Risk-Taking Leadership for Small Private Colleges

This book explores and showcases how nine presidents of small private colleges navigated institutional challenges to secure their futures through key strategies of risk-taking leadership. Drawing on in-depth case studies conducted through interviews, document analysis, and site observations, it examines the individual and collective perspectives of the participating presidents, and how their differing leadership approaches affected the long-term health of their institutions. Reflecting on these data, the authors present a model of "organizational triage" that categorizes the health of institutions as critical, symptomatic, or healthy. For each categorization, the authors offer a different leadership approach, designed to instruct leaders on what the level of risk-taking strategy is required to improve or preserve the health of the institution. Bringing insights from the authors’ combined 75 years of senior administrative and academic faculty experience in US Higher Education, this book offers essential reading for college presidents, senior administrators, and higher education scholars seeking strategies for institutional transformation and survival in an increasingly competitive environment.