In April, the "New England Journal of Higher Education ("NEJHE") launched its "New Directions for Higher Education" series to examine emerging issues, trends and ideas that have an impact on higher education policies, programs and practices. In this installment, Philip DiSalvio interviews Richard Legon, president of the…

As a professor of educational leadership, and a former superintendent of schools, the author understands and appreciates the value and benefit of a positive working relationship between a board of education and its superintendent of schools. Within this context it is important to note that for much of the 20th Century, education was incorrectly…

Head of school transitions happen for a variety of reasons. Without a doubt, however, the most stressful ones are those that are not voluntary. In the last few years, an increasing number of boards have decided to let their heads go at nontraditional transition times. In turn, this has left the school leadership staff scrambling to ensure that the…

Previous research on stress in the workplace has demonstrated that it can have not only a current, but lasting effect on a worker's health. The superintendency is a stressful job due to all of the competing demands of running a school system, no matter the size. This exploratory study reexamined qualitative interview transcripts from Robinson's…

This study used a descriptive qualitative design utilizing a phenomenological approach to determine and examine the reasons behind the voluntary or involuntary turnover of Arizona school superintendents. Open-ended questions were used to interview five superintendents who had left their districts between 2008 and 2013 about their perceptions on…

Rural school districts play an important part in the national educational landscape. Not only do they provide nearly one in four U.S. children with many skills, including those needed to enter college, but they also act as an economic stabilization force for the communities that they serve. Superintendents of rural school districts, as the leaders…

Chief communicators at many U.S. institutions are interested in forging closer ties with governing boards. Proponents say such relationships can increase board trust and confidence in communicators before a crisis occurs, making it easier to manage the institution's reputation and limit negative publicity when one does. At some institutions, such…

Reports in the media on American public schools are pretty dismal. Accountability measures enacted with the passing of the No Child Left Behind Law of 2002 include federal and state sanctions for school districts not making adequate yearly progress on state assessments. Typically these results are published locally, which only increases the…

The value of American higher education faces multiple risks, and changes in governance are needed to address them. At risk are accessibility and degree attainment for current and future students, institutional fiscal sustainability, educational quality, economic development and social equity, service to communities, and knowledge creation. Higher…

Much of what we understand about school governance is generally under-researched, and there has been almost no recent research undertaken into the governing of schools in the non-maintained, private or independent sectors that are financed by the payment of fees. These schools broadly follow a model of governance that is similar to that of the…

Jeremiah Stevens, director of alumni relations at Lake Forest Academy in suburban Chicago, contends with a bit of an unusual challenge. He must manage and motivate not one but two alumni boards. While alumni professionals may not share Stevens' particular circumstances, they certainly can relate to a struggle to jumpstart a languishing board and…

The state of Pennsylvania comprises 500 school districts. Each district is required to have a superintendent of schools. Now, more than ever, the work portfolio of U.S. school superintendents is increasingly diverse. In an occupation enjoying very little security, having fewer benefits than similar jobs in the private sector, and facing increased…

These are perilous times for community colleges. State and federal departments of education are pressing the nation's two-year career and technical colleges to be accountable while the colleges experience reductions in state funding and try to streamline services. That pressure is intensified by a growing national expectation that community…

A district is as stable and grounded as its superintendent, according to some leaders and education experts. And given findings in a recent report from the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), which specifically states that the average tenure of urban superintendents increased from 2.3 years in 1999 to 3.6 years in 2010, an increase of 56…

This case describes the confrontational relationship between four trustees on the San Antonio School Board and the San Antonio School District's superintendent Diana Lam, a nationally recognized school reformer, who came to San Antonio in 1994. The case includes a dramatic board meeting where a closely divided board meets to buy out Lam's…