Ethical Leadership in the Community College: Bridging Theory and Daily Practice

The avalanche of day-to-day responsibilities facing those in community colleges threatens to bury ethical intent. This book addresses the importance of ethical leadership and explores real-world applications so that community college leaders can develop the institutional savvy to be extraordinary ethical leaders. Written for community college faculty, staff, presidents, and trustees who are committed to being ethical leaders, this book is divided into two sections: The first provides brief theoretical foundations for ethical leadership and relates those foundations to daily practice; the second explores in-depth daily practice for ethical leaders. Contents include:

• Virtue theory and leadership theory
• Plato’s Republic and the ethical leader
• Considerations of power, influence, and cultural norms
• The role of the president
• Why presidents and trustees should care about ethics
• Professional ethical identity development
• Ethical leadership: A faculty obligation
• The interface of ethics and courage in the life of a chief academic officer
• Threats to ethical leadership
• Leading from the head and the heart
• Transformational leadership and ethical dilemmas
• Presidential support for civic engagement and leadership education
• A guide to ethical decision-making by presidents and boards
• The consequences of compromised ethical identity development