On Being Presidential: A Guide for College and University Leaders by Susan Resneck Pierce (review)

Few higher education professionals are presented with the opportunity to receive mentoring from a university president emerita. Through a narrative, mentoring tone, Susan Resneck Pierce's On Being Presidential: A Guide for College and University Leaders offers an insightful guide for academic leaders seeking to understand the complexity of the presidency and the greater challenges faced by today's colleges and universities. Pierce is a higher education consultant who received many accolades during her 12 years as president of Puget Sound University, and most of the book's content is derived from her presidential experience and her interviews with current and former presidents representing various institutional types. Thus, Pierce refreshingly provides detailed, real-world examples for almost every major topic presented.

Separated in two parts—"Being an Effective President" and "Becoming an Effective President"—the book nonsequentially addresses the entire cycle of the presidential path (e.g., from becoming or choosing an effective president to the future of the position).

The first chapter commences with "cautionary tales" that anonymously share presidential missteps, ranging from comical stories of the idiosyncratic behaviors of socially awkward presidents to unfortunate decision-based pitfalls that doomed promising presidential leaders. The primary importance of these tales lies with the age-old adage of learning from others' mistakes. They also provide an attention-getting overview of key topics that will be covered throughout the book.

Pierce addresses the unique relationship between presidents and their trustee board members, who hold the authority to hire and fire the president and may be serving for varying reasons. Both parties share the commonality of being "entrusted with the health and integrity—financial, academic, and institutional—of the institutions they serve" (p. 23) and ideally are in harmony with the institution's mission, priorities, policies, and budget.

At healthy institutions, the president serves as the chief executive officer (and ex-officio board member) and effectively manages the institution and implements institutional policy. At challenged institutions, the board may lose confidence in the president, reject presidential recommendations, and even go so far as to micromanage the institution. Pierce recommends that presidents be forthright with the trustees (applying the "no surprises" mantra), present well-prepared recommendations to the board, work as their strategic partner, utilize their expertise, and foster trustee interaction with campus faculty, staff, and students.

As collaboration is needed between boards and presidents, Pierce stresses the importance of presidents collaborating with their campus to promote shared governance. She contends that it is crucial for presidents to immediately create formal and informal avenues for listening to faculty, staff, and students. For matters of academic importance, presidents should make a priority to consistently communicate with faculty, especially faculty selected for leadership positions by their peers. Collaboration is also extremely important during the budgeting process, and Pierce provides a step-by-step model for collaborative budgeting that has worked well at several institutions.

Perhaps the most common theme intertwined throughout the book is the importance of the centrality of a well-defined institutional mission. Presidents should unfailingly be able to "understand, believe in, and clearly, even eloquently articulate their institution's mission" to help internal and external constituents embrace the mission (p. 55). Further, presidents should place the institution's mission in the forefront when prioritizing goals, planning (short- and long-term), decision-making, and executing everyday operations. Pierce emphasizes that one of the president's most imperative responsibilities is to allocate valued but scarce human and financial resources, which often requires choosing between compelling and competing requests. Pierce explains that presidential decisions should be mission-driven and informed by data. The mission-driven theme extends to all academic leaders, and Pierce recommends encouraging them to think institutionally, not departmentally.

Despite her positive tenor, Pierce does not shy away from exposing how the contemporary presidency is more demanding than ever, especially when considering the challenging national economic climate and shifting student enrollment. She explains...