This is a challenging time to lead, as a provost, dean, director or department chair at a college or university. One can say that every era in our field has brought challenges. Yet this time we are facing sea changes that span the entire field and beyond. Let’s look at a few of these changes and how today they impact the way in we which lead for tomorrow. We must relentlessly communicate to our legislators, regulators, faculty, staff and peers the nature of the challenge, the magnitude of the new competition and ultimate ramifications that confront us. To the extent that the university workforce is unprepared, unable or unwilling to make the needed changes to adapt to more efficient, effective and affordable delivery of education, there will be widespread dissatisfaction, friction and dwindling success.
