| Number 1 Women’s Leadership  |
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Director's Outlook |
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From Where I Sit |
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In Brief |
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Campus Women Lead |
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Global Perspectives |
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About This Issue |
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By Meredith Reid Sarkees, director of the Global Women's Leadership in International Security project and research fellow at the Women & Politics Institute, American University Analyzing the challenges facing America today, Lee Iacocca has asked: “Where have all the leaders gone?” Iacocca seeks individuals who not only possess some of his “nine Cs of leadership” (including courage and conviction), but who are also committed to giving back to society (2007). Similarly, presidential historian Michael Beschloss has argued that the United States can no longer afford to be content with “transactional leaders” who motivate people through individual rewards and punishments. Instead, Beschloss says, what the United States needs and currently lacks are “transformational leaders” willing to take personal risks for the benefit of others (2007). These two observers of contemporary America stand at very different vantage points, but they agree that leadership formulated as “being the best that you can be” is insufficient. America’s current problems require transformational leaders committed to fundamentally changing the status quo for the benefit of all. Women's Challenges in University Leadership: Encompassed by Our Gender By Virginia Sapiro, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Boston University It was one of those pleasant receptions at the end of the academic term when most people are in a congratulatory mood. Nearing the end of my first year as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Boston University, I was still making the rounds of first meetings with friends of the university and found these events especially interesting. A colleague introduced me to an elderly alumnus. He looked at me and beamed, remarking, “It’s so wonderful that we don’t have to push diversity the way so many other universities do. Diversity comes naturally to us. It’s so great that you’re dean of the College.” I beamed back at him and agreed. “Yes, diversity is one of the things I love about this place. Why, in my College alone we have twenty-five different departments. So many different fields, so many different ways of thinking about knowledge, such a rich diversity of scholarship and teaching! I just love it!” I added a cheery grin for good measure. He looked a bit confused, while the women standing with us suppressed their relief and amusement.
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