Succession Planning in Rural Community Colleges

Abstract

Competent leadership is essential for institutions of any size to respond to the challenges facing post-secondary institutions. However, rural community colleges are especially vulnerable to the forces of change due to aging infrastructure, accelerated retirements, and geographic isolation that often limits competent and diverse applicant pools for future leaders. As senior administrators retire at rapid rates, geographic location and scarce resources can hamper leadership continuity. Few studies have explored how the leadership pipeline is established and maintained in rural community colleges and how institutional and community values shape that process. The study highlights the extent to which the co-dependent relationship between community stakeholders and the rural community college shapes its institutional culture and leadership development.