| The purpose of this study was to present a demographic profile of Bible college presidents and identify the career paths that have led individuals to serve in this leadership role in North America's Bible colleges. A self-administered survey was sent to the president of every Bible college associated with the Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) or the Association of Canadian Bible Colleges (ACBC).;Based on a 72% response rate, a profile of the Bible college president was developed, showing the "typical" Bible college president to be a Caucasian male between age 45-55, married, with children, who has served as president for almost six years. Presidents at Canadian Bible colleges were significantly younger than their American counterparts. A strong majority of presidents were hired from outside the institution, though some had a previous connection to the college through either previously working at the school or as alumni.;This study identified three career pathways to the Bible college presidency. Twenty-nine percent of presidents came through the traditional academic pathway, having served in post-secondary education as an Academic or Administrator in higher education before assuming the presidency. A second career pathway, "mixed," also consisted of 29% of presidents, who had been employed both in higher education and in church or para-church ministry for significant periods of their career. The highest percentage of Bible college presidents (42%) followed the "external" career pathway, having spent little, if any, time in higher education. Presidents in this pathway were employed in various forms of church or para-church ministry before beginning a new career in leadership at a Bible college. There were no significant differences in the career paths of the presidents on the basis of school location, size, accreditation status, or denominational affiliation.;Finally, the various duties and responsibilities of Bible college presidents were examined. Presidents taught, wrote, travelled on behalf of their college, and spoke in churches. Four tasks---fund raising, strategic planning, personnel issues, and financial management---were identified as the most challenging and most time consuming aspects of the Bible college presidency. |
