A college president can leave campus for the evening and still find the work waiting in the grocery aisle, at church, or at dinner with family. After more than five years in the community college presidency, Dr. Mordecai asks a question that deserves a place in how colleges prepare their leaders. Who helps them recognize what the work is asking of them and of the people they love?
In his latest column for Community College Daily, Dr. Mordecai draws on a lesson familiar to athletes. Rest, recovery, and support are part of preparing to perform. Yet in the American Council on Education’s 2023 survey, just 2.4% of responding college presidents said their onboarding included opportunities for physical, mental, and emotional wellness.
For President Brownlee, that question of preparation comes down to everyday decisions. When an invitation includes a spouse or child, do they feel free to decline? When exhaustion starts to feel ordinary, who will notice? And when another evening commitment appears on the calendar, could a colleague represent the college while the president keeps a promise at home?
Trustees, supervisors, and those who prepare aspiring executives have a role in those decisions, too. Dr. Mordecai invites them to consider what changes when a leader knows, from the first day on the job, that the institution will support the boundaries that make a long and healthy tenure possible.
