The Character of Leadership: A Conversation among Prominent Educational Leaders

In March 2010, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) and Rollins College (through its Winter Park Institute) convened a roundtable of former college and university presidents and chancellors to consider the challenges confronting higher education institutions, with a focus on the leadership qualities needed to address those challenges successfully.

Hosted by Rollins College president Lewis Duncan and facilitated by AGB president Richard Legon, the frank and pragmatic conversation engaged 11 leaders with more than 200 years of combined experience steering 20 individual institutions or state university systems and generated a series of recommendations for higher-education institutions, presidents, and governing boards.

The resulting essay, "The Character of Leadership," is presented in both Executive Summary and full-text formats on the Rollins website.

The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) is the only national association that serves the interests and needs of academic governing boards, boards of institutionally related foundations, and campus CEOs and other senior-level campus administrators on issues related to higher education governance and leadership. Its mission is to strengthen, protect, and advocate on behalf of citizen trusteeship that supports and advances higher education.