League for Innovation in the Community College March 2018 | Page 8

Innovation “today is still focused on the historical aspects of for women that we called Leaders for the 80s…. There were 50
[its] foundation, but we are finding that there are many other women community college presidents at that time.”
players in the space.” He mentioned that organizations like
Achieving the Dream and the Aspen Institute were “not around With FIPSE grants and support from League colleges, O’Banion
during the time that the League was being developed,” and continued, “we were able to start that program slowly…and
described how the League is now having conversations with now there are...400, or maybe more, women community
these and other organizations about ways to collaborate. college presidents.” According to O’Banion, Leaders for
the 80s “became the National Institute for Leadership
Glasper explained that a “major strategic planning initiative” is Development (NILD) and…the training ground for women in
now under way so the board of directors and staff can “focus community colleges.”
in on the new…opportunities and challenges that are coming
our way as we look at education today, and, specifically, the Partnering with John Roueche, then at the University of
disinvestment and funding and…new models we need to Texas at Austin, O’Banion said the League received Kellogg
focus on.” Foundation support:
The conversation has changed, he continued, “because our to start leadership development for diversity. We had...the
environment is changing,” but he clarified that the League’s Expanding Leadership Diversity Program...and we
“mission of catalyzing innovation is still number one and we started a national conference called Leadership 2000.
continue to move in that direction.” We started…Leadership Abstracts, which is still going, [and]
so leadership became a major effort of the League and
Addressing major changes in the League over fifty years,
continues to be one of [its] primary commitments.
O’Banion talked about how in the 1960s and 1970s, few
women or minorities held community college presidencies. When the conversation moved to current challenges and
The League was seen “by many people in community college issues facing community colleges, Glasper said, “Quite frankly,
work as…an old boys network.” I still believe that access is an issue. So many of our students
do not find an opportunity to come to our colleges.”
O’Banion wrote a paper, “An Elitist Organization of Egalitarian
He continued:
Institutions,” to address this issue with the League board.
Eventually, the 12-member board expanded to 20 members, I think one of our challenges is being recognized as a
and the auxiliary Alliance for Community College Innovation comprehensive community college system that today
was formed to extend membership beyond the board of transfers a significant number of students to our public
directors. O’Banion believes these efforts had a positive effect, universities. But we also put many students to work.
making the League “a much more egalitarian organization.” We’ve…demonstrated that we can take students that have…
the desire for education to start at a community college,
Paralleling conversations about expanding League and if they desire can move into a four-year institution over
membership, the organization turned its attention to broader time, but that's a tough message.
issues surrounding a lack of diversity in community college
leadership. After consulting for the American Council on Glasper also repeated the challenge of the “disinvestment in
Education’s Women in Leadership initiative, O’Banion community college over time” as a major issue that has been
envisioned a similar program for women in community “quite devastating” to colleges that have experienced it.
colleges: “The League sponsored a national week-long
institute for women leaders,” which led to “a training institute
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The League for Innovation in the Community College Innovatus
Despite these and other challenges, Glasper said of