No Ph.D.? No problem. Part 2
In light of Sunday's column, reader Jon Maxwell pointed out another dramatic example of a very effective college leader who took the post sans Ph.D.: Terry Sanford of Duke.
Armed with (only) a law degree, Sanford "did a great job years ago of revitalizing Duke," Maxwell e-mailed.
Indeed. Sanford, the former governor, led one of the nation's most prestigious academic institutions for nearly 16 years, from 1969 to 1985.
In fact, as Jon mentioned, Sanford is largely credited with elevating Duke's national standing and even mounted a long-shot campaign for president of the United States along the way.
"He gave Duke even more class," Bill Snider, the former News & Record editorial page editor, wrote upon Sanford's death in 1998 at age 80.
He didn't too badly after that, serving in the U.S. Senate after retiring from Duke.
He was one of the boldest and most visionary leaders in state history.
Comments (3)
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Allen,
While I would agree with you that having an advanced degree, in this case a PhD, and being a visionary in education--or any other field for that matter--are not mutually inclusive, I don't agree with your apparent notion that they are mutually exclusive. Not surprisingly, in the history of higher education in this country, having the highest academic degree was the union card needed to lead a university or college. I suspect that most of the institutions have been well served by their highly degreed leaders over the years and that some have not been. Having a terminal degree in an academic discipline does not make one a leader nor does it preclude a PhD from being a leader. HPU and Duke were both lucky in the two leaders you mentioned . . . I'm sure that both of them, if they had put their mind to it, could have earned a PhD with no difficulty, but not having done so isn't what made them good at their jobs.
Posted on March 25, 2009 11:07 AM
Mr. Kraemer:
I definitely don't mean to imply that being a visionary leader and having a terminal degree are mutually exclusive.
UNC-Chapel Hill's Holden Thorp is an example of a Ph.D. who appears to be an excellent leader.
Another is Linda Brady at UNCG.
Still another is Harold Martin, who many want to be A&T's new chancellor.
My point is that colleges should be open to exceptional cases such as Qubein and Sanford..e
Posted on March 25, 2009 11:43 AM
Maybe it would be fair if you found some colleges or school districts who did step away from the "norm" of having academics run the show and did it poorly. Having the right person at the right time seems more important, in some ways, than just going with a PhD because that's what's always been done.
There seems to be some disdain for people, like myself, who have PhDs, and often I hear that it means Piled Higher and Deeper. Of course, I would say that having an advanced degree doesn't give one the lock on being able to shovel the bull, either.
Posted on March 25, 2009 12:15 PM