president by herself.
Dealing With Guilt and Sacrifice: There Is Not Enough Time in the Day
So, I think the only things that linger in my mind are the sacrifices that others made on
my behalf and the fact that, even today, I don’t know how to balance my life. . . . So, I’m
traveling again at the end of this week. I come back for like two or three days and I’m
traveling again. So, this month I’ll be home five days. My daughter, you know, when I
was just away for this first trip . . . she called me the first night and she said, ‘I miss you
already,’ and, you know, I love that. You know, I wouldn’t want that any other way, but I
think, again, ‘Oh my gosh!’ How do you balance your life? So, would I go back? No.
And do anything over again, because I wouldn’t be who I am today and it’s hard to
predict, right? And, again, from all of your mistakes, you learn something or you hope
you do, and it’s the culmination of all of that that I think makes you a better person over
time. Do I, again, reflect and have pause about those two, and that is the sacrifices that
people have made on my behalf, and I hope it was a choice on their behalf and not
otherwise. And the fact that, again, I’ve not unlocked that magic door on how to balance
your life and feel like you’ve given everything that people need to them. Do I feel like
I’ve given it all? All I have every day? Yes. Do I feel like . . . people feel like they’ve
gotten everything they need from me? No.
Tara
Tara is not alone. All but one participant admitted she feels guilty on a regular
basis. Only Claire said she felt that she appropriately deals with guilt and balance, and
although she experienced guilt when her children were young, she never felt guilty for
working. It should be noted that Claire also had a nanny for her children and currently
has a housekeeper. This was a decision Claire made in order to bring more balance to her
life. The ten other participants all talked about the constant struggle of trying to find
enough time in the day to be there for everyone. Kendal, for instance, commented how
being a college president means being available around the clock:
It means 24/7 and then some, I guess (laughing). I take my work pretty seriously,
and [my husband] always says, you finally met the job that, you know, could eat
up all of your time all of the time, indefinitely, and you would still feel there is
more to do. So it is a very consuming job, but oh, there are lots of ways people
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talk about this. I don’t like to think of myself as the living brand of the
institution, which some people say. I like to think that I do try to live the core
values of the institution.
Kim also expressed how time is a major challenge:
[There is] not enough time just to go and spend a long leisurely weekend with
your family. That’s the challenge, and on the other hand . . . you can plan ahead
and set aside time for yourself. You have a lot of authority over your own
calendar, but . . . you can’t have too much authority over your own calendar or
else you’re not doing your job. Because really I’ve found that the higher in the
organization that I go, the more people I work for, and the more people I have to
be concerned about and the more people . . . whose needs I want to meet and
whom I want to please. I mean . . . I am perfectly aware and comfortable with the
fact that I won’t and shouldn’t please everyone, but I take the issues of all of the
employees and students on this campus seriously. And I should, and it makes me
excited when I can do something about it, and it worries me when I can’t. . . . So,
it’s the sacrifice. . . . The difficulty is it’s harder to turn that off.
Tara said that time is perhaps the biggest challenge for her, and when she was working
full time, going to school full time, and raising a family the issue of time, or lack thereof,
led to a lot of resentment:
There were a couple of periods (crying). . . . Boy, I’m being very brutally raw and
honest right now . . . There are a couple times in my life where perhaps I felt
resentment. Resentment that I didn’t have a wife and I had a husband instead, and
I don’t know if that makes any sense.
So [a dear friend of mine who is now a chancellor] was getting her
master’s degree when I was getting my doctorate and, you know, this is even pre-
kids and, you know, we used to laugh and say, ‘You know, I really need a wife.’
And, you know, I don’t want this to come across as a reflection of my husband,
because I don’t mean it that way. I just mean, again, the experience would have
been different if we had had traditional roles and, you know, I think there’s a
reason why society started with traditional roles and, you know, I say that as a
woman, because I do think it makes life easier.
Everybody kind of understands what their role is and they’re really
distinct, right? So, when you have a woman who has a role that is almost the
same as the man, you know, where does that leave all the other things that need to
be done? And, so I don’t feel like I sacrificed. There were periods of time and I
still have kind of one question that I’ve asked several people and I don’t know
how to answer it yet. I don’t know how to split myself up appropriately and I
never have. So, do I feel like maybe other people have made sacrifices for me?
Yes, I do. I think that people continue to make sacrifices on my behalf. I have
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guilt around that, which probably differs from any man you would interview
about this, because, you know, somebody’s always mad at me.
Three subthemes emerged regarding time: (a) time with children, (b) time for self,
and (c) time with spouse. Every single participant identified with one of these three areas
when the challenge of time was mentioned. This finding is consistent with a previous
study by Hertneky (2010) who reported that while women presidents did not regret the
decision to become presidents, they felt they sacrificed something personally along the
way. Table 10 identifies the area(s) where the women indicated they feel they have
sacrificed time.
Table 10
Areas of Sacrifice
Participant’s
Name
Time With
Children
Time for
Self
Time
With
Spouse
Carrie X X X
Claire X X
Dena X X
Jen X X
Karina X X X
Kate X
Kendal X X
Kim X X
Pam X X X
Sybil X X
Tara X X X
Time With Children
All participants cited time with their children as a major cause of guilt at some
point in their career, especially when they were studying for their doctoral degrees. While
one may think that guilt regarding time with their children is more common when one’s
children are young, it was not always the case in this study. Participants experienced
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feelings of guilt at all stages of their children’s lives. Karina, for instance, remarked that
she hopes that the time she missed with her children does not impact the way they
prioritize their own lives:
You look back now with my children grown and I wish I’d had more time to
spend with them. So that obviously was a huge sacrifice even though I had gains
there—being a role model and setting this example for them. I worry at times that
they’re going to dive into their careers and not put family first. Like I look at my
oldest daughter who just graduated from law school and passed the bar in two
states. . . . She’s got a significant other, but they’re just starting to have
conversations about family, and it’s in the distance. And then my second
daughter who got married in June, the same thing. Like they’re not even thinking
about kids until they’re in their 30’s, and I think gosh, you know, I would never
change that I had my children young. But that’s their life, but I hope they have
families because that is the most valuable experience of my life.
Dena’s sons are adults now, but she remembered when her children were younger how
much time she missed with them:
When I was getting my PhD, my son was in kindergarten, when I was in
coursework and so I was reading . . . I was working. . . . At that point I had a
leave, but I was doing a grad assistantship. So I had a little bit of time with him in
the morning, but then I would go to school and I would either work or take
classes. And then I was always studying and so even though my husband was
home with him, I feel like I kind of missed his entire kindergarten year. Like I
don’t have a good memory of him in kindergarten and even 1st grade. I was so
busy working and studying that I feel like I kind of missed a little bit of that. . . .
Those couple years with him. . . . I think that’s the most, kind of, vivid example of
what I think I’ve missed.
All of the women said when their children were in elementary school, finding
time for them was tough, but they made it work by squeezing in time when they could.
Jen, for example, whose children are both young, runs home between work and meetings
to see her children, and her daughter still does not think it is enough time:
My daughter doesn’t like that I travel more, which is again, you know, one of the
things that we talked about as a family that I’m going to have to travel more and
more evening commitments. So tonight I have a board meeting and she’s like,
‘You always have a board meeting!’ And I’m like, ‘No, they haven’t all been
board meetings’, because she is used to having board meetings be why I’m gone
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at night. . . . I’m like, ‘No, tonight’s a board meeting. I’m sorry. I’ll see you
tomorrow.’ Or I’ll try to come home in the afternoon if I can. So, I think . . . I’m
still adjusting to what it means.
Sacrificing time with their children is an area that all participants identified with,
and this did not change when their children were older. Even participants who had adult
children who were out of the house felt they sacrificed time with their children at this
point in their careers. They said the demands to be available as college president 24/7
made it difficult to spend extended time with their children and/or their grandchildren.
Time for Self
Nine out of 11 participants feel they regularly sacrifice time for themselves in
order to get everything done for their families and for their institutions. In fact, all nine of
them admitted that it is time for them that is sacrificed before anything else, and when
they speak about time scheduled to exercise or to work on their dissertations, they report
feeling “guilty” or “selfish” for taking the time. Tara is one example:
There was a period where I stopped working out, because, again, I thought I just
need to (and that’s just me and nobody else will feel that). . . . You know, I can
give that up. . . . Honestly, this is pathetic. That lasted about two weeks and I
remember this distinctly. We woke up one morning and my husband said
something to me and I was like, ‘Weeeah!’ You know, I was like total bitch and
he said, ‘You know, this not working out thing is not working out,’ and, so he said
we gotta’ find something different. Because you have to build that back into your
life and I’m so overwhelmed and I’m like, ‘How do I?’ It’s only two weeks, but
I’m like, ‘How do I put it back?
So, we ended up hiring a cleaning lady and so I thought, okay. Now, real
or imaginary . . . I’m not sure that gave me back enough time to work out, but you
know what I’m saying. . . . And so I became kind of selfish about blocking that
out on my schedule.
Six of the participants reported feeling physical effects from the neglect they have
shown themselves, yet many of them, like Tara, do not know how to change their lives in
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order to be healthier. Kendal is one participant who acknowledged that she does not feel
completely well:
[Kendal]
I didn’t take good care of myself. I used to run a lot. Ran a marathon and did a lot of
10Ks and so forth, and I really stopped doing that. That was the thing that kind of
went out the window. I just didn’t have time to exercise. So, yeah, there was time for
the kids and there was time to do my job, but I didn’t really, you know, I would walk.
I would try to run, but it was just really hard when you’re nursing and things like that.
It was really hard, so . . .
[Interviewer]
Do you take care of yourself now? Have you been able to add some of those things
back in now that your children are older?
[Kendal]
Well, it’s . . . it’s hard at the present, because, you know, there are a lot of early
morning meetings. There are a lot of late evening meetings, so I do try. . . . I’d say
I’m doing better on that front, and my husband has been very helpful, as well. But . .
. part of my background is I grew up on a farm, and so we worked all the time.
So, to me, you know, sort of working all the time is kind of the norm. Again, it might
not be the healthiest approach, but it’s the approach I’ve had. So time for me is . . .
not like something I feel I sacrifice. Taking care of myself, though, is a different
issue and, you know, to be . . . good at my job, to feel good, to be productive, I need
to take care of myself, and . . . I need to feel better.
Although the participants admitted that they have made sacrifices in their lives to get
where they are, like Kim emphasizes here, most of the participants felt the sacrifices have
been worth it in the long run:
I had to sacrifice sleep and . . . enough time for spontaneous fun, but I will say,
I’ve had a great life. I enjoy my work. I enjoy the people I work with. I’m good.
I’ve made friends all along the way, lifelong friends, our children are happy,
funny, interesting people, and, they are good company, so I’ve made a great life.
Anything I’ve sacrificed, the thing I got in return for that sacrifice is far greater . .
. Other people have more discreet and uh, carefully laid plans perhaps than I did,
but I think it’s a little more interesting to see what the plan turns out to be.
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Time With Spouse
Five participants noted that time with their spouses is something they feel they
sacrifice or felt guilty about. Three of them are participants who are divorced, and two
are the mothers of the youngest children in the study. Tara felt especially guilty about
how much her husband has had to sacrifice on her behalf, even though she continues to
do much of the day-to-day work at home:
I have never been the good one at doing the hair, tying the bows, baking the
cakes, and I’m better working than I would be otherwise. It’s about the quality of
time, but, you know, I have missed things. . . . And, you know my husband is still
a guy and, . . . you know, I don’t come home to a home-cooked meal. You know?
And . . . speaking of sacrifices, . . . every time we’ve moved, he has quit his job
and had to reinvent himself to do it. So, he’s changed career paths several times,
and when we were in [the Midwest], our life got so complicated. He got laid off
and couldn’t find a job for several months. And so he was home and so we took
the kids out of afterschool care and, you know, almost overnight the tension in our
house went away. It was unbelievable.
The kids got to ride the bus home. They got to be in soccer practice.
They got to sign up for art, and dad shuffled them around and got up and made
them breakfast every morning. They loved it. Talking about guilt, right? . . . I
had to get them by six, right? So, my husband took them in the morning. I
picked them up in the evening. I’m the lady, who it’s like two minutes to six.
Everything’s dark. My kids all have their little backpacks on. All three of them
are standing there. They’re the only kids left and it’s like my ass is on fire, right,
and they’re mad at me and, you know, we get in the car and they’re like, ‘Why
does this have to be every day? You know, why is this our life?’ So, he got laid
off, . . . and so we sat down and we talked. And it was like we need to do
something different, and so he agreed to doing something part time.
So, you know, I guess, again, I’ve kind of got to pursue my career path,
but I made more money, so we determined that that made sense for our family.
So, he ended up starting his own business and he loved it and it gave him
flexibility. And so he’s the guy that makes the games and picks up the kids and
he’s the one they call when they need something and all of that. And he loves that
part of it, but he’s still a guy and so I still, on the weekend, do all the grocery
shopping. I do a lot of the house cleaning. I plan all the schedules. I go for
teacher-parent nights. I plan the meals. . . . So, again, I say this in the context of
I’m able to do that, because of my husband.
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Jen, the mother of the youngest children in this study and the president with the
shortest tenure, also felt guilt regarding the lack of time she gets to spend with her
husband:
I feel like (especially with once I’ve taken this job) it’s not guilty with my kids as
much as with my partner. So I feel like he has taken on much more at home, so I
feel guilt about that. And . . . this is really interesting since I’m introverted and
he’s more introverted than I am, so it’s kind of funny . . . like big social occasions
and he doesn’t like that stuff. So we went to a retirement party for the President
with a big gala, and you know whatever, and it was right after I had been
announced as the President. So it was the first time that he’d been to a public
event at [my college] since I had been named President, and he said afterwards,
‘Wow.’ Like he could tell like the legislators were lining up…‘I feel like I’m
living in your shadow and I don’t want to just be [the President’s] husband’. . . .
So it was like I felt guilt about that. It was like, ‘Oh lord. You know
you’re not just Jen [the President’s] husband.’ But I think he was just worried
about losing his own sense of identity. So I think that’s more than with the kids.
I think it’s with him.
Pam and Carrie both have ex-husbands who were not supportive of their careers,
and they both felt like they had to sacrifice their personal lives in order to have a
presidency. While Carrie wondered what it would have been like to have a supportive
husband for all of those years, Pam wondered what having a partner through her
presidency would have been like since she divorced when her children were young:
I guess, you know the one thing that might have suffered out of all of this would
have been romantic life or that kind of thing. That was very low on the totem pole
and there certainly was not time to try to explore that in a way that I might have
met somebody. But now, I mean my friends and I that are divorced, we’re like,
‘This is the life.’ (laughing)
It’s nice that we can do what we want. You know, we have enough
money, we’re very self-sufficient, but I think, you know, when I was working and
bringing the kids up, that might have been a nice extra piece that there just wasn’t.
. . . I know woman do it and find it, and I know some presidents who you know
have dated and gotten married and things like that. But . . . it had to come after
the children. The few times I got close, you know, I would look at these kids and
think, ‘I’ll just wait until they’re . . . because we were so close and we have so
much humor in our family. They would have shredded anybody (laughing). . . .
I’m sure they would have made fun of him, not resent him, just make fun. I
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thought, ‘I’ll just wait until this is over,’ and then, you know, it really was hard to
fill that piece in.
Time is something that all 11 participants mentioned is one of the biggest
challenges to being a college president, and while they are all working on setting aside
more time for themselves, they reported often feeling “guilty” or “selfish” when they take
time to do something that they deem is solely for them, such as pursuing their doctoral
degrees or exercising. The next theme explores some ways the women add time back into
their lives.
There Is No Such Thing as Balance
The biggest challenge to being a college president and a mother is balancing all that
stuff. You know, because I think there are always times that I feel like I should be at
home with them when I’m here, or when I’m with them, oh, I really shouldn’t be here, I
really got this going on. Which I think you always feel that internal pull to put your
energy into the other place. I think that is just inherent. I don’t think that ever goes
away . . . I mean, there’s no such thing as balance. There’s no such thing as balance.
Jen
The greatest challenge to being both a mother and a college president for the
women in this study is achieving balance in their lives. While some of the participants
have found a place in their lives where they feel more in balance then they have in the
past, most participants reported that they still struggle with finding balance on a regular
basis and often feel guilty when serving in one role and not the other. When I shared
Tajlili’s (2013) concept of work-life integration rather than work-life balance with some
of the participants, they overwhelmingly agreed that was a much better term, because
several of them said that balance is unachievable. Tara confided that the stress of trying
to balance her full-time job with getting her doctorate and raising a family nearly killed
her, and even though her degree is complete and she is in her first presidency, she still
struggles with balancing her life. In Tara words:
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So, you know I’m up at five, because I wanted to workout before I went to the
session. The session ends at 12:30 or 1:00. So, then I’m in the car. It’s raining
like hell. I’m making phone calls for work. I’m doing work in the car. I get in.
It’s 5:30, hit the door. Dinner. Okay, so I’m trying to plan something for dinner.
Throw a load of laundry in. Get everybody fed and washed up. I plan all my
stuff for the next day. Then my daughter has dance. Because my husband takes
my son to a soccer game, so I take her to dance. Literally, while I’m waiting for
her, I’m doing more work. While she’s in dance, I’ve brought my laptop. I’m
working. We leave. Then I have to go lay out all the stuff for pictures (picture
day was today) and make all the checks out. My daughter had to do her hair up so
she could go to bed with it in these little rag curls so she could have it curly today.
So . . . (laughing) I only say that in the fact that I guess I feel lucky I didn’t have
to bake anything. But, you know, even with the flexibility of his schedule and all
of that, I’m still mom and I’m still the wife. . . . Whereas, I have a girlfriend
whose husband works full time. He is a doctor. They have . . . two kids at home.
Her oldest is gone. She is a stay-at-home mom and he comes home. She’s got a
drink already poured for him. He sits down. Half an hour later they eat. . . . Like,
he’s never seen the inside of a grocery store. He probably doesn’t even know
anything about [how] anything works. I don’t even know if he’d know how to
turn on the oven. So, it’s just different.
Tara was not the only participant who expressed frustration with how much work she has
to do on a daily basis, but Pam cautioned women who have children and want to be a
college president that this quest for balance is difficult for all working women, but for
mothers coveting the position of chief executive officer of a higher education institution,
it may be nearly impossible. Pam stated:
It’s become easier and easier probably to be a mother but it’s never going to be
simple if you want to strive and become a president. You have to make some
sacrifices, and you have to balance both of those parts of your life. You’ve got to
take care of your children, but you’ve got to invest your energy and excitement
into your job. . . . And I’ve known women that just choose not to do that. They
just say, ‘I’m going to take care of my kids and I will just forego that.’ It might
be hard to get back on track if you wait too long for that though.
The following sub-themes explore how the roles of mother and president often
blended together. They are (a) Work-Life-Education: It All Blends Together, (b) Learn
how to prioritize and compartmentalize, and (c) Outsource domestic duties or learn to let
it go.
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Work-Life-Education: It All Blends Together
I used to be on . . . ‘The Never Ending Search for Balance’, so I’m sort of obsessed about
balance. . . . When I was first new they wanted me to come speak about something—so
what would be a fun topic? So I would always talk about all the hats I wear . . . I mean,
I’m a wife. I’m a mother. I’m a daughter. I’m a community leader, you know, and to me
it’s kind of about balancing all that stuff. Is one thing more important than another? I
mean, I don’t know. . . . Of course, you always wonder how your kids will talk about you
later on and what their perception is, but I always felt like taking care of them and their
needs is absolutely a priority.
Claire
While each participant said her family is her first priority, all participants stated
that sometimes it is impossible for the role of mother to not bleed into the role of
president and vice versa. Whether it is leaving work to pick up a sick child or checking
emails and writing reports while their children play in the background, sometimes it is
impossible to separate the roles. Since the women cannot necessarily prevent the roles
from bleeding into each other, they have tried to hide it. Take Tara, for example:
[The roles] bleed all the time, because my daughter stands out, standing over me.
I’m like just a minute. I’m in the middle of an email. I look up. She’s got her
hands on her hips. ‘Really, mom?’ Yeah, it bleeds over all the time and I think I
mentioned before; I have yet to solve the issue of how to balance my life and feel
like I’m doing it well. I don’t think I’ve ever done it well. I don’t think I do it
well now. I think somebody always gets the short end of the stick and so, yeah . .
. It bleeds over all the time. I try, as the President, to not have that be evident here
at work, but, honestly, I am who I am.
Carrie also has pretended that her roles were not colliding when she was being
inaugurated just five days after her mother passed away:
I had done a lot of theater in high school and actually early college, and I used
that training at my inauguration, to be honest, because I really had to play the role,
you know, of the President.
So what, then, do these women do in order to find a successful way to achieve
work-life integration? The following section explores the sub-themes related to how the
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women cope with work-life struggles, including: (a) Learn how to prioritize and
compartmentalize and (b) Outsource domestic duties or learn how to let it go.
Learn how to prioritize and compartmentalize.
Probably the hardest time for me was in 2004. My dad passed away and he was really
sick, so that was really stressful because I was new into my presidency. My kids were
young, and . . . [my parents] lived about an hour-and-a-half away, so I was close enough,
and then his death and all that. That was a really rough year. I felt like it was just
difficult to figure out where you’re spending your time and how you’re doing everything,
you know. But my mom is like 90½ and in great health now. But I feel, you know,
definitely a priority would be a daughter, a good daughter. And in the meantime my
mother-in-law has passed away, so like she’s our last grandparent. So, to me, it’s this
constant thing about balance all the time, all the time.
Claire
Whether they think they are good at it or not, all 11 participants say one method
needed to balance their lives is prioritizing their responsibilities and focusing on one
aspect of their day at a time. They make a conscious effort to focus on the task at hand
and not get sidetracked by other obligations. Although this is difficult, it is necessary to
maintain focus. Kate shared this example of how she compartmentalizes:
I’m very good at trying to just separate what happened an hour ago from what is
happening right at this moment. I mean, at 8:00 this morning, my daughter rear-
ended a person . . . I said, yeah, my husband’s car is totaled . . . but here I am, you
know. It was a new driver error that, you know, we’ve all been at fault. But I
think our insurance is going to make us pay, because she definitely rear-ended it. .
. . But she was good in that she did veer, but those are the kinds of things when
you’re an executive, you just, you know. I’m like, ‘Should we go home and curl
up in the fetal position and just give up on today?’ No, that’s not what we do.
Sybil would agree that when a woman is both a mother and a college president,
she needs to have her priorities in order. If she does not prioritize her responsibilities, it is
going to be a problem:
[I am constantly] reminding myself, ‘Okay, Sybil, you’re one person. You can
only be in one place at one time and do so many things.’ And so learning how to
delegate some things has been something I’ve learned how to do. And having to
say ‘No’ sometimes to people, ‘I can’t do that.’ It’s not necessarily because of
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family all the time. Sometimes it’s other priorities from work. I have to decide
which place is more important to be at that time.
Jen shared that when she decided to apply for her first presidency, her family was
going through a difficult time, and she needed to prioritize her commitments. She stated:
This whole past year while I was going through the presidential search process,
my husband’s father was very ill and he ended up dying. I was dealing with that
and I would be very clear with my President at the time like, ‘I just wanted you to
know that David’s dad is in a real critical situation. One of us might have to fly
out,’ because they were not here or they weren’t local and just being clear about
that. So recognizing that there is no such thing as balance, that certain days,
certain weeks, certain times this is my priority and this takes a backseat, and just
being clear about what those priorities are in life.
Six out of the 11 participants discussed how they prioritized their family’s needs
before taking their first presidencies. They either did not move geographically for a
presidency, or they waited until their children were grown and out of the house before
moving. Like Mainiero and Sullivan’s (2005) kaleidoscope theory states in the literature
review, women are much more likely than men to make career decisions based on how
those decisions will affect the people closest to them. For example, Kendal received
plenty of offers to apply for executive leadership positions at other institutions, but she
declined when her children were young; she shared these recollections:
I started getting calls about provost positions, and I guess I interviewed actually
for a presidency when I was still the dean. . . . I wasn’t sure I liked the institution.
I wasn’t sure I was a good fit, and I was not sure I was really ready. . . . I wasn’t
sure I wanted the lifestyle. My children were still at home, and we bought
[property] when we were [in the Midwest]. . . . So it was really hard to think
about how that would all work. . . . The idea of giving up the [property], of
uprooting our children when they were in high school and so forth became
complicated, so I just kind of waited.
Claire, too, recalled waiting for the time to be right for her children before she
considered a job at another institution that would force her to move; she is still at the
same institution and said:
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My goal was first of all, . . . to still be in the job to get them through grade school,
you know, and not have to like move or do anything like that. Then it was like,
‘Okay. Well, if I can just get them through high school.’ You know and so I did
that, and now they’re in college. Well, one is out of college already, the other two
are still in college. But, so it’s kind of a nice sense of relief once they’re out of
high school because then it’s kind of like, ‘Well, you know, I can like pretty much
do what I want to do, and if I want to stay here, great. If I want to apply for a
different role or something I’m able to do that.’
Outsource domestic duties or learn how to let it go.
Eight out of the 11 participants admitted that they have outsourced some of their
domestic duties, such as childcare, housecleaning, grocery shopping, and laundry. While
three of the eight participants expressed feelings of guilt for farming out responsibilities,
all eight of the women say doing so was a necessity in order to commit time and effort to
being a college president and a mother. The two areas where the women most frequently
relied on others was for (a) childcare and (b) household chores.
Childcare.
Of the areas where women hire others to assist them with day-to-day activities,
childcare is the one that the participants felt the most guilty about. Even though it is a
necessity, it is often difficult to entrust the care of one’s children with another individual.
The sentiment was the same for all participants: they needed to know that their children
were safe and well cared for when they are at work. Pam, for instance, said childcare was
one of her biggest challenges:
When I went to Europe, I was really just kind of on my own. The thing about
Europe or Germany was that it was a far safer place and I had someone that lived
in the neighborhood. But, you know, they were kind of home-latchkey kids in a
way. . . . Home, in a way, but it was tough. That’s the biggest challenge, I think,
being sure that your children are watched and you can find adequate daycare.
When Kim’s children were young, she and her husband shared responsibility for the
childrearing, but they also had caregivers:
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My husband held down the fort, and you know, over those years when our
children were young, he had some travel, and I took care of things. And we…
had great students . . . whom we knew well from the college who would help us
with babysitting, after school care, and all kinds of things. So we were very
fortunate in that regard. We had good caregivers to help with our children. I
mean, we didn’t have a live-in nanny, but we had very good caregivers.
Five of the 11 participants had husbands who are either stay-at-home fathers,
worked from home, and/or were able to take care of the kids before and after school, or
shared equally in the parenting responsibilities. Dena expressed gratitude for her
husband:
The most effective way that I balanced [when the kids were young] was that I had
a stay-at-home husband. It was huge, huge. So, I had a partner who decided when
the boys were fairly little; we made a decision to have him quit his job and stay at
home with the kids. So I didn’t have the angst of, you know, juggling daycare
drop off and pickup, and I just didn’t have to deal with that. We made a decision
that was sometimes hard financially, but very much peace of mind emotionally, to
have somebody stay at home with the boys. And if I hadn’t had that option, I
think my experience would have been very, very different. And I, in many ways,
I might have limited myself, if I didn’t have that comfort, so I recognize that that
experience is very different than some other women. But I do think that it’s an
important question that our society should be having. . . . If we’re so excited about
women in the workforce and equity and pay and credibility, we should also be as
excited about men at home being dads and giving dad the credibility of making
that decision in their life.
Kendal remarked that the combination of having a supportive husband and knowing how
to prioritize made the early years possible:
What I did was I pretty routine; if I weren’t on the road, I would go home at a
reasonable hour, you know, fix dinner, be with the kids, and then I just stayed up
late and worked after they went to bed. . . . My husband, again it’s, you know, it’s
important to say, he was a really good partner, so I was able to do some travel. I
was able to, you know, as a researcher I was presenting at conferences and so
forth as a beginning faculty member, and then after I moved into leadership . . .
You don’t have a lot of control over your schedule, but you can . . . set some
limits. I guess my limit was usually I wanted to get home at a decent hour to be
able to fix dinner, have dinner with the kids and have some time with them before
they went to bed. It’s probably fairly typical of what a lot of women do, you
know, burn the candle after they go to bed.
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Four participants have husbands who also work in higher education. In fact, all
four women have husbands who are professors. They all remarked how having a spouse
with a flexible schedule is incredibly convenient. Claire’s husband works at a major
university:
He’s got a bit of a commute, but his schedule is significantly more flexible than
mine, and so that made a big difference, just because he didn’t really have to
travel, you know. I mean, he could have if he wanted to, but he really didn’t have
to. And, you know, when you’re a full-time professor at a university, you have a
lot of flexibility with your schedule. Yeah. I mean, that made a huge difference.
I always said if he traveled or whatever, I don’t know what I would have done.
Entrusting one’s children to the care of another individual was one of the most
difficult aspects cited of being a college president. For the women whose husbands took
an active role in the childcare, the guilt was not as bad, but it was still there. Several
participants agreed that childcare for working parents is an area that needs more attention
in higher education.
Household chores.
I’ve been through different phases, so obviously when I first started as president my kids
were young; they were in the grade school years and that’s a whole different kind of
support they need and whatever. And yeah, I can remember somewhat exercising during
those years, and we like to travel, we would take family trips and different things. And I
made it a priority to get help in terms of household stuff, so we hired somebody. And we
made the financial sacrifice and commitment to hire somebody because I can remember
as we were in between I thought like, ‘This is nuts!’ I hated Sundays because I was
spending all of Sunday doing laundry and all this stupid stuff, and so we hired somebody
who I sort of would delegate like literally laundry, like everything household stuff . . . So I
think it’s like coping techniques or the things you decide to do to provide that support
system so you’re not always stressed out about everything.
Claire
All 11 participants mention that being a college president is a 24/7 job, not
leaving much time for family, friends, or activities they enjoy. Like Claire, most of the
participants tried continuing to care for the children, the home, and the emotional work of
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the family, but weekends became time to do all of the chores. So, the women prioritized
what they wanted to spend their free time doing, and household chores were not one of
them. Tara hired a cleaning agency so that she could spend her free time exercising, and
identified the early morning workouts as “selfish.” The notion of “selfishness” and
“guilt” was mentioned from seven of the eight participants who sought outside help for
domestic duties. Some of the participants felt they needed to justify why they had to hire
someone. Sybil noted that even though she has hired someone to clean her house, she
cannot bring herself to hire someone to do her grocery shopping. She remarked that she
“still wants to do some things for [herself] and [her] husband.
While a few participants mentioned their supportive spouses help take care of the
children, not one participant mentioned her husband taking over or sharing in household
duties such as cooking, cleaning, or doing the grocery shopping. Balance is such a
challenge for the participants that several of them regularly give speeches about finding
balance, write articles on the subject, and attend seminars on ways to achieve it in their
own lives.
Their Greatest Challenge: The Doctorate
Ten out of the 11 participants pursued their doctoral degrees after they had
children. For all but one participant, their children were very young at the time. Eight of
those nine women said going to school full time while having a demanding job and being
a mother to young children was the hardest experience of their lives. Kate, the only
participant who remarked that pursuing her doctoral degree was “fun,” took a leave of
absence from her full-time teaching position in order to complete her doctoral degree. At
the end of my interview with each woman, I asked if there was anything they would
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change about their lives if given the opportunity, and while most women said, “no,” the
only area cited that they would change was when they pursued their doctoral degree. A
few participants said if they could do it over, they might have pursued their doctoral
degree before having children. This finding is consistent with Spilovoy (2013) who found
that undergraduate mothers in online higher education programs often feel that they are
sacrificing time with their families when pursuing their degrees. All nine of the
participants in this study who had children while also working full time and going to
school say that time in their life is a blur, similar to Kim’s description, which was:
I don’t really remember [that time in my life]. They’re kind of a blur (laughing).
But we . . . just worked it out. You do what you have to do on any given day, and
. . . we wanted a large family. We assumed that we were educated enough and
were becoming educated enough to provide for them. And there was never really
any question in my mind about whether my career was more important to me than
my children or my husband, because it never was.
Tara was emotional during our interview and stated that the reason she decided to
participate in this study is that she knows how difficult it is to be a leader in higher
education, a parent, and a doctoral student, and unless a person has been through the
stress of trying to do it all, there is no possible way he/she could understand the level of
stress that this gives a person. Tara’s response was:
Now, the reason why I decided to do this interview was because this is fascinating
to me. Because when I was in my doctorate program, there were only two of us
that were in our 30s, had young children, you know, had high-level jobs. . . . The
rest either had older children or they were men.
And the one thing that I saw was how different it was for the two of us.
Some of these guys would go to a hotel for a weekend and work on their
dissertation, completely distraction free, right, and, you know, their wives
suggested things like this and, you know, their wives were like, ‘Look, I’ve got it
all. You just go and do your thing, because this is what’s good for the family,’
and they did. I worked on my dissertation between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. So, when
my dissertation chair said to me, ‘You know there are parts of your dissertation
that don’t even look like they were written by the same person. They’re so
choppy.’ And, I’m like, ‘Well, that’s because . . . guess what? It was done in
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little chops. So, you know, I had to go back and kind of piece it all together, but it
is different being a woman and doing all of this and I saw it firsthand.
Tara explained how her family tried to convince her to let something go during those
early years:
All the kids were little. I was doing my doctorate. I had to study abroad . . . and
so my husband came with me and my mom came down and stayed with all my
kids and, when we got home, you know, it was like, you know, jetlag and I hit the
door and it was like full steam ahead. You know, I had to prepare. I had to go to
work the next day, so I had, you know, all this and my mom said to me, ‘Why do
you do this? Why are you doing this to yourself?’ And, at the time I said to her,
‘What do you want me to do?’ and she said, ‘Why don’t you change something in
your life so it’s not like this?’ And I honestly looked at her and I’m not sure I
would answer it differently, but I said to her, ‘Mom, my plate is so full. To think
about changing something in my life would actually send me over the edge—to
even think about it. I just have to deal with every day.’ And, I know that probably
sounds ridiculous, but there’s not even enough of me to think about making a
change, even if it was for the better.
If those years were so difficult, why did the women decide to continue with their
studies? They said they did it in order to make a better life for their families and to set a
good example for their children. Carrie remembered those early years:
It was a wonderful part of their upbringing. I didn’t always know that and I did
have reservations or fears about working and being a professional person and I’ve
had a lot of those that I’m not so worried about. (Starting to cry) I’m not so
worried about that anymore.
They’ve turned out fine and they really respect who I am and are proud of
it, I think. Their father didn’t always see this as positive and at one point was
very . . . how can I say this? He reminded me many times in his mind he thought
that I neglected my family when I was working on my doctorates (laughs). My
children do not believe that, but that was his perception.
I never felt like that. The kids were 3 and 5 when I started my doctorate
and actually I was the dean then, and what I did is do everything I can to be
effective in all my roles—as mother, dean, and student. . . . I’m really an
organized person . . . I was really, really, really, really well-organized and had
everything all mapped out and anytime I wasn’t with the kids, you know. And if
he wasn’t able to be there, I had it all organized with babysitters planned. I mean,
it was all well-orchestrated and I really studied at night after they went to bed. I
took time off from work and studied during the day when they were at school. So,
what suffered probably was my own personal time, but the way I viewed it was
working on my doctorate was my personal time.
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Karina’s children saw her earn all of her degrees from undergraduate and master’s
to doctoral degree, all while working full time, and even though the process was
extremely difficult at times, she does not regret doing it that way. She told me:
I got licensed to run a daycare center because I needed to put myself through
school, and I needed to still provide a living for my family. And I knew that I
needed to serve as a role model for my kids in education and that was really the
huge motivator, I think, at that point . . . to kind of get it done. The oldest was 10.
I needed them to see that, and what was neat is I would bring them to class with
me sometimes if I had to. They lived their lives with some aspect of education.
So I’m running a preschool. I had to go through a number of like early childhood
education courses that I could get with my undergrad just because I was running a
daycare center.
I got licensed . . . so I learned a lot about early childhood growth and
development, all the things that you need to know in terms of making sure that
they’re performing the way they should be at that age . . . And I just read, read,
read, read, read to them and talked to them all the time, so I learned a lot about
those things.
And then my husband would help me if I had to run out to a class and at
one point I was taking five classes because I was taking classes in the evening and
on Saturdays. All on ground, they were all on ground. So I finished my doctorate
degree like that, so yeah, I’ll never forget it.
The women all said they “did what they had to do” in order to complete their
degrees. Most stayed up late at night to study or work on their dissertations, or they woke
up at 4:00 a.m. to get some writing done. They all remarked that they are proud of this
accomplishment.
Being Moms Makes Them Better College Presidents: Their Leadership Skills Come
From Being a Mother
When you look at early leadership theories, . . . you start with that whole great man and
all that. But, if you go way back, there’s a lot of material about moms being natural
leaders and they ran the households, they kept families together, and I think we continue
to do those things. And I just think it’s taken a little longer for business and industry to
recognize the talents that we bring to the table and things that make us real strong
leaders. It’s kind of interesting, too, when you think of transformative leadership and
collaborative leadership and all of the things that are really cutting edge are things that
women have been doing all along.
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Karina
When asked if being a mother has made them better presidents, the response was
overwhelming “yes,” “absolutely,” “no doubt about it.” All 11 participants said their
leadership skills were realized and made stronger once they became mothers. They said
they learned skills in the role of “mom” that they bring to their role as “president.” Carrie
was adamant that mothers are excellent leaders: “We’re better people. We’re better
managers, leaders as parents. Yes, we are.” While the participants noted that
compartmentalizing their different roles is important, they also said that recognizing the
skills they bring to the table as mothers is something they cannot ignore. Dena pointed
out that trying to separate the skills from one role to another is pointless:
I think the ability to strengthen and nurture relationships is critical, and I would
say it is critical for any job, not just the being a President. The ability to
understand the nuances of relationships and listen and encourage and question and
gently challenge. . . . Those are things you do as a mom, but they’re also things
you should be doing as a leader, so they’re very intertwined for me.
I’m just kind of human and so, I just want to be authentic in both roles. . . .
You know you can get kind of ‘maternalistic’ and kind of ‘parenty’. I don’t think
that’s healthy at all to bring to the leader role or the presidency role, but kind of
the love and support and the encouragement and the respect that you have for
your kids’ individual differences. You know, if you can’t figure that out as a
mom and appreciate their differences and what their strengths are, then you can’t
probably do that as a leader either. So, there’s a lot of intertwining in my mind.
The women noted needing to be cautious in their professional lives so that the
roles do not overlap too much. Take Sybil, for example, who said:
I work hard every day. My expectation is that you work hard but we also want to
create an environment where people feel welcome and nurtured, and I think that
has a little bit of parenting in me. Sometimes I have to catch myself, not to come
across as the mother on the stage but as the president on the stage, you know. But
I think it all works the same. We’re here to help people and that’s how I see my
role.
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The following sub-themes explore the different skills that mothers bring to the
role of college president, including (a) time management and organizational skills, (b)
patience and understanding, and (c) conflict resolution and negotiation skills. Table 11
shows the skills each woman said were strengthened once they were mothers.
Table 11
Skills Learned From Being a Mother That Strengthen Their Role as Leaders
Participant’s
Name
Time
Management
&
Organizational
Skills
Patience &
Understanding
Conflict/Resolution
and Negotiation
Skills
Carrie X X X
Claire
Dena X
Jen X
Karina X
Kate X
Kendal X X X
Kim X X
Pam X X
Sybil X
Tara X X
Time Management/ Organizational Skills
To be a mother and a college president, one must be organized. That is the
message from seven participants who said, although not necessarily “planners,” they have
had to be very organized to manage the complexities of being a college president, and
they reported that being a mother has given them the preparation to do just that. Jen
explained the skills she thinks being a mother has most prepared her for:
Multitasking [and] being organized. You know, I think that you have to manage
multiple things at once, keeping your human side . . . front and center. You know,
that it’s recognizing that most of our employees . . . maybe they’re not mothers or
parents, but they’re siblings or children or whatever, and knowing that we bring
who we are to work. And I believe in authenticity, so people here . . . know . . . I
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am who I am and I don’t change based on . . . the audience. But they aren’t going
to see a completely different Jen then they would see even with my family at
home.
So, I think some of that is part of just being real with who I am and letting
others be real with who they are. But clearly the parenting piece, I think, helps
with keeping my priorities straight, multitasking and balancing, and keeping me
centered on what really matters.
As mentioned in the section outlining what the participants had to do in order to
get their doctorates, the women noted how important it was to manage this time in their
lives, because there is so much to accomplish in any given day and only 24 hours to do
so. Because the women have had to organize time around their children’s activities, their
husbands’ jobs, and their own personal needs, managing a college shares similar
responsibilities. Kim emphasized how parenting has prepared her for everything: “Time
management, different personalities, negotiations, whining, victory, happiness, all of it.
It just prepares you for anything in life, you know, anything.”
Patience and Understanding
Another skill brought to the college presidency from these women as mothers was
patience and understanding. Six participants reported that there is a certain empathy one
gains from motherhood that makes it easier to relate to others. Pam said motherhood has
brought her more patience:
Many of us who have been mothers feel that it’s developed a kind of patience. It’s
definitely developed in me the willingness and ability to affirm, you know, affirm
the good qualities of people, which a lot of male presidents, they’re not very good
at that. It’s not so much thank you notes and all of that BS, because I’m not that
sentimental, but reaching out and acknowledging something that someone’s done
well or a quality that’s good and be willing to do that a lot.
Because you do that with your children, you know, you’re affirming them
a lot. And because I was a parent who . . . I know I never hit my kids and I
certainly didn’t yell at them or anything . . . that’s another, kind of a patience and
a way of being with people. . . . I think that being responsible for, as I was, for
everything, and carrying that burden, was very good preparation for when [I got]
to be the CEO.
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Before Tara had children, her mentor told her that she needed to have children in
order to have more big-picture perspective and to make her more empathetic to others.
While Tara was annoyed by his comments at the time, she understood what he meant
once she had children:
He actually said to me, ‘You know what? You need kids to soften you. You need
to understand there’s something bigger out there.’ And, I now understand what
he means, because it does. . . . It humbles you everyday. You know you cannot
take yourself seriously and get by in life. You know, my kids have embarrassed
me to the point where I thought I didn’t know if I’d survive. It just humbles you,
right? It does.
You realize that you . . . have limits of what you’re able to do yourself.
You have to rely on other people. You don’t know all the answers. You’re
learning and growing every day and I can’t possibly imagine my life without my
children today.
Kate said she also had to learn to have more patience and be more empathetic:
I’ve had to work on that, because . . . I know myself well enough to know that I . .
. I tend to err on the side of logic and analysis, and sometimes, that can come
across as being very cold.
Moreover, Kendal explained that being a mother has given her a much better
understanding of how different people are and how to celebrate the diverse attributes
each individual brings to a team:
Different people need different kinds of motivation and different kinds of
sanctions, if you will. So understanding where somebody’s coming from, and I
think mothers, you know, learn a lot about that raising kids. So you can get the
best out of somebody if you just know how to motivate them, and you can also
get the worst out of somebody if you don’t know how to handle them.
Seven of the 11 participants pointed out that being a mother has allowed them to
appreciate the diversity of their employees, because just as no two children are exactly
the same, no two employees are exactly the same either. The participants expressed that
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having children has given them a larger perspective on life, and that this perspective has
increased their patience and understanding in dealings with others.
Conflict/Resolution and Negotiation
Another skill that participants said motherhood has given them is
conflict/resolution skills and the ability to negotiate. Kim joked that her large family gave
her plenty of practice in negotiating with multiple people, because she constantly had a
committee of children with whom to interact. Carrie also felt that mothering gave her
negotiation skills:
No question about it. For years, especially when I was in the dean role when I
would work with student situations, or even faculty or staff situations, I often
thought back, at least in my mind, to setting out expectations, being clear about
those, helping people understand what the boundaries were, so to speak, then
holding people accountable and then helping them learn from situations. Yes! I
think it’s like parenting.
Along with patience, the ability to resolve conflict and negotiate with both parties
is a skill that college presidents need, and a skill that can be learned from effective
parenting. Kendal, for instance, said she appreciated how being a mother has taught her
to be decisive during negotiations. She remarked, “I know how to say ‘yes’. I know how
to say ‘no’ and mean it, and I know how to enforce it, so I’m not afraid of saying ‘no’.
And I think [I am] also fair.”
Sybil recognizes that in addition to patience, being a mother has assisted her in
seeing all sides during a conflict. She says conflict/resolution is not black and white;
there are a lot of factors needed to understand the truth of a situation in a college, just like
there is in family life:
What you learn [from being a mother] is that you can’t control everything.
(Laughing) You can’t control everything, things happen. . . . And we were just
talking about something at lunch today . . . about a group of people who have
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been meeting on our campus and I didn’t have any knowledge of. But I have to
realize I can’t control everything. This is a big college, a lot of people, a lot of
activity, a lot of GOOD activity, and then sometimes things happen and people
‘forget’ to tell you that these things are going on.
So what I’ve learned is the same thing can happen in your home life, you
know, or with your children . . . that assumptions are made that ‘she must know
about this.’ Well, not necessarily, you know, and I have a busy life. My husband
has a busy life. We try our best to support each other in both of our professional
lives but there times when we’ll say, ‘Well, didn’t I tell you about that?’ ‘No, you
didn’t.’ ‘Didn’t I put that on your calendar?’ ‘No, you didn’t.’ So, you learn that
you just have to be forgiving in both situations.
The participants acknowledged that the skills learned from being a mother have
made them more empathetic to potential issues facing employees. They also said they
have become better listeners, because they have increased patience and understanding.
Most of the skills cited by the participants in this study relate back to all five factors
constituting Goleman’s (2008) model of emotional intelligence, a quality sought in top
leaders: (a) self-awareness—understanding one's emotions and recognizing one’s impact
on others while making decisions; (b) self-regulation—controlling one’s emotions and
adapting to changes; (c) social skill—working with others to steer people in the right
direction; (d) empathy—considering others’ feelings, especially when making decisions;
and (e) internal motivation—being driven to achievement.
Being College Presidents Make Them Better Moms
Just as being a mother makes them better presidents, the participants in this study
felt that since being college presidents has given them a unique perspective on running an
organization, it therefore makes them better mothers. All but one participant believed that
being a college president strengthened her parenting skills.
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Tara, for example, said the combination of age and a senior leadership position in
higher education has given her perspective on what is truly important in life, including
how to speak to her children in a constructive manner:
You [wonder] whether you have appropriately taught them everything they need
to advance in school, which is all very important. But as they age, they become
people who interact with you and they have their own mindset, and so I have
found that what I have learned professionally helps me interact with them as
people. So, I’m not quick to judge. You know, as the President, I feel the need to
hear a lot of different perspectives before I weigh in and make a decision. It
doesn’t mean I deliberate for months, because I don’t believe in that. Right? I
believe in making progress, but I also don’t believe that the first person to come
into my office and tell me their story is the absolute, and I find that with my kids.
The participants identified different presidential attributes that they feel make
them better mothers. For Kate, it is “conflict management strategies.” For Carrie, it is
increased patience; she shared this humorous story about her daughter:
(Laughing) When they were in high school, my older one, in particular, would ask
me if she could do something or whatever. And often she would push the
envelope a lot, and I would be like, ‘Well, help me think that through’, and I
would just do sort of a pros/cons, this/that, whatever, and one point she said to
me, ‘Mom, I’m not going to write you a proposal!’
For Karina, being a college president has given her better communication skills,
including listening:
I don’t get as excited about bad news. . . . My composure is better. [I’m] more
thoughtful. I think that academic aspect of being a president pursuing a doctorate,
learning the value of trusting the process, especially like my qualitative research
study. You know, I kept thinking that I can analyze this and, you know, my
professors would talk about reflection and you need to go away from it and come
back, and there really is value in that. That’s absolutely true, and just thinking
those things through. And then I think because I’ve learned so much by working
with so many people, I have more to offer my children when they get into a
pickle. You know, they have questions and I have more experiences to draw on
to help them.
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There was one major skill that emerged as a sub-theme for how being a college
president makes them better mothers. The skill is respect for individual differences and
diversity, which will be discussed next.
Respect for Individual Differences and Diversity
Five of the participants remarked that being exposed to diverse people on their
college campuses reminded them that people are different, and they should not expect
their children to behave exactly the same. Kim emphasized that she uses the experiences
of people on her campus as examples to guide her children:
I think watching great, young professionals on campus from this perspective, as
president, gives me a deeper appreciation and sensitivity to the pressures my own
children are facing as they launch their careers, and I think that’s helpful. I see
lots of great people on campus who are doing really good work and balancing and
starting families or bringing up families, and . . . I learn a lot from them. And I
think it gives me a perspective that is helpful to my children when they need
advice.
Sybil emphasized that she learns about diversity both at work and at home:
Yeah, so what you learn is that everybody’s different. . . . I had four children and
they all have different characteristics, different personalities, all have different
strengths and weaknesses. And so you realize that not only at home, you realize it
in the work environment. So what you bring is that you love each one of them the
same. You know, regardless of one may be really messy and one could be really
neat. . . . Yes, and the same thing here at work. You know, people have different
strengths. Some people are good at organizing people. Other people are good at
policy and paperwork. So you learn what those strengths are and you build on
those and then you’re very forgiving when people are not quite the same, because
I don’t have the strength to do everything. And I remind people, I don’t have all
the knowledge that’s needed to run a college so my job is to get the right people
in the right position to make it happen. And so I think the same thing, the way you
manage and nurture a household, you do the same thing here at work.
Kendal was the only participant who questioned if being CEO of a private
university has made her a better mother and responded in this way:
Oh gosh. I wonder if it has . . . um . . . Well, so both of my kids have ended up in
higher ed. . . . I kept telling them that might not be the right path these days, but I
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think both of them will say to me, it was a world that they understood and knew
and felt comfortable in and saw the potential of what could be done.
And um . . . So, I’m not answering your question about how has it made me a
better mother . . . No [it hasn’t] . . . because I have less time.
Although ten participants feel that being a president has assisted them in being a
better mother, the areas where the women feel they gained experience varied. Being a
college president has exposed the women to people with different backgrounds, and it
was that experience that they believe gave them greater perspective in their personal
lives.
Family Comes First
I look back over my life and my professional life and think I couldn’t have planned it any
better. It doesn’t always happen that way. And there are . . . women who work with me
on my senior level campus now (one who has young children in elementary school), and
it’s a juggling act. But I am very supportive of her because I think it’s important that
people are there for families first. You know, the expectation is the job gets done. . . . You
know, schedules may have to be adjusted in order to get it done so she can be there for
her boys when they need her to be there. But as long as that’s happening, it’s all good. I
think it’s a wonderful blessing to have children and to be able to be there and raise them
and do the best you can as a parent.
Sybil
Without hesitation, all 11 participants said that their family comes before anything
else in their life, including their college presidencies, so much so, that several have
encouraged their own employees to put their families first. Without prompting, two
participants expressed that they would give up their presidency if they had to. Jen, for
instance, explained how even though her dream was to become a counselor in higher
education, she put her husband’s dream first early on in their marriage:
I followed my heart and I knew that . . . jobs come and go. My personal
relationships are more important to me, and so I trusted that things would work
out and they did.
Kate said she would give up her first presidency if necessary:
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I wouldn’t say [being a college president is] everything. I would say motherhood
is definitely the most important thing when I really analyze it. If I had to quit
tomorrow to take care of one of my kids, I would. I wouldn’t even ponder it that
much.
Kate is currently in a situation where, although she is happy at her institution on the East
Coast, her husband is miserable and “hates the area.” When asked if she would consider
leaving her presidency and moving back West, she said, without hesitation, that she
would begin looking for jobs immediately if it would make her husband happy, because
he is number one in her life.
As previously mentioned, a majority of the participants in this study (six out of
11) waited for their family to be “ready” before they took their first presidencies. Some
waited until their children were grown and out of the house, and some waited for
presidencies to become available in the area where they lived. It should also be noted that
two participants, Pam and Karina, took jobs that were close to where their children live
so that they could see them more often. Pam retired as a chancellor in the Midwest,
because her first grandchild was born, and she could not take being away any longer:
I was [on the West Coast] when my daughter had her first baby and I can tell you
that was a stressful. I mean, only hearing it on the phone and not being able to be
here, so that had a lot to do with me coming [back to the Midwest] because I
could get closer. . . . Both my daughters live around here.
Karina believes so strongly in putting family first, a motto she inherited from her
father, that she makes sure all of her employees know that she never wants them to have
to choose between their jobs and their families. To accomplish this, she has introduced
several policies at her for-profit institution.
Table 12 outlines how the women in this study used family sequencing, putting
their families first, when choosing when and where to become a college president.
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Table 12
Participants’ Family Sequencing Strategies Related to Pursuing a Presidency
Participant’s
Name
Waited for
Children to
Graduate
From High
School
Before
Pursuing
Presidency
Pursued
Presidency
Where Would
Not Have to
Relocate
Pursued
Presidency
Near Children
Waited for
Spouse to
Retire Before
Pursuing
Presidency
Carrie
Claire X
Dena X
Jen X
Karina X
Kate X
Kendal X X
Kim X X
Pam X X
Sybil X X
Tara
When examining the women who utilized family sequencing strategies when
pursuing a college presidency, there are similarities that emerged among the subgroups of
women. For instance, the four women who waited until their children graduated from
high school before pursuing a college presidency were also the four oldest women in the
study and members of the Baby Boomer generation; the four presidents who chose a
presidency where they would not have to relocate were the internally promoted
candidates (three of whom were previously vice presidents for student services); the three
presidents who accepted presidencies that would relocate them closer to their children
were all presidents who had been divorced; and the two presidents who waited for their
husbands to retire before pursing a presidency were the only two women in this study
from private, 4-year institutions.
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Motherhood Means Everything to Us
Of all of the interview questions asked of my participants, the one that elicited the
most physical reaction was: “What does motherhood mean to you?” Three women started
to cry and most of the women were initially speechless when asked to respond to this
question. “Motherhood means everything to me” is the phrase that surfaced over and over
again as the participants reflected on what motherhood means to them. Kim, Carrie and
Kate shared these thoughts:
Kim:
It’s a gift, and I always said it’s a gift. I will say I never saw it as a burden.
Carrie:
I think it really means . . . helping to empower my daughters to be the best they
can be—helping to them find within themselves that which speaks to them, that
which appeals to them, that which helps them connect their values with actions,
and how they want to live their lives.
Kate:
Oh, it’s . . . it’s everything. Yeah. I love being a mom, even though it’s the
hardest job of all.
Jen said that motherhood is the first way in which she identifies herself. She
considers herself a “professional mother” first and foremost. Kendal said that being a
mother is her top priority, and she always wanted her children to know how supported
they were:
[Motherhood means] creating a nurturing environment for a close-knit family . . .
and my husband was very supportive as well . . . An environment in which the
child feels safe and secure. . . . I guess I remember saying to someone once, they
were talking about their home life not feeling close to their parents, and I just
remember saying, you know, I think that this is the one place where you should
expect always full love, regardless, and that was the kind of family I was brought
up in. It was the kind of family I wanted.
Nine of the 11 participants say one way they identify themselves is as a mother.
Of those nine, two of the participants use “mother” as their first identifier. And, two of
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the participants, Dena and Karina, chose not to be classified by the roles they play, but
responded that they identify more with their personal attributes, such as viewing
themselves as “artistic,” “creative,” and/or “collaborative.”
Challenges and Obstacles of Being a College President
You know one of the things people say to me [is], ‘You know, you don’t ever look stressed
or . . . you look kind of even keeled.’ Well, one of the things I’ve learned is that when
you’re president . . . they want you to be approachable and nice, but yet they don’t want
you to show any weakness . . . or any vulnerability. Because if you’re worried, then
they’re really going to be worried. . . . I mean, I feel like I’m very natural at work and
I’m myself, but I’m always [acting] like there’s never anything wrong.
Claire
Like any leadership role, being a college president has its obstacles and
challenges. Just like Claire, Carrie said she has had to “act” in her role as college
president and joked that her theatre background helped train her for the position. The
women in this study shared their biggest challenges as college presidents in our one-on-
one interviews. The challenges tended to vary depending on the type of institution where
the women work, and the challenges appeared to be more about being a woman and less
about being a mother. This theme explores the challenges and obstacles of being the CEO
of a higher education institution and includes the following sub-themes (a) being the
“little lady” in the room, (b) moving up in the same institution, and (c) disciplining
former colleagues. Table 13 displays the three areas where the women said they faced
their biggest challenges in their top leadership roles.
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Table 13
Participants’ Biggest Challenges as Presidents/Executive Leaders
Participant’s
Name
Being the
“Little Lady”
Moving Up in
the Same
Institution
Disciplining/
Terminating
Former
Colleagues
Carrie X
Claire X X
Dena X X X
Jen X X X
Karina X
Kate
Kendal X
Kim X X * (in VP
Role)
X
Pam X
Sybil X X X
Tara
Being the “Little Lady” and Often the Only “Lady” in the Room
I’m short. I’m 5’2”. So, I think some of the challenges have been asserting my authority
and my power, not in an authoritarian way, but in a way that gives you credibility and
makes things happen. Especially, I think, in [the South], I think there is a patriarchy. So,
kind of challenging that, without being offensive, but just challenging that sense of, kind
of, the diminutive, little woman, I think is a challenge for me. I use humor a lot to kick
that open a little bit, but that has been probably one of my biggest challenges. I think
about, in my career, times when I feel most frustrated going home at night. It’s been
when I’ve had meetings or exchanges with colleagues, where my credibility or . . . I guess
my authority has been challenged . . . not based on content, but based on biases.
Dena
Five participants were the first women to be presidents at their institutions. For
Kim, Kendal, and Karina, who all work in the private sector, they were often the first
female faculty member in their department, the first female department chair, the first
woman on an external committee, and the first female president. Kendal is reminded of
this phenomenon everywhere she goes, commenting:
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Still as a President, I’m still often the only woman in the room. And I’m more
sensitive now that I’m reading the literature actually as well. . . . I chair the
executive committee of one of our associations, and I realized that the people they
asked to sit at the head table are usually all male presidents.
This is with donors with the Foundation for Independent Colleges, and I’m
much more sensitive to that now. So I suppose, I mean, that question of, ‘Did
people listen to you? Did you have a voice? Did you feel that people respected
you and so forth?’ I would say people were. They were generous to me in terms
of as a young woman. They were supportive of me, but it was different than it
would have been had I been a man.
They were supportive of me for tenure. I won a lot of teaching awards,
those kinds of things. But, I don’t know if I would say that was because I was
unique, because I was a young woman in the department and there weren’t any
others. So . . . there’s been a constant—you’re the only woman or one of very
few woman in the room, and then the issue of, you know, getting a lot of the
service activities thrust upon you. But I will say that I probably learned more
from some of those kinds of things had I not done anything or just, you know,
focused on things that I wanted to do.
Foundation boards and other community boards are where participants believed
the most obstacles exist for women, and while they are irritated by some of the behavior
around them, they know it exists and have learned to brush it off. Pam, Sybil, and Jen
made these remarks about their experiences with community boards:
Pam:
I remember coming to my first executive meeting [for a major men’s
organization] and sitting there waiting and one of the executive committee
members who, he’d been a business president or whatever, an older guy, he
comes in and he looks around and he says, ‘Oh, nobodies here yet.’ (Laughing) I
said, ‘What!?’ I guess he thought I was the note taker or whatever. I mean,
literally. . . .
So I have a good sense of humor and I every time I’d go off to that
meeting, the ladies that sat at the front desk in the district office, I’d say, ‘Okay,
well you know where I’m going now, you know.’ So it’s pretty difficult to be the
only woman in that group of [Midwestern] businessmen. . . . People say, ‘Well
were you held back as a woman?’ Absolutely not but I think a lot had to be quite
forceful and just always . . . and ambitious and hardworking and I just didn’t
consider it. It was a minor irritation.
Sybil:
Being a woman sometimes in external groups [is challenging]. The first time I
met with the mayors or the first time I met with the chambers, you know how they
come across sometimes. . . . You can tell in the room that there are people who
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are questioning, ‘Well is she really ready?’ The person that I succeeded was a
male and I’m the first woman president of the college.
The College has good standing in the community so sometimes people are
taken aback when I’m first introduced as the college president but then after a
while we get to know each other, it’s okay. I’ve been invited to join several
groups . . . regionally, which has been helpful to get out to meet other people. But,
you know, I have never let that bother me about how other people perceive me.
You know, of course you want to be accepted. Of course, you want to be
respected, but I just go ahead and do what I think is best and say what I think is
best and then move on from there.
Jen:
Presidents typically are middle-aged white men. And trustees are even older,
right? So, like people were noticing me. In fact, one of my trustees said
somebody asked if our community college president graduated from high school.
So like, seriously?
For Jen, who is the youngest participant at 46 years old, the issue was not only
being a “little lady”; it was being a “little, young lady” that elicits surprise from a lot of
people out in the community. About her experiences, Jen shared these stories:
So when I got this job, we went shopping for my husband to get new clothes,
because I wear suits all the time, but he hates to dress up. You know, he’s a
casual professor, so I knew he needed to some clothes because he to go to more
events for me.
So we were buying him a bunch of clothes and the cashier at the checkout
said, ‘Oh, did you get a new job?’ to him and he said, ‘No. My wife did.’ And
she said to me, ‘Oh, where did you get a job? I said, ‘Oh, at the community
college.’ ‘Oh, what job did you get?’ And I said, ‘The President.’ And she said,
‘The president of what?’ Like, you know, what other president is there? And I
was like, ‘The College.’ And she was like, ‘Really? . . . What other president’.
[And another time] recently I was at lunch with a vice president, and I had
my nametag on and the wait server said, ‘Oh, you work at [the College]. ‘Oh yea,
I work at [the College].’ He was like, ‘Oh, you’re an adviser there?’ I’m like,
‘No, I’m the President.” Right. It’s just like repeating. . . . It is, but it’s kind of
funny at some level and at the same time it’s sad, right, that it’s hard for people to
imagine that I could be a college president.
Eight of the 11 participants said they have experienced the “little lady” bias on
some basis along their career, but they were all very clear that they did not allow other
people’s comments to affect their behavior. Pam, specifically, noted that when she was
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taking on additional leadership roles she never asked for preferential treatment for her
role as a mother. As one of the first women in an administrative role in most of her
institutions, she said that knew she had to work hard and not ask for allowances.
Between the search for balance and the additional challenges that the participants
faced, I asked them why they continue to stay in such patriarchal positions. Karina said:
I guess because I grew up in this blue-collar family where we [were] raised in this
incredible work ethic and you just never gave up. So I just knew if I could keep
plowing threw it I could climb the ladder, and I’ve always been very ambitious.
Kendal responded in a similar way:
Well, I see potential, and my husband says it this way, ‘Your weakness is that
every place you look you see opportunities,’ and so for me, I don’t know. . . . I
don’t really know the meaning of the word no, so if you tell me, ‘No, that’s not
going to work,’ I just try to find another way to make it happen. If you tell me,
‘This is a barrier you’re going to encounter,’ I try to figure out a way to overcome
that barrier. I don’t give up on what I see as the opportunities, so I always see
opportunities.
For Carrie, the choice to stay in higher education was easy; her father died when
he was 27 years old and never had the opportunity to go to college, and her mother did
not graduate from high school. She wanted to realize the dream that her parents never had
the opportunity to do. For the other participants, the answer is simple: they stay for the
students. Jen said the differences she can make in her students’ lives is what excites her
about being a college president:
I helped a student. . . . He and his family are from Nigeria. He lives right down
the street. I had worked with him for a year. He became a student leader and I
was talking with him when on a trip to D.C., and I said, ‘So how was D.C.?’ He
said, ‘Oh, it was awesome!’ He said, ‘You know what the best part was? I got to
take a shower, a hot shower two days in a row. And I’m like, ‘What do you
mean?’ I learned they had no gas in their apartment [just down the road] where it
was cold like you wouldn’t believe.
So they had electricity and they would boil water for sponge baths. They
live down the street here for two years and I had no idea until he told me that the
best part of this trip was getting a hot shower. So like it was, ‘Do you know that
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there are resources available?’ So I worked with him to go to Social Services and
get gas turned back on. But he’s like resilient! He graduated from here. He is now
at [a major university on a] full ride. So you hear stories like that.
Moving Up in the Same Institution
Four of the 11 participants were promoted to the presidency within their current
institution. All four participants worked in the community college sector. Of those four,
three were promoted from the position of vice president for student services. Only one
internal candidate was the vice president for academic affairs prior to being promoted to
president. All four participants said being promoted within an institution brought a
unique set of challenges and obstacles. Three other participants who were not promoted
internally as presidents, but were promoted to vice president positions internally also said
that being promoted internally was a particular challenge they had to face. Sybil was
promoted all the way from a part-time faculty member in the library to several director
positions, a dean position, vice president for academic affairs, and then college president.
She had this to say about being an internal candidate and promoted from within the
institution:
Sometimes being an internal candidate, especially, can have a whole set of
challenges, because the people I work with who knew me when I was a faculty
member [now see me] in a different role. . . . So sometimes it’s a level of respect
there but I think I have gained it across the board that others don’t quite. [They
might say] ‘Well, does she really have the skills to be the college president?’ Kind
of questioning that, but I have never let that worry me.
Dena, whose promotions were accelerated at an even faster pace than Sybil’s,
experienced similar situations to Sybil. Dena said she had to earn respect from the
colleagues she used to work with and now supervise:
I think, for me, probably some of the biggest challenges I’ve faced have been
supervising people that are either long-term employees or much older employees
(more seasoned). But . . . I had kind of a rapid rise here and so I was a supervisor
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at a fairly young age and I was in positions of authority at a fairly young age and
had to negotiate . . . a little bit of a pat on the head, kind of treatment.
For the three participants that began as faculty members and then moved into a
department chair or director role, it was that promotion that was most poorly received by
their faculty colleagues. Kim remembered how the other English faculty in her
department remarked how she had “moved to the dark side.” The internal participants
said that the most difficult part about being promoted internally is disciplining former
colleagues and peers, the next sub-theme to be explored.
Disciplining Former Peers
The women in this study said disciplining, and sometimes terminating, former
colleagues and peers is something that keeps them up at night. Jen, a brand new president
in her institution shared a challenge she is currently experiencing:
This is a huge challenge. And it’s one I kind of knew I was going to be facing, but
I didn’t realize how significantly and how big it was going to be. So, you know,
and actually I faced a similar challenge in my other role. When you go from
being a peer to a supervisor, right?
That can be a challenge, and even though I have good relationships with
my peers, you know, the role changes. So, there is one member of my cabinet
who, honestly, is not a high performer. . . . And [the former president], who I
love, one of her weaknesses is holding people accountable and giving real
difficult feedback. That was hard for her to do. So she knew, we all knew, this
person was struggling, and she realized in March like, ‘Okay, he’s really
struggling and I need to start this process so that Jen doesn’t have to inherit all of
it herself.’ So she began a performance remediation claim with him before she
left and talked with the board about it so that it wouldn’t all be dumped on me
when I came.
Well, it’s gotten even way worse than I thought. So actually tonight at my
board meeting, I am in the process of recommending to my board that I’m going
to have to terminate one of my vice presidents. This is a person who had been my
peer. So it is hard, especially because when we were peers and when the former
president began a process of giving him real critical feedback, he kept coming to
me as support. So I was behind the scenes coaching him, advising him, truly his
counselor behind the scenes. And so he was very supportive of me moving into
this role, . . . and I think partly because he thought that if I moved into this role he
would be protected.
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Jen is not alone. Claire, the participant in this study who has the most experience
as CEO, has been president at her institution for 14 ½ years. Of all her experiences since
being president the one that she has been most challenged by is an incident that occurred
after she questioned a faculty member when a veteran student filed a complaint against
the instructor. Claire says the very people she used to be colleagues with turned on her:
The faculty were like rallying around the one faculty member and, you know,
[several of them] came up here . . . to my office. And then the faculty union
president at the time wrote some really nasty things to our board about me and
that kind of thing, but the board was . . . not swayed by any of it. But that was
probably my roughest period of time because I had been here forever, and I know
all these faculty members. But I knew from my previous experience (and I mean
this with all due respect to faculty), they’ll turn on you in a heartbeat. And it
doesn’t matter how well you know people. I mean I know all these people. Like,
give me a break.
And they all were pumping themselves up and having a good time with it,
you know. And the union president, he was mad at me about something. I
actually knew him very well and we had had a good relationship, you know, and
the whole thing. . . . Blah, blah, blah. And of course the faculty member they
were protecting—they have all learned since then—you can’t trust her for a
second.
Although all of the participants have experienced challenges in their role as
president, the call to serve and help others pushes them to continue in their roles. Being
an internally promoted president, while convenient in terms of not needing to relocate
their families, provided a unique set of challenges for the women in that category. Being
a woman in a male-dominated position has also been a challenge for the women, but not
one of them said they let comments from others prevent them from pursing aspiring
goals.
What the Women Are Most Proud Of
I’m really proud that I was chosen to be a president. . . . I’ll tell you [about] the day that .
. . they announced me. . . . So, the way that this happens in [name of state] is there was a
search committee that was comprised of community leaders, business leaders, faculty,
students, Board of Regents, [and] Board of Trustees. And that was about a . . . maybe
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20-person committee and then . . . they whittled down to finalists. And the finalists come
on campus and have a whole day of interviews on campus and then the next day they
announce you. Fast . . .
So, I had a full-day interview and then the next day we had a morning interview,
and then . . . the three finalists had to kind of just roam around, stay close to campus, and
wait for the call. And so, when I got the call and came back to campus to be announced,
they announced it in a formal meeting of the Board of Regents, but it was open to the
public. And, since it was on our campus, the room was packed. . . . And part of this is
because I had been at the institution for so long and people know me, right? . . . When
they announced me, the room really, literally, just erupted into applause and it was a . . .
really heart-felt emotional moment, because I just had a lot of support from the
community. And I knew that with that kind of energy in the room, we could do
unbelievable things together.
So, it wasn’t really my success as much as it was . . . if we could harness the
energy in that room that day, we could, like, change the completion rate of students; we
could close [the] achievement gap. . . . What things we could do with that power, you
know. So, that success, in terms of being welcomed and appreciated and supported was
one of my big highs of my life really.
Dena
Just as the participants in this study have faced obstacles and challenges, they also
have taken a lot of pride in their accomplishments and in the positive feedback they
receive from others, whether it comes from the faculty and staff, fellow administrators, or
the external community. Several of the participants were surprised they were chosen to be
president. This is particularly true for the participants who were internal candidates and
felt honored that their faculty and staff chose them to lead the institution. The following
section will break down the sub-themes that participants feel most proud of, including:
(a) their leadership style, being a team player, (b) the good they have brought to their
institutions, (c) staying true to who they are, and (d) the positive feedback they receive
from others. Table 14 provides an overview of the participants’ proudest
accomplishments.
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Table 14
Participants’ Proudest Accomplishments
Participant’s
Name
Leadership
Style (Team
Approach)
The Good They
Bring to the
Institution
Staying True to
Who They Are
Positive
Feedback to and
From Others
Carrie X X X
Claire X X X
Dena X X X X
Jen X X X X
Karina X X X X
Kate X X X X
Kendal X X X
Kim X X X
Pam X X X X
Sybil X X X
Tara X X X
Their Leadership Style: Taking a Team Approach
100% of the participants in this study identified their leadership style as
“collaborative” and “team centered.” Eleven out of 11 women felt their team approach
leadership style is one of the successes they are most proud of. Pam, who is a retired
college president and chancellor, emphasized that she is proud of her team-centered
leadership style, because at the time she was president, no one she knew of seemed to
approach management this way:
I was very interested in teams and group work and task forces as opposed to, you
know, meeting with each person and telling them what to do. I never did that. I
never even had individual meetings with all my reports unless they wanted one
and then the evaluation, which you’ve got to do.
And so we got involved in the American Colleges for Sustainability. We
worked on that. I led that. I had big retreats at my house. I was into voluntary
[participation], people coming who wanted to be there. We had like 52 people
from all across the district show up and work on that initiative for all the time I
was there and hopefully still.
So, I just think that I enjoy and thrive in that kind of setting as I have a
strong ability, when the time comes, to pull things together and move the agenda
along.
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The other participants in this study also were extremely proud of the teams they have
organized and the leadership they have fostered in their employees. Kim, Karina, Tara,
and Sybil responded in this way about their leadership style:
Kim:
I’ve put together and . . . encouraged a team of leaders on campus that are really
amazing. They are doing good work, and I think they’re enjoying their work.
And I think I’ve been able to reflect back to this campus what I see as . . . its best
traits and its strengths and make them proud of that and work harder for it. And to
build on that, I’d like to think that I have encouraged leadership and innovation
throughout the ranks . . . and celebrated the successes of lots of people on campus.
Karina:
I’m collaborative, but highly decisive and it’s very clear with both. And it’s taken
the whole time I’ve been here to teach people what it means: how it works, that
their input truly is valued, that the more minds we put together, the better the
solutions, but that the ultimate decision is mine. And then the other thing I would
say is I’m huge on professional development and employee engagement.
Tara:
I need people who think about things differently and approach things differently
and speak about things differently. So I would say that I hope I’m able to . . .
build a good team, as well. Allow people to grow as much as they want, nurture
that, have tons of successes and celebrations, and, you know, really impact
students’ lives.
Sybil:
I think [I’m] open and willing to work with people. I think that’s important. I’m
very quick to tell people I may not have the answer that you’re looking for but
together we can work together to find it. [I’m] very collaborative . . . I have an
excellent executive leadership team that we work very closely together. I try not
to micromanage because, . . . first of all, I can’t run everything at the college but,
secondly, I want people to feel like their jobs are respected and they are respected.
So I allow people to do their jobs and then give people the credit and compliments
publicly that they deserve and recognition that they deserve.
Sybil mentioned that part of her leadership style is recognizing and
acknowledging her employees for the good work they are doing. She is not alone; eight
of the 11 participants underscored that it is critical to let their employees, especially their
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leadership team, know how much they appreciate their work. Take Claire, for example,
who said:
Well, when I talk to people about my style and my priority—it’s all about
personal engagement. I come to realize that over time . . . and I don’t remember it
every second of every day, but, just because of the role when you acknowledge or
recognize people you have the power to do that. You have the power to have the
people feel valued and acknowledged and that they’re noticed. And . . . for my
legacy I hope that people will feel like, ‘You know, the President knew who I
was.’
Establishing a strong team was cited by 100% of the participants. Additionally,
acknowledging the work that their team produced was just as important. All of the
participants credited their team-led approach as a reason for their success; not one woman
chose to work in isolation.
The Good They Bring to the Institution
In addition to the teams they built and the positive feedback they receive from
others, each participant shared stories of the positive changes they implemented or
brought to their institutions. For some it was new buildings, for others it was new
programs, and for many of them it was the new policies they developed, but all 11
women are proud of the good they provide to their institutions. For Jen, she is proud of
the attention to diversity that she has instilled at her community college:
I’m very committed to social justice issues and issues of equity that has always
been kind of a part of my DNA. Like my parents even instilled that in us, so I
created (when I was vice president) the first Office of Access, Equity, and
Diversity at the college and hired our first chief diversity officer. . . . I know in a
four-year institution those are older and more prevalent, but we were the first
community college in [the state] to have that office. We have an anti-racism
team. We have a strong commitment to issues of equity and social justice. I really
think because I’ve been in a leadership role I’ve been able to kind of make that
more front and center about who we are and who we need to be, so I think that’s
probably the thing I’m most proud of.
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Sybil is proud of a health and fitness center for students that hires over 100
students at her college to run the facility, and Karina is proud of a brand new dance studio
and 430 capacity theatre that expands arts and cultural events to the students and to the
community. Claire is most proud of her 2020 College Plan and other accomplishments in
her nearly 15 years as president, which she highlighted as:
We built two campuses with five buildings here, but along the way we totally
changed our brand identity. We did a huge marketing thing—got a new logo, . . .
totally changed our computer systems a couple of times, totally redesigned our
web page, . . . created a [college] portal. Totally had to really let go of our former
public safety approach and rebuilt a total campus police department because we
didn’t have one before.
So, you know, pretty much any issue that’s going on in higher ed, we’re at
least discussing it or talking about it. And we just got our second huge Title V
Grant, which is like a very big deal. . . . We have a foundation board. They are
very vibrant and thriving and they’ve done really well the last couple of years. So
we’re not perfect.
The participants are very proud of the good they brought to their institutions,
because it meant they brought opportunities to students that they might not have had
access to prior to being students. From sporting facilities to cultural centers, the
participants are proud of the exposure to different things that they were able to introduce
to their students and communities.
Staying True to Who They Are
I just feel like, you know, every day, whether you’re being a mom or a President or a
custodian or a dean or a faculty member, you should be bringing your whole passion to
your work.
Dena
Over and over again, the participants in this study described themselves as
“authentic,” “down-to-earth,” and “honest.” They all said they believe they hold positions
that bring good to the students and to the community; all 11 participants also remarked
that they remain true to their values and always keep their institutional missions in the
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back of their minds when making decisions. Carrie and Kendal, for instance, expressed
the values they embody in these ways:
Carrie:
I try to keep at the center of everything I do, my values and why I’m here. And
just a few minutes ago I ran over to get some soup for lunch in our Student
Center, and I just stopped for a minute and thought, ‘This is why we’re here.
Look at all these people, look at all these students. This is why I do what I do.’
Kendal:
I like to think that I do try to live the core values of the institution. That I try to, in
my own behavior and my own conduct, I still teach for example. I think it is
important . . . for me to be engaged with students, so I try to represent what I
would see, not perfectly certainly, but the kind of embodiment of what we stand
for at the institution.
For the participants, values have played such an important role in deciding where
they chose to work that both Kendal and Carrie left previous institutions, because they
felt the institutional mission had changed and no longer aligned with their personal
values. Tara also said that staying true to her values motivated her to apply to become a
college president, and if she felt another job would match her values equally or better, she
would try that too:
If I could go somewhere and really feel like I was making a difference and I could
instill a vision that I believed in and I could lead in a way that I thought would
benefit others. . . . I want to be a healthy leader and I mean that in . . . healthy for
other people. You know, creating a healthy environment and culture so that
people can flourish and thrive in it. And so that’s why I decided to throw my hat
in the ring and try to see if I could . . . add that to an institution. But, had I never
been a president . . . I think I would have been equally fulfilled as long as I was
making a difference.
Again, making a difference and being “called” to the role of CEO is a theme that
surfaced over and over again throughout this study. The participants are proud of what
they are able to do as a college president and community leader, and because their
institutional missions are aligned with their personal values, their jobs are fulfilling.
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Positive Feedback to and From Others
As mentioned previously, several of the participants said they were honored that
someone believed in them enough to encourage them to become college presidents. Five
participants in this study also said they were proud that they receive positive feedback
from others. “Others” ranged from their cabinet, the Board of Trustees, and external
constituents. The fact that other people are satisfied with their performance as president is
something that motivates them in their roles. This supports Bandura’s (1977) stance that
someone with high self-efficacy usually gains confidence through verbal persuasion or
external confirmation that someone is good at performing a task. Karina communicated
that she is particularly proud of the support she receives from her Board of Trustees:
Having gone through two review periods consistently, you know, I do a self-
assessment and then the board does an assessment, and to give you an example,
like in my first year I rated myself for job knowledge ‘exceeds’ . . . because I said,
‘There’s a learning curve. I’m still learning the area; I’m still learning the
people.’ And they came back and said, ‘Oh no, ‘significantly exceeds’ and if there
was one higher, we’d put you there.’ So, like they saw [my] job knowledge [as
what] I was able to [do].
When Pam was both a president and a chancellor, her employees told her how much they
appreciated the personal touches she gave to the job:
I did a lot of forums and group things and [I was] very communicative. When I
got . . . in both places, I started doing a memo, which now probably seems like
what people would do, but I did it myself. I e-produced a WORD document with
pictures, you know, and I’ve always told people, ‘Don’t start that if you don’t
want to be doing it.’ . . . [I did this] once a month, seven years, seven times 12
(laughing).
And I literally did it myself on my own computer and used it to
communicate with people about all the things that were going on and stuff like
that. And then [I’d include] stuff about myself, or I’d do something about [the
Midwest], or running into deer, and just trying to get known, because with three
separate colleges they were very competitive.
It was like déjà vu, you know. And I made a commitment to put my foot
on every college campus at least once a month but I was often there more. To be
there for something. [And I often spoke about] my granddaughter. People kind of
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got maybe a little sick of hearing about it. They’d say, ‘How’s your
granddaughter?’ and then they’d tell me about their granddaughter.
While the participants admitted that receiving positive feedback from their
constituents was something they were proud of, they all remarked that expressing
gratitude to their employees has been one of the most positive pieces of feedback they
have received in their role as president.
Concluding Remarks
The themes that emerged from analyzing the interviews with these women
constitute rich, descriptive accounts of their experiences as both college presidents and
mothers. The participants, although from varied backgrounds, experienced many similar
challenges, obstacles, and successes on their way to the top. Their stories convey a deep
love for their family, an intrinsic desire to serve, an appreciation for the support provided
to them, an endless search for balance, and strong self-efficacy skills. The women in this
study do not view themselves as remarkable or special in any way, and they say they just
did what they had to do in order to be both a good mother and a successful college
president.
The overall essence of these women’s experiences is that in order for them to be
successful as both mothers and college presidents, they needed to let go of the self-
imposed guilt to be able to “do it all” and rely on others to help them on their journey.
Being a college president and a mother is possible, but it is not achievable on their own.
The other essential invariant structure of this study is the participants finding an
institution that aligned with their personal values and believing that they had the ability to
be successful.
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CHAPTER 6
DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS, ADVICE, AND REFLECTIONS
The purpose of this study was to explore the lives of college presidents who are
mothers in order to identify how being a mother has affected their career paths and how
their experiences shaped them into the leaders they are today. In order to understand the
experiences and perceptions of mothers serving as college presidents, I conducted a
qualitative, phenomenological study and used in-depth interviews and document/artifact
analysis to highlight the major motivations, successes, and challenges in these women’s
lives. During the face-to-face interviews, I spent between one to two hours with each
participant in a private setting where I took notes on their non-verbal communication
while recording our conversation. I used Moustakas’ (1994) phenomenological methods
of analysis, exercising epoche and bracketing, phenomenological reduction, imaginative
variation, and the synthesis of meanings and essences, which allowed me to unfold the
major themes and subthemes for this study.
The following research questions guided this study: (a) What are the lived
experiences and perceptions of a small group of mothers in presidential positions at
higher education institutions?; How do they make sense of their lives?; (b) How has
being a mother affected the career paths of these mothers in college presidencies?; (c)
What have been the challenges that they have faced in their careers, and what has
contributed to their success in moving up the presidential ladder?; and (d) In what ways
do they think their personal attributes, skills, and experiences as a mother relate to their
personal attributes, skills, and experiences as a leader and college president?
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This chapter provides a summary, comprehensive discussion of the study,
recommendations for higher education leaders and future research, advice for mothers
pursing college presidencies, and my reflections on the research. Using the four research
questions, I will discuss the findings for each question and use the participants’ own
words to make recommendations to educational leaders, as well as provide advice to
mothers pursuing college presidencies.
The average college president is in his mid-60s, is a Caucasian, male, and sees
retirement on the horizon (Altbach et al., 2011). While these retirements provide an
opportunity for more women to apply for college presidencies, very few have been
willing to leave their vice president roles, often because the job of being a college
president is 24/7 (Bornstein, 2009). The time commitment makes the job even more
difficult for mothers, who have a separate full-time job waiting for them once they get
home (Dominici, Fried, & Zeger, 2009; Kahanov, Loebsack, Masucci, & Roberts, 2010;
Tessens, White, & Webb, 2011). The findings of this study support previous research on
women presidents in that (a) not one of the 11 participants planned on being a college
president early in their career, and (b) 100% of the women said time continues to be the
biggest challenge in their roles as mother and president.
For administrators at higher education institutions, this study can serve as the
framework for developing programs and initiatives, both formal and informal, which
successfully mentor and support working mothers that wish to take on additional
leadership roles. For women planning a career in higher education administration, this
study provides advice from mothers with a combined total of 60 years of presidential
experience on how to secure the job of CEO and ways to achieve work-life integration. I
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will begin with the four research questions introduced at the beginning of this study and
progress into recommendations, advice, and reflections.
What Are the Lived Experiences and Perceptions of a Small Group of Mothers in
Presidential Positions at Higher Education Institutions? How Do They Make Sense
of Their Lives?
For the participants in this study, the 24/7 juggling act between their own
professional and personal roles is a challenge that pushes the women to find solutions for
working parents at their own institutions. While the lack of time is the most challenging
aspect of being a college president and mother, the participants all expressed their time-
management skills have improved since becoming a parent. For the women, it was
obtaining their doctoral degrees while working full time and parenting that caused the
most stress and guilt in their lives. Rather than being able to focus on one role at a time,
each participant said the roles collided at some point in her career and confided that those
same roles continue to spill over to other areas of her life to this day.
The results of this study contribute to existing literature on interrole conflict,
which states that the many hats women wear tend to create guilt over what they should be
focusing their time on and when (Barker, 2014; Gilbert & Von Wallmenich, 2014; Oates
et al., 2005; Powell & Butterfield, 2013; Williams & Dempsey, 2014; Zhou, 2013). The
results are also consistent with Super’s (1989) life-span, life-space approach to career
choice. While most of the women did experience the varied roles in Super’s life-career
rainbow consecutively, once they decided to pursue their doctoral degrees (in the role of
student) while still in their roles of parent, spouse, worker, citizen, and, homemaker, they
experienced the spillover into other domains. Super explains that one role is often the
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dominant role, while other roles are secondary. For the women in this study, the primary
role was parent, which is why it was impossible for the women to completely separate
themselves from being a mother while at work.
Time was such an issue for the women, that all 11 participants spoke of the need
to prioritize and compartmentalize their time. For a majority of the participants, it was
personal time that suffered most, causing them to cut out time for individual enjoyment,
like exercising or travel. Several participants said they stopped exercising for a while,
often experiencing physical effects from the lack of care they provided themselves. Not
one of the participants took extended leave after having children. Although supervisors
gave them opportunities, the women did not take advantage of it. Most of the women had
supervisors who encouraged them to take extended leave, but the women continued to
work in some capacity, often on a reduced load, until fully returning to work. Several
participants also brought their children to work with them when they were infants.
Kendal, one of the participants in the study, returned to work just three days after giving
birth to her son when she was a faculty member at a private institution. She said she did
not have to return to work so quickly, but she chose to do it, because she had the support
in place to make it happen. Pam, another participant who served as both a community
college president and a chancellor, cautioned women not to take too long off of work
after having a child, because they probably will lose their place in leadership positions.
These results are consistent with research by Williams and Dempsey (2014) who explain
that the maternal wall is particularly difficult for mothers in higher education, because
childbirth usually coincides with the tenure process.
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In addition to finding time for their roles as mothers and presidents, the women in
this study said domestic work took up much of their free time. Although eight of the
participants were married to men that they considered “supportive husbands,” domestic
duties like cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and laundry still mostly fell on the
women’s shoulders. All of the women in this study tried to maintain domestic duties
when they first became presidents, but the amount of stress they felt from having to do all
of these chores forced eight of them to seek outside help in house cleaners and laundry
services. These results are consistent with earlier studies that describe the second shift
that women begin once they return home from their professional jobs (Dindoffer et al.,
2011; Dominici et al., 2009). For the women in this study that hired others to take care of
domestic chores, they were able to add time back in their lives for personal enjoyment,
such as visiting their children, traveling with their significant others, or partaking in
activities that brought them enjoyment. This study further confirms the 2011 study by
Dindoffer et al. (2011) that reported working mothers needed three different factors in
order to be successful in their careers (a) support, (b) mentoring, and (c) relinquishing
domestic responsibilities.
The quest for balance was most difficult for the college presidents with younger
children. For the participants in this study with adult children, finding balance was still
difficult, but seemed to improve with time. This supports findings from Hertneky’s
(2010) study that looked at the role of balance in women’s leadership self-identity.
Hertneky learned that balance gets easier for women once they have been in a position
for a longer amount of time. Hertneky also found that in order for women to feel more
balanced in their lives they need to lean on others for support. This was certainly true for
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the participants in this study who said finding support is critical to success in the roles of
mother and college president.
As noted in Chapter 5, support for the participants comes from a variety of places.
The largest supporter, and the reason why each woman pursued a college presidency, was
her mentor. The participants’ mentors provided emotional support and gave the women
the confidence they needed to seek promotions, eventually leading to a college
presidency. Each participant in this study said she had never considered a college
presidency until someone, usually a former supervisor or mentor, told her she would
make a great college president. The results are consistent with previous research from
Bornstein (2008) who also found that women’s confidence came from others believing
they could do it. The results also support numerous studies that explain the important role
mentoring plays in providing confidence to women pursuing presidencies (Bornstein,
2009; Eddy, 2008; Hertneky, 2010; Tunheim & Goldschmidt, 2013). Support for the
women also came from other people: (a) the women’s families, especially their spouses
and their children; (b) their former supervisors who were flexible when they needed time
to focus on family matters; (c) their Board of Trustees who stood behind them when
making difficult decisions; and (d) professional women’s organizations who provided a
network of support. Additionally, the participants noted opportunities that supervisors
and/or mentors gave them in order to learn new skills and gain confidence that added to
their support structure.
Mentors gave the women in this study confidence in believing they could be a
college president, but the motivation to actually apply for a presidency came from a
higher place. All 11 participants said that being a college president was a “calling” that
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they felt passionate about pursing once they learned the good they could bring to others.
An intrinsic willingness and desire to serve was a powerful motivator for all 11
participants who said they are in higher education, because they believe in what they do.
Driven by their own values, the women in this study were adamant that they would only
work for an institution that had a mission consistent with their own principles. Several
participants left previous institutions that were no longer in line with their personal
values. In a previous study, Tunheim and Goldschmidt (2013) found that 80% of the
women presidents they interviewed were “called” to the position, and Mayer et al. (2015)
found that women were much more likely to apply for an administrative position when
they deemed the work “meaningful.” In a leadership study on successful men and
women, Kouzes and Posner (2007) learned that intrinsic motivation to pursue a career
that is personally fulfilling gives leaders a passion to succeed. That was certainly the case
for the women in this study.
The women in this study are proud of what they have achieved both
professionally and personally. The accomplishment that gives them the most pride is the
fact that others are happy with the work they are doing. From their children and spouses
to their faculty, staff, students, and community, it is the positive feedback the women
receive from others that gives them the motivation to continue as college presidents. Even
though the time commitment is relentless and the personal sacrifice is great, the women
remarked that hearing student success stories, positive reinforcement from the board, and
votes of confidence from the faculty and staff assures them that they are doing a good
job. In fact, it was in instances where the women had a difficult situation with another
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person at the institution or when their children said they did not want their mother to
work so much that caused the most strife in the women’s careers and lives.
When asked how they identify themselves, nine out of the 11 women said they
identify as a “mother” and a “college president.” In both of these roles, the women said
they gauge their success based on feedback from others (their children and their
employees). This finding corresponds with Bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy theory that
states self-efficacy is a person’s belief in her ability to succeed. The participants in this
study developed their self-efficacy skills using three of the four ways listed by Bandura
(1977): (a) performance accomplishments or mastery experiences; (b) vicarious
experience (learning from mentors); and (c) verbal persuasion (others saying they could
do it). Verbal persuasion was the area most frequently cited by the participants in this
study, and this finding also supports Josselson’s (1987) female identity development
theory.
Being a college president is something all 11 women are proud of, but to get to
that point, ten out of 11 women reported frequently feeling guilty for not being able to be
there for everyone who needed them. There were feelings of guilt and sacrifice
surrounding their accomplishments, particularly their doctoral degrees, not because they
regret the decision to pursue a presidency, but because they felt others took a back seat
when they were completing their education and climbing to the top. Some participants
had spouses and parents questioning why they were trying to do it all, contributing to the
guilt that the women imposed on themselves. For the women with small children, burning
the candle at both ends was “what they had to do” to achieve a presidency. Even for
participants with adult children, the women still felt guilty for not having enough time to
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spend with them. Women and guilt are not new correlations. Several researchers have
reported the amount of guilt that working mothers operate under while establishing their
careers (Barker, 2014; Gilbert & Von Wallmenich, 2014; Oats et al., 2005; Powell &
Butterfield, 2013; Sidel, 1990; Williams & Dempsey, 2014; Zhou, 2013). While all 11
women said they would not change their life’s journey, a number of participants said they
would give up the college presidency if they had to in order to put their families (spouses
and children) first.
How Has Being a Mother Affected the Career Paths of These Mothers in College
Presidencies?
Not one participant in this study said being a mother slowed their career path to
the college presidency. In fact, 100% of the participants said being a mother aided them
in their careers by providing them with skills they had only touched upon prior to having
children. The women said they learned how to be better listeners, have more patience,
appreciate diversity, be more empathetic towards others, and communicate more
effectively since becoming a parent. They also said mothering has given them better time
management and conflict resolution skills. The women did not feel their employees
viewed them negatively for being mothers, but they did cite several instances where
being a woman provided challenges as to whether others’ thought they were strong
enough to lead a higher education institution.
The two areas that were affected for these women because they were mothers
were the timing of the presidency and the location of the institution. Motherhood affected
when and where these women chose to pursue a presidency. 64% of participants chose a
location near their children when determining where to pursue a presidency; 36% of
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participants said they would not consider a presidency if it meant relocating their
children; 36% of participants waited until all of their children were out of high school
before pursing a presidency; and 18% of participants waited until their husbands retired
before thinking about becoming a president. These findings verify the kaleidoscope
model of careers put forward by Mainiero and Sullivan (2005) who learned that women
choose their careers based on how those choices affect the relationships in their lives.
While men tend to make career decisions based on goal setting and extrinsic factors,
women tend to make career decisions based on relationalism (considering how one’s
decisions affect others before making a final decision) and intrinsic motivators.
Previous research found that women who come up through the ranks of faculty
have a difficult time securing tenure and leadership positions because the time during
which they usually receive tenure tends to coincide with when women typically would
have children (Hollenshead et al., 2005; Marcus, 2007; Tillman, 2011; Ward, 2006;
Williams & Dempsey, 2014). Marcus (2007) and Tillmann (2011) both found the average
age a woman earns her PhD at 34 years old. While 81% of the women in this study did
pursue their doctoral degree after they had children, and said it was the most difficult
time in their life and career, they did not feel held back for having children. They said
mothering while working in a leadership position was difficult, and they suffered from
severe burnout and stress, but not a single woman in this study felt they were treated
negatively for having children. Supervisors and fellow employees never outwardly
questioned their loyalty to the institution, although a few women in the study said they
are sure others doubted their ability to succeed. Of the three participants who were
faculty members at one point in their careers, not one of them felt their tenure was ever in
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jeopardy for being a mother; this finding may be influenced by the fact that all three
women returned to work immediately (for one woman, just three days) after having their
children. Not one woman in this study took extended leave from her position beyond the
standard 6-12 weeks to have a child. They all returned to work after their maternity leave
was complete, even earlier for some. Stone and Hernandez (2013) found that 76% of the
women in their study experienced flexibility bias for taking time to care for their children
(including maternity leave) and holding a career. This study contradicts that finding,
although it should be noted that the women in this study made it a point to not ask for
preferential treatment or expected additional allowances for being a mother. If anything,
they may have worked harder than many colleagues in order to prove that they were
capable of doing senior administrative work and being a mother. This is more consistent
with Williams and Dempsey’s (2014) finding, which noted that many women appear to
feel the need to prove their devotion over and over again by putting in an excessive
amount of unpaid overtime.
The concept of overtime and extra hours is the one area in this study where the
participants say being a mother affected their career paths. Dominici et al. (2009)
explained that women do not pursue leadership paths or take a long time to do so,
because there is an increasing pressure to be available 24/7 in higher education leadership
positions. The women in this study agree. 100% of participants feel being a president is a
24-hour job, and it never stops or slows down. This has forced the women to spend time
checking emails during the late evening hours once their children are asleep, when on
vacation with their families, and sometimes when attending non-job related events. Many
of the participants wake up in the early morning hours to get a jump start on their email
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or go to bed in the early morning, because they have stayed up late working. This
increase in time commitment began at the vice president level for most participants, but
only escalated when they became presidents. Because they have multiple responsibilities
as a mother, the work responsibilities continued into the early morning hours. Stone and
Hernandez (2013) did note that time is a central factor to demonstrating commitment to
an organization. The women in this study agree.
What Have Been the Challenges That They Have Faced in Their Careers, and What
Has Contributed to Their Success in Moving Up the Presidential Ladder?
When it comes to their careers, the biggest challenge is less about being a mother
and more about being a woman. For 73% of participants, being a woman has proven
more challenging than anything else, particularly when working with outside boards,
foundations, and organizations. The “little lady” bias was strongest for the presidents at
the private institutions who were often the first females in the room in many situations:
first female faculty, first female department chair, first female president, and so on. For
the women at the private institutions and the one retired woman president, the bias and
stereotypes received on community boards was most blatant. The other participants in
this study also experienced some level of bias on external boards, but the comments were
more veiled, except for Jen, the youngest and newest president, who received outright age
and gender bias. All of the participants said the comments about being a woman or the
surprise from constituents that they were selected as presidents did not affect them the
way one might think it would. The women were prepared for the comments, and they
took it in stride. They did not argue with others or call people out; they worked hard,
ignored the comments, and proved their abilities by demonstrating the good they could
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achieve. Several participants reported that former naysayers have often done complete
turnarounds and confided in the participants that they thought they were doing an
excellent job in their roles as presidents.
Previous research suggests that if women want to be seen as leaders then they
need to dress and act more like males (Bornstein, 2008; Rabas, 2013; Tedrow &
Rhoades, 1999; Williams & Dempsey, 2004). 36% of participants said they did not feel
they “fit the part” of a college president, because, like Dena said, she always pictured a
college president to be “extremely polished, very formal, very legislatively savvy, [a]
great fundraiser.” Dena and several other participants thought they were too informal,
laid-back, and fun to be a college president. Others disagreed, saying it was those very
qualities that made them good presidents, demonstrating authenticity in their roles.
Contradictory to previous studies, the women in this study say that behaving in a more
traditional, masculine leadership style actually earned them criticism. For two women,
Kate and Tara, mentors told them having children would make them better leaders,
because they both needed to be more empathetic and “softer.” The women were annoyed
at the time, but said their mentors were right. None of the participants mentioned personal
style/attire in describing themselves or their challenges. They focused completely on
ability and perceptions from others, and they said that the feedback from others confirm
that their employees prefer their team approach and transformative leadership style to a
more traditional, authoritative style.
The other major challenge for the women in this study was being promoted
internally. For the four female presidents who were promoted to president internally (and
the three others promoted to vice president positions internally), the challenge of working
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with former colleagues in a supervisory role sometimes proved to be very difficult. Even
for participants who were promoted to vice president positions internally, the ridicule
expressed from some of their former peers was harsh at times. The women spoke of the
difficulty in disciplining and sometimes terminating former colleagues and friends. A
former faculty member received comments such as “traitor” and was told she went “to
the dark side,” upon moving to an administrative role. It was the personnel issues that
upset the participants the most and caused the most anguish for the women.
Like most working individuals, the women in this study also experienced
challenges in their careers. While personal challenges, such as work-life balance, time-
management, and feelings of guilt affected the participants most profoundly overall, in
their careers being treated like a “little lady” and disciplining former colleagues proved
most challenging.
In What Ways Do They Think Their Personal Attributes, Skills, and Experiences as
a Mother Relate to Their Personal Attributes, Skills, and Experiences as a Leader
and College President?
Without hesitation, 100% of participants said their personal attributes, skills and
experiences as a mother positively relates to their personal attributes, skills and
experiences as a leader and college president. The participants acknowledged that
compartmentalizing their personal life and work is important so that they can focus on
one task at a time. Separating their personal attributes and skills as a mother from their
role of college president is impossible, because being a mother is the most important role
in all of their lives. Their difficult experiences as a mother gave them confidence and
skills in dealing with difficult situations at work. Being a mother has also given the
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women greater perspective. Their jobs were incredibly important to them and played a
role in how each participant identified herself, but at the end of the day, the college
presidency is a job—their families come first, and they are not afraid to let others know
that. In fact, most participants want their employees to also put family first. Their
personal emphasis on family is one of the things they think makes them excellent leaders.
Of all the personal attributes brought to the job from being a mother, the
participants emphasized that it is being able to negotiate and work with a diverse group of
individuals in a team-lead approach that carries the most weight. All of the participants
had at least two children; several had three, four, or more children. Having to mother
multiple children and often provide emotional support to a spouse as well, these women
have learned how to lead a team. Kim, one of the participants, said that every time she
had to negotiate with her large family, it was like dealing with an entire committee. The
participants all pointed out that their children have very different and unique
personalities, like their employees do, and it has prepared them for working with a variety
of people. Being a leader at home is also the area of their jobs they are most proud of—
the collaborative nature in which they run their institutions. Every president in this study
said having a strong cabinet and a team of vice presidents they can trust is critical to
being successful in their roles. This study supports Fullan and Scott’s (2009) study on
turnaround leadership that found that leaders who can put an effective team together and
include people who have skills that supplement their own skills are most effective in
higher education and make the best leaders. This also correlates with Gallup’s (2015)
theory of strengths-based leadership.
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In addition to teamwork, the women said they have a newfound respect and
appreciation for the emotional intelligence that being a mother has given them. Prior to
having children, several participants remarked that they did not have the level of empathy
needed to lead a college; 55% of participants said they are more empathetic since having
children. The skill of strengthening and nurturing relationships is something that came
with becoming a mother. The women in this study said they are better listeners and have
more patience when dealing with others. This emotional intelligence has given the
women in this study a better understanding of individuals and assisted them in their one-
on-one conversations with others. Emotional intelligence expressed by the participants in
this study directly supports previous literature by Goleman (2008) who said emotional
intelligence consists of: (a) self-awareness—understanding one's emotions and
recognizing one’s impact on others while making decisions; (b) self-regulation—
controlling one’s emotions and adapting to changes; (c) social skill—working with others
to steer people in the right direction; (d) empathy—considering others’ feelings,
especially when making decisions; and (e) internal motivation—being driven to
achievement. Goleman (2011) reported that female leadership will be in high demand by
2018 and Guthrie (2015) said that the level of emotional intelligence might be higher in
those who are mothers.
Time management skills are an additional personal attribute the mothers in this
study said gave them an edge in their roles as presidents. The women have had to learn
how to prioritize their time based on their family’s needs. Since so many people rely on
them at home and at work, 64% of the women in this study say they have become experts
in compartmentalizing and prioritizing their time. Being a mother has forced the women
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to set limits, meet deadlines, and hold others accountable to getting things done.
Although all 11 participants classify themselves as “driven” by nature, time-management
is a skill that seven of them feel got better with becoming a parent.
For 91% of the women in this study, being a college president has also made them
a better mother. All but one of the participants felt that being a college president has
taught them to appreciate how different people are and has given them insight into how to
parent their children with more respect and understanding.
Recommendations for Educational Leaders
This section focuses on recommendations from the college presidents in this study
who said that the only way for women with children to succeed in leadership roles is if
college administrators get on board with providing the necessary support to make it
happen. While many of the participants express gratitude to former supervisors who
supported them by being flexible and kind when they had children, many also had
supervisors who were not so gracious, which is why all of the women in this study are
conscientious about supporting mothers and fathers who have leadership potential.
Karina said that women, in particular, needed to support each other instead of trying to
one-up each other; she quoted Madeline Albright who said, “There is a special place in
hell for women who do not support other women.” This was a sentiment noted from
seven of the 11 participants, who reported that male supervisors were often more likely to
encourage them to apply for promotions than their female supervisors.
Although the participants support working families, they do not show favoritism
to mothers at their institutions. In fact, they are clear that they only allow opportunities,
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like flextime, to employees who earn the privilege and prove to be a valuable asset to the
institution.
The following section discusses the recommendations for institutions to: (a) be
flexible and update and/or change outdated policies; (b) be respectful of an employee’s
personal time; (c) mentor women, including young mothers; and (d) consider on-campus
daycare for employees and students.
Be Flexible and Update and/or Change Outdated Polices
If you’ve got somebody who’s worth keeping, I’m not saying to break policy or break the
rules, but figure out creative ways to make it work for them and for the institution. They
have to have demonstrated enough commitment and value to be worth it, and I think
developing policies and providing the flexibility within those policies to allow people to
have some degree of freedom about determining their own career path.
Kendal
If an employee is worth the effort, be flexible. Flexibility was mentioned by all 11
participants as the number one way for institutions to provide support for working
mothers, but the message was clear: the participants suggested that institutions only allow
opportunities, like flextime, to employees who earn the privilege and prove to be a
valuable asset to the institution. Whether it is by implementing formal policies and
procedures or just letting a mother leave early to attend her child’s concert, college
administrators need to be aware of how much it means to employees when supervisors do
not force them to choose between working or being with their families.
To address the constant tug-of-war that working mothers experience over being
with their children and being at work, college administrators must acknowledge the
struggle and implement policies supporting working parents. Six presidents in this study
have introduced initiatives at their own institutions. Dena, the president at a community
college, is working on a new flextime policy that will make it just as easy for fathers to
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take time off after the birth of a child as it is for mothers. This was especially important
for Dena whose own husband stayed at home with their children:
We have a rule here at the college, which I’m trying to change, which doesn’t
allow our male colleagues to take sick leave when their baby’s born, because
technically they’re not sick. Where, if you gave birth, you can take sick leave and
then vacation leave, which helps extend your leave, but guys can’t do that. And
I’m trying to change that, because I think that’s unfair.
College administrators should demonstrate to their employees that they can be
flexible with time when it matters. When an institution extends a helping hand to an
employee struggling with work-life balance, it often makes the employee more devoted
to the institution, increasing a return on investment. The only reason the women in this
study were able to assume executive leadership positions and eventually become college
presidents while being a mother is that they received support from their former
supervisors, particularly when their children were small. They were also given flextime
when aging relatives needed their help. They said this level of support not only made
them work harder for their institutions, it gave them a level of loyalty and devotion to that
institution. Three of the participants, Karina, Jen and Kim, pointed out that providing any
level of support that assists with work-life integration can greatly assist mothers pursing
leadership positions:
Karina:
Certainly I would ask [higher education leaders] to value a work/life balance. To
respect the fact that as mothers we have to feel like we’re taking care of our
children, and if we’re forced to work in such a way that we don’t feel we’re
taking care of our children we can’t focus 100%. We can’t be truly applying
ourselves because we’re distracted by our priorities, which is our kids.
Jen:
I think that allowing for flexibility, that most mothers who are in leadership roles .
. . know what their priorities are, and to allow them the flexibility to determine
how to manage their schedule so that they can effectively deal with the priorities
at the college, as well as be present at home. Because my sense is if they’re not
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allowed to tend to things at home, they’re not going to be an effective leader at
your institution.
Kim:
If you know how to spot emerging leaders, and you can find an emerging leader
who is the mother of small children or children who are still at home, I would do
anything within reason to enable that young mother to work for you and to do
good work, even if it is only half time or three-quarter time. Because those
children grow up, and the maturity that comes with responsible parenthood, . . .
the ability at balancing emotion and practicality, all of that will serve your
organization well.
By providing flexible time for mothers who wish to be in leadership roles, college
administrators demonstrate to their employees that they are worth the investment.
Institutions should set up parameters that allow for young parents to spend time with their
children, but also put in the work necessary to do their jobs successfully. Flextime does
not have to mean working from home. I recommend institutions consider giving
employees returning from maternity leave schedules that have them working longer
hours, fewer days a week. Karina, the president at a private, for-profit institution,
implemented a new policy that lets new mothers return from maternity leave
progressively, beginning with working two days a week, moving to three days, then four
days, and eventually five days. Karina has also increased health benefits for families and
lowered the cost of health insurance and stated:
I used to [feel guilty] all the time, but I’m fortunate in that I’m now in a role
where I can have the final say, and I don’t want any of my people to ever feel
guilty about a decision to put their family first. In fact, I will move mountains to
make sure that they do.
Another recommendation for college administrators is to provide teaching
schedules to faculty with young children that allow them to teach on campus either in the
morning, the afternoon, or just a few days of week, depending on what his/her personal
schedule needs. Faculty can also be given more online courses so that they can be home
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or with their children when they need to be. For administrators with young children,
flextime can also be extended to virtual meetings, either completely online or through
streaming services like Skype, Facetime, or Google Hangouts.
Being flexible does not necessarily need to be formalized. Flexibility may mean
something as simple as letting an employee leave early so that she may attend her child’s
soccer game. Coming in early, skipping a lunch break, or working late one day, could
make up working hours missed for a child’s event. This recommendation has been made
because 100% of the participants noted that when they allow for these small flexibilities
at their own institutions, productivity and employee satisfaction increases.
Along with being flexible, I recommend college presidents change and/or
implement college policies that support working parents. College administrators,
particularly presidents, have the obligation to look at current institutional policies and ask
the question “why?” “Why do we still do it this way?” “Why can’t employees utilize
flextime?” “Why can’t we pause the tenure clock so that a woman can have a baby?”
Administrators have the power and the obligation to look at some of these outdated
policies.
Dena, a community college president, is in the process of looking at other “red
tape” that has made it difficult for young families to work and have children:
I would say that our systems in higher education are bureaucracy that we’ve
created (in our HR policies, in our tenure polices . . . in just the way we do our
work.). We’ve become very bureaucratic and I think we have the right and the
obligation and the opportunity to shake that up and say, ‘Why are we doing that?’
. . . HR policies are where you can say, ‘You know, why wouldn’t we let moms
and dads be gone for six months?’ All the research shows us that if they have
healthy, great relationships at home, where they feel like they can have that
flexibility, that they’ll be a better worker. . . . It’s a matter of trust and I think a lot
of the trust has been kind of like squeezed out of bureaucracy. And I wish that we
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would kind of unlock trust again and let our employees be great, credentialed
professionals and not hold time clocks over their heads.
For the women in this study, one of the greatest things they said about being a
college president was that they now can make the rules. This was especially true for the
presidents at private institutions who did not need state education approval to make
changes. A few of the participants already started implementing changes in policies to
become more family friendly.
Be Respectful of an Employee’s Personal Time
Another recommendation for college administrators is to be respectful of their
employees’ personal time. Since time was such a major challenge in the participants’
quest for work-life balance, they were adamant that institutions be respectful of their
employees’ personal time. This theme of time and sacrifice was also prevalent in the
literature review. College administrators must be mindful of when and how often they are
choosing to communicate with their employees. For instance, emails and phone calls in
the evening or on the weekend, unless absolutely necessary, can be rude and
disrespectful. Even if an administrator is trying to get a jump on his/her work, an email
on the weekend can send a message to employees that they should not only be working
on the weekend, but also be responding to emails as well. The participants in this study
said evenings and weekends are family time, and unless there is a planned event at the
college or in the community, family time should be left alone. Claire, a community
college president, said she is very respectful of her employees’ time:
I try to respect all of my staff, really. They’re going to realize when I’m gone that
I don’t . . . play that game with them. I mean, I’m not testing their commitment . .
. by calling meetings on weekends or making people stay late. You know, we text
back and forth a little bit, but I know what all my folks work styles are now, and
who’s here and who’s not and who’s doing what, you know. I’m mostly a mom
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just reading my e-mails, you know, and trying to keep up with my Twitter account
and all that stuff.
It is up to administrators at higher education institutions to set the tone for
employees and to let parents know that it is okay not to be available 24/7. The three
participants with younger children said they want mothers of small children at their
institutions to know that it is okay for them to not be at the college 24/7. Jen, a president
at a community college, said she makes it a point to tell mothers to go home to be with
their children at the end of the day; they do not need to prove their loyalty:
My chief HR person . . . has really young kids. She has a 3-year-old and a little
boy who turned one last Friday. Little, little ones and she lives an hour from here,
and so the message she gets from me is like, ‘You need to get home. Mom, you
need to get home.’ Because she stays here until like 10:00 at night. You know, I
get e-mails from her and I’m like, ‘Mom, leave. Go home. You know, please go
home.’ Instead, I’m giving her like the directives to put work aside.
Like Williams and Dempsey (2014) mentioned, women leaders, in general, often
feel a need to constantly prove their loyalty by putting in excessive amounts of unpaid
overtime. For mothers, this self-imposed pressure is even worse. If educational leaders
assure women that the expectation is for them to get their work done and not have to
work from home in the evenings, the early mornings, or the weekends, it would put many
minds at ease. Perhaps the most important way for leaders to do this is by not emailing or
calling during off-hours.
Another recommendation for institutions to show mothers in leadership positions
that they respect their personal time is by being reasonable about when and how often
they schedule meetings. For instance, early morning meetings and late afternoon
meetings may not be the most convenient times for mothers with small children. Being
respectful of when these meetings are scheduled may encourage more women with
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children to consider taking on additional leadership responsibilities. If a woman believes
that the time commitment will clash with her personal commitments, she will be less apt
to apply for the job in the first place.
Mentor Women, Including Young Mothers
The literature is overwhelming: with the number of presidential retirements in
higher education, the doors are opening for more women leaders (Altbach et al., 2011;
Bornstein, 2009; Cohea, 2015; Fullan & Scott, 2009; Jones, 2014; Kotter, 2008; Tunheim
& Goldschmidt, 2013). Some research has shown that women are transformational
leaders by nature (Fullan & Scott, 2009), and mothers have the ability to tap into the
emotional intelligence needed to guide an institution (Guthrie, 2015). What women do
not seem to have is the confidence that they can be college presidents until someone tells
them that they have what it takes to become the CEO at a higher education institution.
I recommend that higher education administrators invest in mentoring and/or
leadership programs at their institutions, because mentoring, whether formal or informal,
can provide the much needed emotional support and encouragement for young mothers to
believe they can be successful. For 100% of participants in this study, a former mentor
gave them the confidence they needed to apply for leadership positions. The participants’
mentors pushed them out of their comfort zones, staged them by placing them on certain
committees and/or projects, introduced them to key leaders in higher education, and
supported them to undertake additional professional development opportunities.
The literature confirms that females come to identify themselves and whether they
will be successful in their careers based on the feedback from others, particularly from
mentors (Bandura, 1977; Bornstien, 2008; Josselson, 1987). I recommend that institutions
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identify young, emerging leaders early in their careers, so there will be more of an
opportunity to invest in these employees and provide the mentoring needed to assure
these women that they can become successful as leaders. Carrie, a 4-year public
university president who is part of a large mentoring effort through the American Council
on Education (ACE) to encourage more women to become college presidents, discussed
the initiative:
[It’s] called ‘Moving the Needle’, and we’re just going to be launching this this
winter, and we’ve been doing a lot of background work and behind the scenes
work. So we are going to launch it nationally, and it’s to get more women
presidents by 50% of all presidents by the year 2030.
Mentoring is one way to let young mothers know they matter. When a supervisor
takes an interest in someone, it can motivate that person to want to prove herself. Take
the women in this study, for example. If someone had not taken an active interest in them
and encouraged them to apply for a presidency, who knows how many of them would
have ever pursued a presidency.
Consider On-Campus Daycare for Employees and Students
Another recommendation for higher education administrators is to explore options
for affordable, on-campus childcare to support parents at their institutions. For instance,
Carrie, one of the participants, emphasized that on-campus childcare is an excellent way
for administrators to demonstrate that they care for their employees and stated:
There should be on-campus daycare, and I know all the reasons for not doing it. I
look at Achieving the Dream and all of these initiatives that people do to try to
make life easier for certain groups of students. . . . I am convinced that if you took
all of that money and you put drop-in daycare on every campus (of quality) that
you would see your success rates jump as much as if you’re doing all of this
orientation and things. Because it’s the family…particularly for the poor and
women but more men too. . . . I don’t know if that will ever happen. I think that
would be helpful for everybody.
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In addition to having on-site daycare, institutions should also make that daycare
affordable or preferably free for college employees. Productivity would increase, as
employees would feel safe knowing their children are on site. They could also lessen the
time it takes to get to and from work if childcare is on site. This childcare should also be
available to an institution’s student population, who would also take advantage of the
opportunity to go to college while their children are cared for.
If higher education institutions want to increase the number of women in
leadership positions, then they need to stop forcing women to choose between a
leadership role and their families. Administrators must make leadership positions more
appealing by providing support to young mothers. I recommend they show support by
being flexible, changing outdated policies, respecting personal time, and mentoring
leaders. Mothers need to feel supported in leadership roles, and they need to know
institutions believe in them. Only then will they put their name in the race.
Advice for Mothers Looking to Become College Presidents
In addition to messages aimed at educational leaders, I felt it important to also
give a message to women who want to be both college presidents and mothers: know
what you are getting into, because it will not be easy. The participants in this study did
not hide the amount of work it takes to be a college president, and they said that for any
mother who wants to be a college president, be forewarned. Pam said that while flextime
sounds great in theory, “If you want to be a president, you’ve got to be able to get the job
done.” Claire wanted presidential hopefuls to understand the reality of being president. In
her words:
Have balanced, realistic expectations. . . . When you take on the role of a
presidency, there are certain things I believe you have to realize. One is it is 24/7.
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You are always the president. You are always ultimately responsible, and you
have to embrace that. And then you have to recognize if you want to have a life,
you know, you have to build a support system around you that allows you to do
that.
The following section provides advice to mothers considering becoming college
presidents, including: (a) build a support network, and don’t be afraid to ask for help; (b)
get organized; (c) find the right fit; and (d) believe in yourself.
Build a Support Network, and Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
The strongest message for mothers who also want to be college presidents, is that
they need to find a strong support network. Support comes from a variety of people, and
although it might be strongest from one person, it should not come from just one source.
Mothers need support from a variety of places. Significant others are cited as perhaps one
of the best levels of support. Significant others must understand the responsibilities
college presidents have and how they may play a role in supporting their spouse/partner.
What is also important to realize, is that unsupportive spouses were cited for 100% of the
divorces that occurred in this study. When a mother and college leader is married to
someone who does not support her emotionally, physically, or even spiritually, the stress
of being a college president may be too strong for a couple to overcome.
Support is also found in the teams that one creates. 100% of the women in this
study said getting the proper team in place was key to their success. They need team
members they can trust and rely on. Surround yourself with people who complement your
skills with the ones you do not have. In addition to the recommendations from
participants in this study, this advice also fits with Gallup’s (2015) strengths-based
leadership theory on building teams with members that complement each other’s
strengths. Do not be afraid to bring a person on who is different from you, because these
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are often the people who add to your team and provide valuable insight. Also, do not be
afraid to get rid of people in your team who do not support you. If someone is not pulling
his/her weight, let that person go or put him/her in a position that suits him/her better.
Carrie feels strongly that diversity among team members brings unique perspective to the
table. She stated:
There’s a lot of data and a lot of research out there by boards in
businesses/corporations, that the more varied voices you have, . . . the more
diverse voices you have on a board, and especially the more women you have, the
more successful the organization is. And it’s because we look at things differently
from men often and just to have different kinds of voices at the table. More
diversity period. Makes an organization more successful.
Support may also come from external women’s groups or colleagues from other
institutions serving in similar roles. Attend conferences and seminars where women
experiencing the same challenges and obstacles at their own institutions will surround
you. Meet women who you can call for advice and know that they will be honest. Lean
on mentors to put you in contact with women who will aide you in your career.
In addition to finding a good support network, women looking to be both mothers
and college presidents must also ask for help when they need to. The women in this study
admitted that it is okay to ask for help. In fact, it is necessary, particularly when pursuing
your doctoral degree. In addition to significant others and co-workers, support also comes
from extended family, friends, and caretakers. Lean on your parents, siblings, friends and
daycare providers to help you when you need it, and do not feel like you are doing
something wrong. If you need to stay at work late or arrive early, ask for help.
Also, ask for help with the domestic chores that may take up a significant amount
of your time like cooking, cleaning, and laundry. The more responsibilities you take on,
the more domestic responsibilities you will need to outsource. Hire a cleaning person to
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clean your house so that you may spend your free time with your children, family, and
friends. Use a shopping service that delivers groceries so you do not need to find time to
stop at the store. Bring your clothes to a laundry service. Instead of feeling guilty that you
cannot do it all, feel happy that you are prioritizing time with your family over domestic
duties.
Get Organized
Because being a college president is a 24/7 job, and being a mother is also a 24/7
job, the only way to be effective at both is by getting organized. Whether you write
everything in a daily planner or keep track of your events in your cell phone, find a way
to keep track of your obligations. For the women in this study, it was when their children
were under 10 years old that provided the most need to be highly organized. Also, if
someone else schedules your calendar, make sure to let him/her know what days/times
you are unavailable so that you are not over scheduling events in your calendar. If
possible, try to schedule in time to work on projects or have bigger picture discussions. If
your day is packed with meetings, you will not have time to work on some of the plans
you would like to put into place. If the time for working on projects is built into your
schedule, you will not need to spend so much time out of work to get things done.
Find the Right Fit
100% of the women in this study felt “called” to be a college president. They
believed in the missions of their institutions and felt proud that they were in a role to
make students’ lives better. One piece of advice the women shared was to remain true to
who you are and to work somewhere that is the right fit. Several participants left previous
institutions because the mission was not in line with their values anymore. Fit is so
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important that other participants turned down jobs at institutions, because it did not “feel”
right. Follow your heart and stay true to what is important to you. Do not leap from job to
job, because a title change is appealing; make sure the institution matches your personal
beliefs and values.
Believe in Yourself
Being a college president and a mother is possible. It is not easy, but it is possible.
Developing self-efficacy skills is half the battle. Like Bandura’s (1977) theory states,
believing in your ability to succeed is critical to actually succeeding. Listen and learn
from mentors and supervisors. Let them give you advice, and when you receive positive
feedback, let it fuel your desire to succeed. When you fail at something or make a
mistake along the way, learn from it and move on. Ask others for advice and surround
yourself with people you can learn from. Never stop believing that you can be both a
mother and a college president, and that you can do both well. Lean on others for support
and know that you can set an excellent example for your children.
College presidents face major challenges every day. For college presidents who
are also mothers, the challenges occur on both a professional and personal level, but that
does not mean that mothers cannot be college presidents. It means they must be realistic
in what to expect and to also use the skills they have acquired from parenting to assist
them in fulfilling their other roles and obligations.
Recommendations for Future Research
When choosing a topic for my dissertation, I was motivated by the number of
leadership opportunities for women opening over the next decade, but dismayed by the
limited amount of research related to mothers in these roles. There are several
243
opportunities for additional research relating to this study including more research on
mothers as leaders, mothers pursing doctoral degrees, and work-life integration for
college administrators.
The first potential for future research is to further explore mothers of small
children in leadership positions. While this study had two participants with small
children, it was the memories of balancing work, children, and pursuing their education
while their children were small that provided the most challenges for the women. A
possible study on college presidents with small children (under 10) would be very
interesting, although it may be difficult to conduct given that most women choose not to
become college presidents until their children are older.
Another area for future research would be on mothers pursuing their doctoral
degrees. Spilovoy (2013) conducted a study on mothers pursuing online undergraduate
degrees, but a focus on doctoral degrees would add to the literature on work-life balance.
Given that obtaining their doctorates was something the participants in this study felt was
the most difficult task in their lives, it is worth a separate study.
Another area of potential future research would be exploring work-life integration
for college administrators. Trying to find balance in their lives was the one area
participants felt they failed. Several continue to give lectures and write articles on pursing
this type of balance, but many of the women continue to struggle. It would be interesting
to see how other women in administrative positions incorporate balance into their lives.
In addition to these possible areas of future research, I think it would be beneficial
to expand the scope of this study. I would like to conduct the same study on fathers to
compare and contrast the results. I would also like to expand the study by getting a more
244
diverse range of participants in the mothers interviewed, including additional African
American/Black participants and adding Latina/Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and
lesbian and/or transgendered participants. I would also like to expand the study to reflect
additional participants from 4-year institutions.
Reflections
The 11 participants in this study shared their lived experiences with me through
rich, descriptive details, laughing and sometimes crying along the way. Their honesty and
sincerity was touching, and I continue to be overwhelmed by their instant willingness to
participate in this study. The invitation to “assist another mother” in her research moved
these women to offer up to two hours of their time to sit with a stranger and share their
successes and challenges of being both a mother and a college president. Tara asked me if
this dissertation was cathartic for me, because she wished she had studied a topic that was
so personally intertwined with her own life. This study was cathartic for me from
beginning to end.
As a mother of two sons, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a college
administrator, and a doctoral student, I identify with each and every one of these women.
This study provided the opportunity for me to reflect on my own life as I listened to these
women’s stories. I learned ways to incorporate more balance into my life, I learned better
ways to manage my time, and I reflected throughout this study about the people and
accomplishments that are most important to me. It was amazing to sit with these women
and learn about their institutions and the initiatives they have implemented to make life
easier for working mothers. It was also amazing to share suggestions with my colleagues
and friends on how to improve our own lives and the lives of our employees.
245
I realized during this processes how strong and resilient I am. Quitting never
crossed my mind; in fact, it was when I felt stressed, overwhelmed, or lost that I pushed
myself harder. I also realized that I am a lot more like the 11 women I interviewed than I
thought I would be and that if I want to be a college president, I can be. I feel empowered
by my time with these women, and I hope that this study provides mothers in higher
education the empowerment they need to find support in their lives and pursue leadership
positions. I also hope this study encourages higher education institutions to invest in their
young employees and provide support so that more women choose to become leaders.
Prior to this study, I thought it impossible to “have it all.” These 11 women have proved
me wrong. Although difficult at times, these strong women were able to be mothers first,
and use those parenting skills to live out their dream to serve others in the role of college
president. The women in this study put family first, above every other aspect of their
lives; I am no exception:
A Mother's love is something that no one can explain,
It is made of deep devotion and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it or take that love away.
Helen Steiner Rice
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APPENDIX A
INFORMED CONSENT FORM
Dear prospective participant,
You are invited to participate in a study entitled: Mothers as Leaders in Higher
Education: The Pathway to Leadership for College Presidents. The purpose of this
qualitative, phenomenological study is to explore the experiences and perceptions of a
small group of mothers in presidential positions at two-year and four-year higher
education institutions. This research will add to the existing literature on women in higher
education and provide insight into how mothers may be successful as presidents.
The researcher for this study is Linda Fedrizzi-Williams, a doctoral student in the Higher
Education and Organizational Change program at Benedictine University. I aim to
answer the following research questions:
What are the lived experiences and perceptions of a small group of mothers in
presidential positions at higher education institutions? How do they make sense of
their lives?
How has being a mother affected the career paths of these mothers in college
presidencies?
What have been the challenges that they have faced in their careers, and what has
contributed to their success in moving up the presidential ladder?
In what ways do they think their personal attributes, skills and experiences as a
mother relate to their personal attributes, skills, and experiences as a leader and/or
college president?
If you accept this invitation, you will be agreeing to participate in a 60-90 minute
interview at a date and time convenient to you. The interview may be conducted face-to-
face at a location convenient for you (preferred) or via a video-conferencing tool, such as
Skype. The interview will be audio-recorded and transcribed. You will be asked to
respond to a series of questions pertaining to the research purpose. A follow-up
interview may be requested depending on the research needs. The interview transcript
will be presented to you for verification of accuracy.
Your identity will be completely protected. You can expect anonymity and
confidentiality regarding your participation. Only I, as the student researcher, will know
your actual name. You will be assigned a secure code, and pseudonyms will be assigned
to you and other individuals or institutions that you may identify during the interview
process. Only the pseudonyms will appear in excerpts that are included in the final
dissertation or other publications.
All forms will be kept in an electronic format and will be maintained on a password-
protected computer. The hard copies of the interview transcripts and all electronic and
audio files pertaining to your participation in this study will be stored in a locked cabinet
for seven years and destroyed afterwards, if no longer needed.
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Participation is voluntary, and you may choose not to answer any particular question or
withdraw from the interview at any time without consequences. There is essentially no
risk associated with choosing to participate in this research project.
This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of Benedictine
University. The Chair of the Benedictine University IRB is Dr. Alandra Weller-Clarke
who can be reached at [email protected] or at (630) 829-6295.
This study is being conducted, in part, to fulfill requirements of my Ed.D. degree in
Higher Education and Organizational Change at Benedictine University in Lisle, IL. If
you have questions regarding this study, please feel free to contact me at (845) 800-2825
or [email protected]. You may also contact my dissertation director/chair, Dr.
Nancy Bentley, at (708) 508-1090 or [email protected].
You will be provided a copy of your signed consent form. Please acknowledge, with
your signatures below, your consent to participate in this study and to have your
interview recorded and/or videotaped.
I consent to participate in this study
Name: Date:
____________________________
_____________________________
[Signature]
I give my permission to record this interview
Name: Date:
____________________________
_____________________________
[Signature]
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APPENDIX B
DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY
Demographic Information Survey
The following form is a demographic information survey for participants who will
be interviewed for the study. Please contact me should you have any difficulty
completing the survey.
1. What is your age?
2. How many children do you have?
3. What are the ages of your children?
4. How long have you been a college president?
5. What type(s) of institution(s) have you served as college president?
Check all that apply.
____ 2-Year Community College/Technical College
____ 4-Year Public College/University
____ 4-Year Private College/University
____ Research University
____ For-Profit Institution
____ Other/ Please Specify ______________
6. Please specify your race/ethnicity
____ African American or Black
____ Asian
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____ Caucasian
____ Hispanic/Latina
____ Multi-racial
____ Native American or Alaskan Native
____ Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
____ Other/Please specify:______________
____ Choose not to answer
7. What is your current marital status?
____ Single
____ Married
____ Living with Partner
____ Separated
____ Divorced
____ Widowed
8. Is this your first college presidency?
____ Yes
____ No
9. How old were you when you accepted your first college presidency?
10. Before you were college president, in what role(s) did you serve?
Check all that apply.
____ Vice President for Academic Affairs/ Chief Academic Officer
____ Vice President for Student Services
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____ Vice President for Finance and/or Administration
____ Vice President for Institutional Advancement
____ Chief Information Officer
____ Academic Dean
____ Other/ Please Specify: ________________________
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APPENDIX C
INTERVIEW GUIDE
RQ: What are the lived experiences and perceptions of a small group of mothers in
presidential positions at higher education institutions? How do they make sense of
their lives?
1. Talk a little about how you view your identity or sense of self—as a human being
and as a woman.
2. What does being a mother and motherhood means to you?
3. What motivated you to become a mother?
4. What does being a leader and college president mean to you?
5. Tell me about your career journey. What were your career goals? Did you always
work in higher education and what types of positions have you held until your
current role as president?
6. What factors motivated you to apply for a college presidency? What led you to
make that choice?
7. Did you, or do you currently, have a mentor? Has this relationship influenced you
to seek a college presidency? If so, how?
8. How confident did you feel about applying for a presidency?
9. How do you balance your roles of college president and mother?
10. Do you feel you had to sacrifice anything personally on your path to the
presidency? If so, what?
RQ: How has being a mother affected the career paths of these mothers in college
presidencies?
11. When did you decide to pursue a college presidency? Did you have children at
that time and if so how old were they?
12. When during your career did you have your first child? Other children?
13. Please describe the way you felt upon learning you were pregnant.
14. How did others (i.e., family, friends, and work colleagues) respond to you being
pregnant?
15. Did you take a leave of absence at any time in your career? If so, why did you
take a leave and for how long were you away? How do you think your leave
affected your career?
16. What does it mean to you to be both a college president and a mother?
RQ: What have been the challenges that they have faced in their careers, and what
has contributed to their success in moving up the presidential ladder?
17. What challenges have you faced along the way in your career?
18. How do you think being a mother has positively and negatively impacted you in
your role as college president?
267
19. What is the biggest challenge to being both a college president and a mother?
20. Think back to some of your largest successes as college president. Tell me about
one or two successes and why these are so important to you.
21. Think back to some of your biggest challenges to overcome as college president.
Tell me about one or two of them. What motivated you to continue as college
president?
RQ: In what ways do they think their personal attributes, skills, and experiences as
a mother relate to their personal attributes, skills, and experiences as a leader and
college president?
22. How would you describe your leadership style? What attributes, skills, and
experiences have made you a successful leader and president?
23. What skills, if any, have you learned from being a mother that have assisted you
in your role as college president? What skills, if any, have you learned from being
a college president that have assisted you in your role as a mother?
24. Talk about the values that are important to your work and your life.
25. Suppose that you had a chance to address educational leaders at other institutions.
What kind of advice would you give them on supporting mothers in higher
education?
26. In speaking with these same educational leaders, what would you tell them is the
most important thing they can do, or stop doing, in order to support mothers in
leadership positions?
27. If you had it to do over again, would you still choose to be a college president and
a mother? Why or why not? Is there anything you would do differently?
28. You were asked to bring an item to the interview that represents your experience
as a college president who is also a mother. Could you, please, describe your
object/document’s meaning and significance?
General questions:
29. Is there anything that I have not asked you that would be important for me to
know regarding your experiences or life as a mother and a college president?
30. Do you know of other female presidents who are mothers that I might interview?
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VITA
A native of Middletown, New York, I attended public schools through high
school and went on to receive my Associate of Arts degree, graduating summa cum laude
at Orange County Community College. I received a Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum
laude, from Marist College in communication. After working as a radio morning show
executive producer and co-host for five years, I completed my master’s degree in
organizational communication from Marist College and began teaching communication
and media production at a community college. I have worked in higher education for over
10 years as a faculty member, a department chair, a Phi Theta Kappa national honor
society advisor, and an administrator. I am currently serving as the Academic Associate
Vice President for the Liberal Arts Division at SUNY Orange in Middletown, NY.
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