[Updated (3/11/2014, 9 p.m.) with new interviews.]
San Diego — Nine college presidents sat down with Chronicle reporters here at the American Council on Education’s annual meeting to talk about leadership.
Sharing their experiences were Thomas R. Rochon of Ithaca College, John Bassett of Heritage University, Horace Mitchell of California State University at Bakersfield, John R. Kroger of Reed College, Earl H. Potter of St. Cloud State University, Diana S. Natalicio of the University of Texas at El Paso, Teresa A. Sullivan of the University of Virginia, Mary Sue Coleman of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and Ricardo Azziz of Georgia Regents University.
In the last set of interviews, Mr. Rochon talked about longevity and the career arcs of college presidents. Mr. Bassett spoke about what his previous jobs at other colleges had taught him about solving problems. And Mr. Mitchell described some of the traits that can make young higher-education leaders successful later in their careers.
Earlier, Mr. Potter talked with The Chronicle about what he still has to learn as a college president. Ms. Natalicio considered what qualities are important for college leaders during a time of tremendous change. And Mr. Kroger explained how he makes the case for a liberal-arts education.
In the first conversations from ACE, Ms. Sullivan talked about managing relationships with Boards of Trustees, Ms. Coleman offered strategies for juggling the many demands of a major research institution, and Dr. Azziz reflected on the challenges of merging two universities into one.
