Leadership Development, U.S.

Leadership development, the intentional identification of individuals and their education and advancement into administrative leadership positions in colleges and universities, has long been important to higher education. The American Council on Education’s (ACE) Fellows Program, begun in 1965, is the longest continuously running leadership program in the United States. Since that program’s inception, numerous other organizations have developed and offered leadership development programs and efforts. This entry provides an overview and a conceptual map of the form and function of leadership development as it has evolved in American higher education.

[Page 934]This entry focuses on the ways in which higher education intentionally develops administrative leaders through a variety of programs and experiences. Some caveats: Leadership, because of the academy’s idea of shared governance, occurs not only ...