Nine University Presidents Who Saved Their Institutions: The Difference in Effective Administration

Kormondy (Chancellor emeritus, U. of Hawaii-Hilo) and consultant Keith (formerly President, Chaminade U. of Honolulu) write for trustees, college and university presidents, faculty members, accrediting agencies, citizens and stakeholders such as alumni, describing educational institutions pulled from the brink by presidents and chancellors. They note that closing a college is not that rare, and in fact over 500 of them shut down between 1966 and 2006. They believe an energetic president with a good plan can bring colleges in financial and emotional breakdown back to sound operation, and they prove it in narratives ranging from small, private liberal arts schools to larger public institutions, analyze the organizational and motivational actions the presidents and chancellors took, summarize and compare the actions, and give seven (and a little more) lessons they learned from the nine heroes of their stories. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)