To be a successful college president, an individual must gain “legitimacy” —or “acceptance by constituents as an effective leader and as a good fit with the institutional culture”—said Rollins College (FL) President Rita Bornstein during her closing address at the Presidents Institute.
    Bornstein, who is also the Harriet W. Cornell Memorial Professor of Distinguished Presidential Leadership at Rollins, based her remarks on a book she is writing for the American Council on Education/Praeger Series on Higher Education, titled Legitimacy in the Academic Presidency: From Entrance to Exit.
    “I see a presidency as a cycle of three stages: gaining legitimacy, moving a legitimate change agenda, and exiting with legitimacy,” Bornstein said. “Legitimacy may take two to three years to achieve, requires maintenance, and once lost, is almost impossible to regain. In the process of gaining legitimacy, presidents develop the relationships (social capital) they will need to promote change. Most presidents take legitimacy for granted, unless they fail to achieve it or they lose it,” she noted, adding that “a president’s survival depends on it, and so does a president’s ability to mobilize support and resources for change.”

    Bornstein identified six threats to legitimacy:

1. Lack of Cultural Fit - failing to understand and embrace the institutional culture;
2. Management Incompetence - for example, making poor choices for top administrative staff, taking control of departmental budgets, revising long-standing ceremonies, or having a management style that is perceived as inhumane, authoritarian, or non-collaborative;
3. Misconduct - inappropriate, unethical, or illegal behavior are lapses that diminish the moral authority of the academy; college and university presidents have a greater moral responsibility than others in government or business because they serve as role models for students and citizens;
4. Erosion of Social Capital - making unpopular decisions may reduce social capital, but the danger is in not being attentive to repairing relationships;
5. Inattentiveness - becoming heavily involved in civic, economic development, or policy, professional, or personal issues, diminishes a president’s institutional availability; and
6. Grandiosity - for example, acting on behalf of the institution without the necessary consultation and involvement, or acting to transform the institution based on the president’s own vision without involving constituents.

    Finally, Bornstein listed ten strategies that presidents can employ to build legitimacy:

1. Do not attempt major systemic changes at the beginning of a presidential tenure, or at any time without faculty support, unless there is a crisis;
2. Be a hero by making all possible procedural improvements;
3. Respect board and faculty governance;
4. Consult, collaborate, and communicate;
5. Absorb the culture and listen to opinion leaders;
6. Stay attuned to trends in education and society;
7. Develop a vision that resonates with the culture and aspirations of constituents;
8. When the groundwork has been prepared—act;
9. Make principled decisions and expect the same of others; and
10. Maintain a scholarly life, participating in public discourse on educational issues.

    Bornstein’s book, Legitimacy in the Academic Presidency: From Entrance to Exit, is part of the ACE/Praeger Press Series on Higher Education. It is available from www.greenwood.com or (800) 225-5800.

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Last updated: March 2003
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