Today's most successful college presidents are primarily defined by
entrpreneurial attitudes and behavior. This landmark empirical study is
substantially an update of the groundbreaking book by Fisher, Tack, and
Wheeler entitled The Effective College President published in 1988. The
sample used for this latest study is the largest ever of college
presidents (more than 700), including presidents located in all regions
of the United States, and including more women and minorities than found
in prior studies. Fisher and Koch clearly demonstrate that common ground
exists between the classic and tested characteristics of the leader and
those of the entrepreneur. This book centers on key questions: Do
college presidents often behave in an entrepreneurial fashion and does
this behavior pay off for them and their institutions; and why are some
presidents more likely to exhibit entrepreneurial attitueds than others?
In addition to examining presidential attitudes and values, Fisher and
Koch focus on actual presidential behavior. They have expanded their
work to include much larger samples of women and minority presidents,
whose number have increased tremendously in the past 15 years. They also
include numerous control variables that reflect the character of the
president's institution and focus on the entrepreneurial attitudes and
behavior of presidents, along with how these factors determine success.
They examine the extent to which academic training and reliance upon
technology affect presidential success and introduce a multivariate
model that permits them to examine how a variety of factors related to
presidential success influence one another and presidential behavior.
The most effective presidents identified in this study are analyzed in
significant detail and their answers are reduced to close statistical
analyses wherever possible. These presidents are intelligent risk takers
who frequently question the status quo. They prize innovative thinking
and appreciate contrary positions. They establish he
