Description
In Higher Calling: The Rise of Nontraditional Leaders in Academia, Scott C. Beardsley, dean of the University of Virginia's prestigious Darden School of Business, offers a new vision of leadership for today's higher education. Grounded in the author's own inspirational story of leaving McKinsey & Company in pursuit of a new source of meaning in his professional life, Higher Calling employs research gathered from search firm executives who now play king or queen maker in presidential and dean searches. It also takes into account information from U.S. liberal arts colleges-considered by many to be the bellwethers of change-to explore what set of strengths an institution of higher education needs in a leader in the twenty-first century. Beardsley explores the widely varying definitions and associated numbers of traditional and nontraditional leaders and asks, Why are U.S. colleges and universities hiring nontraditional candidates to lead them into the future? How are the skills required to lead higher education institutions changing? Or has the search process changed, resulting in a more diverse set of candidates?
Providing not only an analysis of nontraditional leaders in higher education but also strategies for developing skills and selecting leaders, Beardsley offers a wealth of information for the modern university in the face of change.
About the Author
Scott C. Beardsley is Dean and Charles C. Abbott Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. After graduating from Tufts University and earning an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Beardsley began an international career in strategic practice and leadership development at McKinsey & Company, eventually being elected to their global Board of Directors. Feeling the call to a new career path, Beardsley completed a doctorate in higher education management at the University of Pennsylvania, before accepting his current position. He currently lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Book Information
ISBN 9780813940533
Author Scott C. Beardsley
Format Hardback
Page Count 272
Imprint University of Virginia Press
Publisher University of Virginia Press