Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the strategies female college presidents/chancellors use to attain their executive positions in higher education. A second purpose of this study was to identify the barriers females in executive positions in higher education experienced and how they overcame the barriers. The final purpose of this study was to identify and describe the training, experiences, educational background, and social networks they perceived as most important to their obtaining an executive position. Methodology: The subjects included 36 female presidents/chancellors from private and public 2- and 4-year colleges and universities in California. A mixed-methods design was used to yield quantitative and qualitative results. The subjects participated in an online survey, which was then followed up with a telephone interview of four randomly selected participants from the sample. Findings: The findings from the survey and interviews indicate that having a variety of leadership experience is essential to becoming a president/chancellor in a college or university. The experience in a variety of administrative/leadership roles provides the candidate an opportunity to gain both knowledge and experience in different areas, such as budget allocation, human resources, facilities management, governance, and politics that would be essential in the toolkit of a president. Additionally, obtaining a doctorate allows a candidate the experience in the academic rigor of research and in-depth inquiry and making sense of it for real-world applications. Having this practice equips the candidate with experience in utilizing theoretical knowledge and applying it to real-world situations. Conclusions: The overall conclusion is that females can employ certain strategies when on the path to attaining the college presidency. This study identified strategies that current presidents of colleges and universities have found helpful. Some of the strategies include support on both personal and professional levels. Recommendations: One of the major recommendations is to replicate the study with a bigger population. This can be accomplished by extending the study nationwide. Another recommendation is to extend the study in California to include female vice presidents/vice provosts.