Dive Brief:
- Fundraising, budgeting and providing leadership to the campus are the three most essential and time-consuming duties of today’s college presidents, according to a recent USA Today article.
- With budgets tied with affordability as the biggest stories in higher education today, many presidents spend the majority of their time cultivating relationships and presenting institutional strengths with potential donors, while balancing shrinking budgets and growing financial needs.
- Engaging publics and guiding campuses through crisis and controversy are also part of the emerging duties of college leaders.
Dive Insight:
Part of the job which involves all three of these elements should be legislative lobbying and engagement. For public and private presidents, the ability to sell lawmakers on the research and teaching imperative of higher education is the most crucial element of ensuring the largest funder of higher education remains engaged with a campus or set of programs.
College leaders must become more comfortable in the halls of legislature, constantly meeting with and receiving feedback from state and federal lawmakers to determine how their institutions can be more effective in creating jobs, eliminating disparities and increasing access to underserved populations.