Academic presidents' perceptions of strategic planning, social responsibility, and performance in American institutions of higher educatio

Knowledgeable individuals have realized for some time now that higher education has confronted a turbulent and changing environment challenging its academic managers, existing institutional missions, and current administrative systems. Academic presidents have not fully performed or utilized their pivotal leadership role in formulating and implementing strategic planning while fulfilling the institutions' social and ethical responsibilities.;The limited research in this area dictated the development and investigation of an empirically driven database about strategic management and social responsibility in higher education as perceived by presidents of colleges and universities in the United States, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. This study required designing and employing a research instrument proven to identify: (a) academic presidents' backgrounds in strategic planning; (b) the extent to which presidents engage their institutions in the strategic planning process; (c) how presidents respond strategically to the environments of their institutions; (d) presidents' view on the social responsibility of their institutions; and, (e) types of criteria presidents use in assessing the performance of their organizations.;Each president of an institution that maintained a 1991 membership with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) received a survey. The combined presidential population of both rosters totaled 394, and the rosters consisted of primarily moderate to large public four-year institutions of higher education (IHEs). However, the population surveyed included small public and private IHEs, liberal arts colleges, professional schools and specialized institutions, and components of state systems of higher education. After receiving two hundred responses (51% of the population), this researcher found 188 usable (48% of the population) for the purposes of the study.;From the findings, presidents perceive themselves as competent strategic managers, however, evidence suggests that they lack in their strategic thinking and strategic planning. Presidents indicate that they usually formulate comprehensive strategic plans, however, additional results reveal that they have not fully implemented strategic plans at their institutions.;Overall, presidents indicate that they respond to their environment by using a cautious, reactor-defender approach when weighing strategic orientation factors. Such approaches frequently hinder a systematic identification of opportunities and threats, and may constrain future organizational performance.;Regarding social responsibilities, presidents emphasize economic considerations slightly above other social considerations that ironically might generally exist as essential to their mission statements. Presidents also thought that criteria driven by teaching and student factors appear as the most important when assessing organizational effectiveness.