Editor’s Remarks

Fall 2018 - Volume 2

PDF format

We are pleased to share with you Volume 2 of the Journal of Research on the College President from the National Lab for the Study of the College President (NLSCP) at the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions. Now in our second year, we are finding that there truly is a national and international community of scholars interested in, and dedicated to, the study of the college presidency.

In this volume, our second, you will find four articles on what college presidents should know, one dealing with professors, one with students, one with governing boards and the last with adult students. We envision this as a possible recurring section of the journal, written primarily by practitioners with a deep understanding of their own areas of practice, working and thinking critically to convey their concerns to the community studying college presidents.

In addition, you will find two research articles on the topic of community college presidents. As always, we welcome contributions that present original research and scholarship dealing with any aspect of the college presidency.

During this past year, NLSCP has undertaken a number of activities, including sending a delegation to Beijing National University, developing a partnership with the Education Policy Center at the University of Alabama, and beginning a collaboration with the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education. Perhaps the highlight of our year, though, was the recent hosting of Dr. John S. Jackson, Chancellor Emeritus of Southern Illinois University, as our first distinguished speaker. Jackson’s career, spanning nearly five decades, includes roles advising governors, conducting statewide political polling, serving as a faculty member, dean, provost and, ultimately, chancellor. His lecture highlighted eight critical challenges and politics in contemporary higher education, and the audience was composed of graduates students, faculty, and administrators from the area and campus.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the journal and should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at gdgearh@uark.edu.

G. David Gearhart
Editor, Professor, Chancellor Emeritus
Journal of Research on the College President
Director, National Lab for the Study of the College President
University of Arkansas