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COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRUSTEES IN MICHIGAN:
THE EXPERIENCES OF FOUR WOMEN

BY

Denise Dawn Newman

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education

2010

ABSTRACT

COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRUSTEES IN MICHIGAN:
THE EXPERIENCES OF FOUR WOMEN

BY

Denise Dawn Newman

Community colleges continue to employ more women and provide education to
more women than men, and although women are becoming more prevalent than
they used to be in many executive roles at these institutions, there are still fewer
women who are board of trustee members than men. Trustees at community
colleges in leadership positions in these institutions are unique because they are
elected or selected from the community which they serve. This study provides
the experiences of four women who are trustees at community colleges in the
State of Michigan, and their perception of their role as trustees. Each of the four
women share how they were approached to either run for an open position, or
apply to a term that was not fulfilled by someone else; share how they were
oriented and trained for the trustee position; explain how they view their role on
the board; describe their relationships with the other trustees and the president
that serves them; and how the trustee role affects their personal and community
relationships. Leadership and feminist theories are discussed, as are ways of
knowing described by Belenky, et al. (2007) to interpret how these women view

their role as a trustee.

Copyright by
DENISE DAWN NEWMAN
2010

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are many people to acknowledge who supported me during this journey.
Many coworkers were persistent in their encouragement and support of me over
the years, and I would not have been able to complete this degree without their
constant confirmation of faith in my abilities. Dr. Kay Keck, Dr. Marshall
Washington, Dr. Sheila Matthews, Dr. Gene McKay, Dr. G. Edward Haring, Dr.
Dennis Bona, Timothy Sleevi, Colleen Wright, Barbara Sudeikis, and many others
at Kellogg Community College have be relentless in their devotion to making sure
that I completed this degree. I appreciate all of their kind words, motivational
talks, and constant reminders of the benefits to finish this degree.
I am forever grateful to my cohort members in the program, and the faculty and
staff at Michigan State University. Without Dr. Melissa McDaniels, I would not
have completed the third year of the program, and I am grateful that she pushed
me to continue on. To the members of my committee, Dr. Kris Renn, Dr.
MaryLee Davis, and Dr. Frank Fear, I appreciate your willingness to be patient
and kind with me during this process. There are no words that can explain my
gratitude to Dr. Marilyn Amey, my committee chair, advisor, mentor, and friend.
Everything that you have done for me, starting with my application to the
program, has enriched my life and helped me to grow as a person. I will forever
be grateful for all of the things that you have done over the last seven years.

Your ability to make sure that my voice was heard is irreplaceable, and your

constant support, kindness, and flexibility have shown me over and over that
MSU really does care about its’ students and their education.

Of course the attainment of this degree would not have been possible without
the support of my family and friends. To all of my friends, I thank you for forcing
me to leave the studies behind when I needed to, and your willingness to let me
do the work when I needed to. Now that I am done, we can go shopping,
golfing, see a play, and go out to dinner anytime we want to...and I am looking
forward to that freedom again. To my family, your support has meant more to
me than anything else. To Matt and Scott, my sons, I appreciate your support as
adults of my endeavors. Although your lives were not touched by the disruptions
and chaos that comes with graduate work, I felt your love and support (even
from thousands of miles away) throughout the entire journey. I love you as
children, respect you as adults, and consider you both as dear friends who have
had nothing but love and support for me. A big thank you to my parents for
everything they have done for me during my entire life. I appreciate your help
throughout this process and I know that you are as proud of me as I am. The
books report is finally done! Finally, to my husband Dave, you are not only my
husband, but my best friend, and I could not have done this without you by my
side. I appreciate your love and support throughout, and can never explain how

much your support has meant to me over the years. I love you.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................. viii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION. ........................................................................ 1
Purpose of the Study ................................................................... 5
Research Questions ..................................................................... 7
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................. 9
Overview of Governing Boards ................................................... 10
Function of Boards .................................................................... 17
Board Structure ........................................................................ 17
Female Candidates .................................................................... 20
Community College Board Composition ...................................... 21
Gender Equity and Leadership ................................................... 25
Summary of the Literature ......................................................... 29
Theoretical Framework .............................................................. 30
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ 36
Rationale .................................................................................. 37
Population Survey Data Collection .............................................. 38
Demographic Information ................................................ 40
The Interview Sample ............................................................... 43
Sample Data Collection .............................................................. 45
Interviews ...................................................................... 45
Board Meeting Observation and Document Data ............... 47
Pilot Study ...................................................................... 48
Role of the Researcher .............................................................. 48
Validity ..................................................................................... 49
Limitations ................................................................................ 50
Summary .................................................................................. 51
CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION OF THE DATA ................................................... 53
Background of Trustees and Institutional Data ............................ 54
Ms. Rebecca Jones, Trustee of Washington County Community
College ........................................................................... 55
Ms. Josie Stanford, Trustee of Sunset County Community
College ........................................................................... 57
Ms. Jane Dells, Trustee of Fruit Ridge County Community
College ........................................................................... 59

vi

Ms. Kathy Patton, Trustee of Burns County Community

College ........................................................................... 60

Generating Interest ................................................................... 63

The Campaign .......................................................................... 68

Orientation and Training ............................................................ 73

Relationships ............................................................................ 80

Board Members and Presidents ........................................ 81

Family and Community Relationships ............................... 89

Overall Experience as a Trustee ................................................. 96

Gendered Differences ................................................................ 97

Matting and Framing the Pictures ............................................. 101

Ms. Rebecca Jones ........................................................ 103

Ms. Josie Stanford ......................................................... 104

M5. Kathy Patton ........................................................... 106

Ms. Jane Dells ............................................................... 108

Summary ................................................................................ 110
CHAPTER V

DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION ....................................... 111

Generating Interest ................................................................. 112

The Campaign ........................................................................ 114

Orientation ............................................................................. 117

Board Members and Presidents ................................................ 118

Gendered Differences .............................................................. 119

Summary ................................................................................ 121

EPILOGUE ......................................................................................... 124

APPENDICIES .................................................................................... 128

REFERENCES ..................................................................................... 131

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Self-identified Race of Respondents ........................................ 40
Table 2: Age of Respondents ............................................................... 41
Table 3: Marital Status of Respondents ................................................ 41
Table 4: Children of Respondents ........................................................ 42
Table 5: Educational attainment of Respondents ................................... 42

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Chapter 1: Introduction

Today, community colleges are in the spotlight a lot with respect to their
contributions to local, state, and federal economies. Workforce development,
remedial education, and the preparation of students to move to a college or
university to complete a four-year degree are but some of the responsibilities of
community colleges in the educational system in the United States. In part, their
role is determined by the trustees of their governing boards, who are either
elected or selected to lead them, and yet, there is not a lot of information about
trustees of this sector and even less when it comes to women board members.
Given their increased visibility and role in the higher education system, it seems
that understanding many aspects of community colleges, their governance, and
the trustees that serve on these boards would be beneficial at this point in time.

This study explored the experiences of women serving on the governing
board at community colleges in the State of Michigan. Listening to the voices of
these women was important for various reasons. There is scant literature that
describes the experiences of male governing board members, and there is
essentially no literature that surveys women governing board members with
respect to their experiences and obtaining this type of knowledge could be
beneficial. This study described the experiences of four female governing board
members in order to provide information to women who may want to attempt to
become a board member. These experiences detailed how the women

interviewed came to seek a seat on a governing board, how they relate with the

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other board members and the president of the college, how their personal and
family relationships were affected by this experience, and their overall
understanding of how being a governing board member affected their lives.

Adding to the literature with the experiences of women board members
could be useful in understanding differences in leadership styles, relationships
with other board members and the president that serves them, their perceived
impact on the community they serve, and the personal impact of being on a
board. I have worked to understand how the experiences of these women will
contribute to the literature of higher education, leadership, and gender studies. I
have also explored how women and their experiences are situated in these
historically hierarchical institutions (higher education) and groups (boards of
trustees). The end-result shed some light on how women are impacted by their
experience on these boards, and how they view their impact on the board, the
community, and the college that they serve.

This particular population of women is unique because of several factors.
First, higher education in Michigan has a different structure than any other in the
United States in that the state government is not involved in policy making of
public postsecondary institutions (McGuinness, 1997; Richardson & de los
Santos, 2001). This autonomy results in many different governance structures
for the various colleges and universities, including the community colleges. Public
community colleges are unlike most four-year higher education institutions

because they have a different mission and purpose (Aleman & Renn, 2002;

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Cohen, 2001). Community colleges were created to serve an influx of students in
the mid-1900’s in the United States with little or no criteria attached to the
admission requirements. These institutions promote education with little concern
about educational preparedness, monetary resources, or age, gender, or race.
Community colleges provide educational opportunities to all who seek an
education and typically (in the State of Michigan) have open admission policies.

Board structures of public community colleges are distinctive in the
placement of its members in that all trustees are elected from the general public
in the service area of each college, and they work in conjunction with the
President of the college to manage fiscal and operational policies of the college
(Houle, 1989). Public elections provide an opportunity for community members
to help shape policy for a college in the area in which they live. Other governing
board members in four-year colleges and universities are typically appointed by
the board or someone from the state government (Governor, state Boards of
Education, etc.), or elected from a distinct population associated with the
institution such as from among alumni or faith-based group members.

Finally, studying women community college governing board members is
unique because of the assumption that women experience things differently than
do men (Amey, 1992; Kezar, 2000; Valian, 2004). Part of this difference could be
because many institutions of higher education were created by men for men, and
the patriarchical structure of higher education has provided women with a

different experience than men. There could be some experiential differences

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because women are newer participants at the higher levels of these institutions.
There could also be some differences based on the ratio of men to women on
the board. There may be many reasons why women understand their experience
as a board member differently from men, but this study will not be comparing
and contrasting these experiences with that of men.

So what are the lived experiences of women governing board members at
community colleges in the State of Michigan? The need for women’s voice in the
literature is apparent by the lack of voice given to women and written by women.
Susan Twombley suggests that “alternative images” have been offered by
feminists and are typically written by women, but they “occupy a marginal place
in the literature” (1995, p. 71). The lack of literature about and written by
women and their impact on higher education leaves a gaping hole that this study
will begin to fill. Because women are “well represented in the community college”
(p. 8), Townsend (2008) argues that there are still some gender inequities. This
study will look at the specific numbers of women as governing board members to
see if there are inequities at this level here in the State of Michigan and compare
to the United States community colleges. Listening to these women and hearing
their experiences in higher education will assist in bringing to light another
perspective in the leadership development of men and women alike.

Leaders are key to how organizations function, and there is littie doubt

that the leaders who are needed to guide postsecondary institutions in

tomorrow? comp/ex environments have to think about their work

difi'erent/y than did their predecessors.
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Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of women
who currently serve on a governing board at community colleges in the state of
Michigan. The lived experiences of these women may contribute to the literature
in terms of the costs and benefits for women who choose to occupy these
leadership positions in higher education. It also provided useful information from
an insider’s perspective of what it means to serve on the community college
board, how leadership can (or cannot) be exercised in these settings, and how
women construct their roles as leaders in these complex and often highly political
environments.

There is a lack of literature on governing board members in higher
education, especially on women members, so the intent of this study was to add
to the literature in terms of women’s voices. Organizations are typically
patriarchal structures that are male-centered and much of the power is in the
upper levels of leaders (Bensimon & Marshall, 1997; Hart, 2006; Mitchell & Eddy,
2007; Tedrow & Rhoads, 1998). These upper levels include board members.
Even with periodicals geared toward gender equity and literature regarding how
this has improved over the years, there is little to no discussion about governing
board members and how women shape the community colleges. This study will
add to the gender-focused literature about women governing board members.

Vaughan and Weisman (1997) did a survey on community college trustees

in 1995 that returned data from community colleges across the nation. The

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results, from 39 percent of the then-current trustees, were clear that two-thirds
of the trustees that responded were male. Vaughan and Weisman (1997)
reported that the percentage of women trustees in 1987 was at 29%. This was
an increase of less than 5% over that ten-year period. The Association of
Community College Trustees (ACCT) created an up-to-date report on community
college trustees (Polonio, 2008). When released, the results of the AACT study
will highlight what the change in gender has been over the last ten-year period
but will reveal less about the specific experiences of women on boards. By
comparison, this dissertation focused on the lived experiences of this group of
board members.

Studies on corporate boards show that women make distinct contributions
to boards that men are “less likely to make" (Konrad & Kramer, 2006, p. 22).
These include: a) a broader inclusion of stakeholders into their discussions when
making decisions; b) being more intent on getting answers to difficult questions;
and c) bringing a more collaborative approach to leadership to the table than
men. Lawless and Fox concur that “women tend to adopt an approach to
governing that emphasizes congeniality and cooperation” (2005, pg. 6). It was
hoped that this study would affirm whether these corporate observations are
true for women on community college boards, and also uncover information on
running for board positions, living in the community as a board member, the
contributions that women make while sitting on boards, and the topics women

advocate for while sitting on boards.

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Research Questions
This study used a qualitative design to explore and understand the
€Xperiences of women who were elected to represent their community on a
governing board for their local community college. The primary research
question for this study was:
What are the lived experiences of women elected to serve on community
(:0 l l ege boards of trustees?
Within this broad research question, I had particular interest in the following
m 0 re discrete research questions:
1. What factors influenced the decision to seek a seat on the board?
2. How do women feel they influence the governing board on which they
serve?
3. In what ways has board membership impacted women members?
P“ ‘ Women trustees were originally surveyed using a short instrument to gather
ha Sic demographic information relevant to age, race, marital status, number of
Ch i \ dren, educational attainment, and employment information. From those who
r133 ponded, the women were sorted into categories based on the institution on
whose board they serve, using a classification scheme employed by the state for
f‘d hding purposes. A purposive sample of women trustees that cut across the
institutional categories was selected for participation in on-site interviews about
their experiences as board members. Key themes in the data emphasized the

iInportance of visibility and connecting to constituents and community,

developing and sustaining relationships, and perceptions of gendered
experiences for the women leaders. Although there was no intention to
generalize from the small interview sample, an analysis of the interview data
from the four participants did provide interesting understandings of the
experience of being a trustee and lessons learned for other current and future
governing board members and others interested in community college

governance and supporting women leaders.

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Chapter II: Literature Review
The literature review for this study was wide-ranging in that some basic
understanding of many areas is necessary to develop the picture of women on
community college boards of trustees in the state of Michigan. I will outline the
history of governing boards in general and community colleges in the state of
Michiga n, discuss the structure and function of the boards, and review the
literature of women and leadership. These areas provide a good foundation of
understanding the complexity of the organizations that these women serve, and
some of the necessary knowledge that has been done on women leaders.

In the history of the United States, governing boards have been a part of
our lives through government, public and non-profit organizations, and even in
Private business (Houle, 1989). These boards are a collective of constituents in
organizations that lend their voice to making decisions about that organization.
The decisions that boards make affect the organization in many ways, from
financial to functional (McCauley, 2002). In higher education, governing boards
cor‘Itrol policy and financial decisions, and in working with the President and
upIber administration, effectively operate the institution (Vaughan & Weisman,

2003). In this literature review, I looked at the history of governing boards, the
Str‘--I<:l:ure, function, and the composition of the board members in order to lay a

f0U ndation for the study of women in these positions to better understand their

experience.

The function of a governing board in the community colleges in the State
of Michigan is not unlike other boards in that it “exists to provide public
accountability, public oversight, and public support for the institution (Rhodes,
2001, p- 13).” This public responsibility provides an argument to strive for equal
representation of the public that the board serves. Diversity adds to richness in
wisdom for the board (Carver, 1997). To that end, scholars argue that public
boards of trustees should have members who are diverse along traditional
characteristics such as gender, race, and ethnicity but also who are diverse in
their perspectives so as best to capture the range of needs of their constituents
(Carver, 1997; Rhodes, 2001). Although Carver argues for this richness in
diVel‘sity of board membership, there is still a need for the board to be able to
pr eSent itself and the decisions that it makes in a unified voice in order to be
effeCtive. Boards need to bring diverse perspectives and ideas to the discussion
and then be able to present the outcomes of these discussions as decisions
made by consensus. This leads me to question whether women who sit on
boa I‘ds that have historically been dominated by men have an opportunity to
Voice their opinions and still participate in unified decision making without having
thei r values compromised.
overview of Governing Boards
Although boards of governance have been around for many hundreds of
Years (Houle, 1989), the focus here is on higher education in the United States,

SDecifically community college boards in the State of Michigan. Community

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colleges are relatively young in the state and the country, with the first one in
Michigan opening in the 1950’s. The first governing board of higher education in
the United States was at Harvard University in the mid-1600’s (Houle, 1989).
Governing boards were created to serve a purpose: to control and monitor the
affairs of an organization or institution (Houle, 1989). This purpose, in constant
flux, ca n include topics such as “institutional mission, strategy, organizational
performance, and accountability" (Wood, p. 5). Vaughan describes the boards'
purpose as “legal responsibility for the college’s well-being” (2000, p. 21). Most
colleges and universities adopted similar governance bodies to that designed at
Harvard, and when community colleges came into existence in the early 20th
century, they too found that this structure was conducive to their particular
SeCtor of higher education. However, unlike many university governing boards,
inc'uding the Harvard model, community colleges have more locally-based
boa I‘ds that are publically elected from the area constituents, or service district
(Cohen & Brawer, 1989).
Statewide higher education governance structures have been defined in
“‘3 past in many different ways. For an extensive look at different taxonomies
for structure, see Lovell and Trouth (2002). Tollefson specifically identifies
StrLIctural taxonomies for community colleges and puts Michigan in the Statewide
CoI'hmunity College Coordinating Board (Tollefson, 2000). He describes Michigan
as falling under this structure due to the fact that the Coordinating Board for

Community Colleges is part of the Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic

11

Growth, but has little control over the financial and academic issues with each
institution. The Center for Community College Policy describes Michigan’s
governance of community colleges as follows:
Limited state post-secondary coordinating functions are assumed by the
State Board of Education. The State board coordinates services for public
two- and four- year colleges and universities. The State board for Public
Community and
Junior colleges, created by the legislature, serves as a constitutional
advisory board to the State Board of Education. The State superintendent
of public education supervises the Michigan Department of Education
which includes a Bureau of Post-secondary Education and a stai'ir for

Community College services. Each Community College district has a

Regionally elected governing board with local taxing authority. (ECS,

2006)

The local (community college) governing board is “relatively autonomous”
(Tollefson, p. 4). Community college boards are typically lay boards in that the
members are nonacademic and are responsible for governance of the institution
(Duh/ea, 2000). Usually boards consist of members who are elected to four-year

terms and there are typically five to nine board members (Cohen & Brawer,
1989). These members are typically “volunteer and have no direct economic
'nte rest in the success of the organization" (Pointer & Orlikoff, 2002, p. 2), the
latter which might be true for board members who are stockholders in industry,
for example. Given that there are no direct financial rewards for members of the
gt3Verning board, how do these trustees benefit from being members of a board?
Community college board members are elected from the communities that

they serve, and campaign “much as they would if they were running for any

DOlitical office” (Vaughan, 2000, p. 21). This includes the possibility of running on

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specific issues or with a purpose in mind. Vaughan warns that board members

could have potentially hidden agendas, even though they are responsible to

those who elected them. Many authors agree that there are ‘feminine’ (i.e., child
care, education, health care) and ‘masculine’ (i.e., crime, financial concerns)
issues on which potential elected official run (Burrell, 2004; Fox & Lawless, 2004;
Hermso n, Lay, & Stokes, 2003). Although applicable to city, county, regional,
state, and national elections, are gendered issues something that current female
board members used as a platform in their election to the board?

In casting the net wider to look at literature regarding women board
Participants, I examined work on corporations, non-profit organizations, and K-
12 education boards. This broader look at boards from sectors other than

Ed”Caution was necessary because of the limited information on board members
in general, and women governing board members specifically. Boards from these
other types of organizations may be comparative in some ways, and may
CO ntrast in other ways.

Most corporation board members are appointed and chosen, typically by
the current board members (Houle, 1989). In corporate boards, the members
and the board as a whole are responsible to the stakeholders of the organization

(pOinter & Orlikoff, 2002). These stakeholders are focused on profit, and the
bGard members are compensated for their service to the organization (Houle,

1989). Because of these factors, compensation and the focus on profit of the

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organization, corporation boards were not believed to be very valuable to this
study.

Non-profit organizations, such as hospital and health care organizations,
also have appointed board members. In non-profit boards, the main focus for
the boa rd members is service to the public (Carver, 1997). These boards are
compa rable to community college boards only in that they serve to control and
oversee the organization, and that success of the board is difficult to determine
and define (Carver, 1997). Although the mission of the non-profit board is similar

to that of community colleges, the fact that board members are appointed might
POSSibly be an area for future comparison with community college boards, but

will not be done in this study.

Both corporate and non-profit boards differ from higher education boards
in that their focus is different, the board members are chosen differently, and
thei r mission is somewhat different. However, the literature is clear; all of these
or‘Qanizations struggle with trying to improve female representation on their
boa rds (Flynn & Adams, 2004; Sellers, 2007). The board structure that more
Closely resembles Michigan community college boards is that of K-12 school
boa rds in Michigan.

There are as many different K-12 structures in the United States as there

are different post-secondary structures for governance. In the state of Michigan,
there is a state board of education, of which all members are elected with the

exception of the superintendent, who is appointed by the governor or the

14

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legislature. There are also regional intermediate school boards and districts, of
which all members are elected (the exception is the Detroit public schools, where
six members are appointed by the Mayor of Detroit and one member is
appointed by the Governor of the state). Locally elected boards of intermediate
districts could be viewed as similar to most post-secondary and community
college boards in Michigan. These similarities include members who are elected
from their local community, have the need to respond to the local community,
and run on a platform of issues in order to be elected that may or may not be
the same as other sitting members of the board (ECS, 2007). This comparison
led me to a search of the literature for information regarding female
representation on K-12 school boards that will be beneficial to this research on
the experiences of women community college board members.

There is a plethora of literature regarding female representation in K—12
sYStems, much of which is focused on superintendents and teachers, with little
on board members. Similarly to the higher education research, there is
info rmation about the function of school boards (Poston, 1994), what to do when
You become a school board member (Bolman, 1995), some predictions for the
F“tic: re of boards (Sewall, 1996), conflict resolution (Castallo, 2003), and board-

s“ Derintendent relationships (Castallo, 2003; Eadie, 2003). With the exception of
the National School Boards Association (NSBA) website that lists general
Defcentages of gender and race among board members, there is information on

the demographics of women board members, but scant literature regarding

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women's experiences on boards (Hess, 2002). There was, however, a study
conducted in 1974 that examined the “Role of Women in Educational
Governance” conducted by the NSBA. This report looked at the characteristics of
men and women board members across the nation. The report concluded that
there was an imbalance of men and women; the school board, students, and
women are not well served by this imbalance; and women who serve on boards
a re more than qualified, and bring perspectives and capabilities to the board that
a re different from their male peers (NSBA, 1974). The numbers have increased
over the years of female representation on boards, but Hess’ report for the NSBA
i n 2002 still indicated that 61% of school board members are male and 39% are
Fe male.

The size of the school district makes a difference in representation, with
th e larger districts having more women on their boards than the smaller districts.
H ess (2002) proposes that when there are more members on a board, those
positions are less desirable to men. Lawless and Fox (2005) agree that the
S t“I‘ialler the board, the more ‘prestige’ that is attached to the board position, and

it is more attractive to males. Other similarities between school boards and
QQmmunity college boards found in Hess’ 2002 study include that more than
67% of board members receive no compensation for their service on the K-12
boards, which is similar to community college board members. K-12 boards also

have similar term lengths for board members, typically 2 or 3 years long.

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Function of Boards
Governance can be described as the “decision-making authority for an
organization” (Lovell & Trouth, 2002, p. 91). In community colleges, governance
is done through a locally elected board, and funding is provided by three
sources: property taxes, state aid, and tuition and fees (Michigan in Brief, 2004).
In 1963, the Constitution of the State of Michigan provided for locally elected
boards to “supervise and control the college” (Michigan State Board for Public
Community Colleges, 1997). According to Houle (1989) and Carver (1997),
control means setting policy for the organization. The purpose of electing board
members from the community is to ensure that there are checks and balances in
pl ace that allow the delegation of authority (American Governing Boards [AGB],
2(>07). Governing boards serve and represent society in all kinds of businesses,
5 ndustries, non-profit organizations, and governmental entities (Carver, 1997).
“While every board has its distinctive purpose and pattern of work, all boards
3 hare a common form and have basic similarities in how they operate” (Houle,
1 989, p. 2).
3card Structure
The structure of the board is dependent upon the type of institution that it
Q Qverns and the mission of that organization. There are typically two types of
Q Overnance structures for higher education boards: centralized and decentralized
C lb(Dinter & Orlikoff, 2002). The structure of Michigan Community College boards

Q1: trustees is decentralized. This means that each community college has a board

17

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that governs the institution without a higher level (state-level) board to which
the college governing board reports. There are typically three ways that board
members are enjoined: election, selection, and appointment (Hammond, 2004).
In Michigan, all community college trustees are elected to their positions on the
boards. All governing boards follow a standard tripartite structure (Houle, 1989).
The three arms of the structure describe the nature of the work that is done by
each: “the work to be done; the administration of that work; and the
esta blishment of policies to guide it” (Houle, 1989 p. 2-3). In the area of work to
be done, the employees of the community college perform this work. These
em ployees are hired to teach students, maintain the physical institution, and
5'4 Dport the faculty in the instruction of students. The administration of the work
i r1C1 udes those who administer the employees doing the work. These
ad ministrators are typically the president, deans, directors, and other mid- and
‘4 Dper-level managers. It is the third group, those who establish policies to guide
the work that this study focuses on.
In the case of higher education and community colleges in particular, we
a re interested in the activities of the governing board as a group. This group falls
u tfider the third arm of the tripartite structure, those who establish the policies to
Q l..- ide the work. Houle defines a board as “an group of people with the authority
COllectively to control and foster an institution that usually is administered by a
q I~-l alified executive and staff” (1989, p. 6). Rhodes calls board members “the

CLlStodian[s] of that social compact...which exercises both a fiduciary and an

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oversight role on behalf of the public” (2001, p. 215). These two definitions
impart a key point of the board: they have control over an organization on behalf
of the public that they serve with a specific mission in mind. This sense of
mission, to provide education to the community that they serve, is the objective
of the members of the board (Houle, 1989).
In community colleges in the State of Michigan, board members are
elected from the community that I will call the service district (McCauley, 2002).
Because part of the operational funding comes from taxes paid by the members
0f the service district, holding local elections allows taxpayers to have a voice on
the board. The inclusion of community members on these boards offers some
Complications however, for the board members themselves (Polonio, 205).
p Olonio cites possible impediments as personal interest and undue influence from
COnstituent groups within the community. Bastedo suggests, “trustees who were
0 'ice assigned the task of protecting public colleges from the political
e r1vironment are now expected to actively engage that environment” (2008, p.
7 ) - This raises the question of how board members function within their
Q0 mmunity with a dual-role of board members (with the community college as
tlTheir focus) and community members (with the community, their family, and

th eir own business as their focus), and how the board member reconciles these

Dotential political conflicts.

19

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Female candidates
Because trustees are elected positions, it is important to include the

literature about females running for elected positions. In understanding female
representation on the community college boards in the state of Michigan, it may
be useful to comprehend the events that led up to the election of these women.
It was interesting to find out how women decided to run for a board seat, who
was influential to that decision-making process and how, the financing of the
Campaign, and the issues they ran on. The other areas of interest are how the
election affected not only the women personally, but their family members, too.
When women run for elected positions, such as a seat on the local
Community college governing board, researchers have found that they run on
SDecific platforms and support specific issues (Burrell, 2004; Fox & Lawless,
2004). Recognition of these platforms could possibly help us to understand the
relationships that women board members have with peers on the board and with
th eir community members. This may also be important if Polonio’s (2005) and

Bastedo’s (2008) concerns about undue influence from constituents and needing

1:0 engage the political environment with constituents affect women trustees

cl Uring or after their election to the board.
Because local, community elected positions are the pre-cursors to other

h iQher elected positions (Deckman, 2007), these educational board positions are
eXcellent starter positions for women who have higher political aspirations

( IT‘lermson, Lay, & Stokes, 2003). There is limited research that speaks to the

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political aspirations of women community college board members as a factor in
their pursuit of these positions, whether they see the trustee position as a launch
to higher political aspirations, or is this service on the community college board
meeting some other need of these women.
Local political campaigns can be costly, and at the local level there are few
(if any) candidate support groups for women (Conway, 2001; Hermson, Lay, &
Stokes, 2003). Pandering to special interest groups in order to raise money has
tYpically been a deterrent to men and women alike in running for office (Lawless
& Fox, 2005); doing so may also lead to claims of undue special interest
(Polonio, 2005). How these forces play out for women community college
tr’l-Istees is unknown but could be explored in this study.

Community College Board Composition

Community colleges have been in existence for over 100 years with the
fi r"st founded in Illinois in 1902 (Lovell & Trouth, 2002). These institutions were
Created to provide “general education, job training, and career and technical
i h struction” (Michigan in Brief, 2004) to the masses at a reasonable cost. Several
e\Ients in the United States contributed to the creation of many community
QOlleges including “the GI Bill, the baby boom, business and industry’s demand
F0 r trained workers, the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, and federal student
3 id" (Vaughan, 2000, p.1).

These events (and others) increased enrollments in higher education,

Qt‘eated the institution that is community colleges, and introduced education to

21

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women and minorities in numbers that had never been seen before. Community
college in particular are perceived to be more female-friendly than most other
colleges and universities (Tedrow & Rhoads, 1998), employ more females (The

Chronicle of Higher Education, Almanac, 2004), and have more female students

tha n typical fou r-year institutions (The Chronicle of Higher Education, Almanac,

2004). Tedrow and Rhoads suggest that this might lead us to conclude that
these particular institutions are “quite open to diversity and are particularly
Supportive of women” (1998, p. 4). The total number of community colleges
across the nation number 1,173 with 987 of these being public, 155
irIdependent, and 31 tribal colleges. These institutions enroll more than 11.8

million students with a gender breakdown of 56% women and 44% men

(American Association of Community College, [AACC], 2010). Full-time

administrator percentages are 58% women and 42% men, with Chief Executive

O1"l‘icers (CEO’s) numbering 72% male and 28% female. While community

QOlleges enroll more female than male students and employ greater percentages
01: female than male staff, there still appears to be great disparity in gender
I"epresentation in senior leadership roles. Because of this inconsistency,

I ownsend (1995) suggests that community colleges appear to be more

SLlpportive of women but in fact are not for this very reason. Tedrow and Rhoads
( 1 998) conclude that organizational culture should be evaluated in order to

C‘etermine if women leaders are able to be fully developed.

22

As a comparison at the state level, the 28 public Michigan community
colleges enroll over 220,000 students with a gender breakdown of 58% women
and 42% men (AACC, 2007). Full-time faculty and staff numbers look
approximately the same as the national data; more than one-half are women,

with the exception of upper administration, executive positions, and full—time
tenured faculty. It is here that the number of women falls below the 50th
percentile and the men take over. The areas that remain above the 50th

mrcentile are part-time faculty, untenured full-time faculty, technical

 

paraprofessionals, and clerical and secretarial support (www.michigancc.net.

2007).
In 2007, the composition of boards across the United States for public

i"IStitutions was made up of 71% men and 29% women, and the distribution of
race was 79% white and 22% non-white (AGB, 2007). Currently in the State of
M ichigan, women have 41%, or 82 of the 200 board seats in the 28 public
Community colleges with exact numbers regularly changing as a result of
Cl ifferent election schedules. While this number is higher than the national
a\Ierage, the number of women working at community colleges in various areas
91: these institutions is much higher than the representation of women on the
bCards of trustees. All but two of these community colleges have a seven-
I“Tlember board; the two exceptions have nine member boards. Board members

at all of the community colleges are usually elected to two- or four-year terms.

23

The composition of boards may be manipulated for boards that are
chosen or appointed, but for publically elected boards, manipulation of board
members may be more difficult. The composition of the board is the “most

foundational aspect of governance” (Pointer & Orlikoff, p. 97), and so these
board members, what their characteristics are, and what experience they bring
to the table are imperative to the functioning of the board. Not only is it
imperative that many areas of specialization be represented such as financial,
legal, non-profit, for profit, and others (Pointer & Orlikoff, 2002), voices
representing gender and race/ethnicity (other than white males) need to be
present on a board, as well (Carver, 1997; Pointer & Orlikoff, 2002). Pointer and
Orl ikoff (2002) warn that true representation of the community that is served by
the board is “problematic" (p. 111). One potential problem could be a lack of
knowledge or interest in being a trustee by those populations that are
Ll nderrepresented (Pointer & Orlikoff, 2002). Yet, there are still those who feel
that greater representation on boards by women and underrepresented ethnic
Q roups is still needed (e.g., Lovell & Trouth, 2002; Vaughan & Weisman, 2003),
which may require more investment in recruiting underrepresented persons to
'TLln for board office. Understanding what factors contributed to a set of women’s
Clecision to seek a seat on the board could be useful in helping to encourage
9 reater participation from diverse groups in the community.
Other aspects of board composition and member diversity are important

to understanding women board members’ experiences, which is the focus of this

24

study. A board that is diverse in composition is still charged with having a single
voice (Carver, 1997). Trying to accomplish this without “squelching dissent or
feigning unanimity” (Carver, 1997, p. 18) may be difficult, but the board must
“elicit as much divergence as possible and resolve it into a single position”
(Carver, 1997, p. 189). Pointer and Orlikoff reiterate the idea well when saying,
“divisiveness depreciates the quality and clarity of your board’s voice” (2002, p.
75). Lovell and Trouth (2002) surmise that a broadly diverse board composition
may not affect “policy decisions...student’s choosing to enroll...or taxpayer’s
willingness to support the institution” (p. 94), but still advocate diverse trustee
representation as one important factor in college success over time.
Gender Equity and Leadership

Historically, men have led higher education institutions and their traits
have been touted as the thumbprint of what ‘good and effective’ leadership
should look like (Hart, 2006), resulting in a patriarchal structure and heirarchy.
Because higher education is ensconced in the power of patriarchy, and power is
most-typically male-centered in this sector, women are oppressed in these
systems (Bensimon & Neumann, 1993; Garcia, 1995; Hart, 2006; Park, 2000;
Rich, 2000). Adding more women to positions of power, in and of itself will not
change the institutions into fair and equitable organizations, but Tidball et al.
point to the “critical mass of women” (2000, p. 20) as being essential. They
argue this critical mass includes “trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, students,

graduates, guests, and friends” (2000, p. 21).

25

Besides fairness, equity on governing boards can contribute much to the
board itself, the community, and to the institution (Konrad & Kramer, 2006).
However, there are other motives for having a diverse representation on these
boards. Valian gives us many reasons to ‘justify’ wanting gender equity in all
areas of higher education (2004). Equality demonstrates to others that they too
can have a good future in higher education, which shows everyone that there is
room for them somewhere in academia which is particularly important given the
access mission of community colleges (Cohen & Brawer, 1989; Townsend, 1995).
In terms of gender equality, this includes increasing women’s voices in
knowledge and knowledge production, augmenting access to power and
resources, and an overall enhancement of the viability of the institution
(Bensimon & Marshall, 2000; Valian, 2004).

In Priorities, Patterns, and Principles, Tid ball, et al. (1999) stress the need
for wholeness of an institution and the need for “a critical mass of women as
trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, students, graduates, guests, and friends”
(p. 20-21). This critical mass at all areas and levels of a higher education
institution provide a community where women have a sense “of ownership...they
matter...that they truly belong...and that they make a difference” (Tidball, et al.,
1999, p. 20-21). Finally, Amey posits, “seeing oneself represented in a text can
be critical to embracing a role and identity” (2006, p. 56). Representation

throughout the institution, at all levels, including governing board members, is

26

important for not only the institution but also for the women who work and learn
in these institutions.

Mitchell and Eddy (2007) posit that community colleges are gendered
organizations even though they are perceived as being more open to women.
This coupled with Belenky, et al.’s (1997) assertion that “women’s talk in both
style (hesitant, qualified, question-posing) and content (concern for the
everyday, the practical, and the interpersonal) is typically devalued by men and
women alike” (p. 17) leads us to try and understand the relationship between
women trustees and the organization that they are trying to serve. Does this
typically gendered organizational structure attract or repel women to run for an
elected seat on the governing board? In Toward a Woman-Centered University,
Adrienne Rich (2000) asks several questions that apply to this organizational
structure: Will a “male-centered, male-dominated” institution change in order to
“serve the humanism and freedom that it professes” (p. 4); what will women
accept of the already structured patriarchy; and, is it possible for an institution to
change when the world around it remains male-centered (p. 4)?

Geraldine A. Evans (2001) argues “it is up to women leaders in community
colleges to dare to make drastic changes in organization, leadership and
management styles, instructional delivery, use of technology, and student
services needed to move us to new and more effective institutions” (p. 181). She
is calling for new leadership skills, and new leaders. Similarly, Glazer-Raymo

states that “until women are perceived as power brokers who can influence

27

public policy at the local and state levels, they will continue to be
underrepresented on college and university boards” (p. 151). She suggests that
the “conventional images of leadership” need to be altered (p. 150). What will
we find from these women trustees, do they see themselves as leaders in
positions of power, with the potential resources to affect change?

Kezar (2000) states women “enact, think about, and interpret leadership”
differently than men (p. 723). Will we find from women in this study that they
too view and experience leadership in a manner that is not ‘conventional’? Will
the women in this study use individual traits and characteristics to describe
leadership, or will they use group or collective verbiage? Ford suggests that
“women do not constitute a homogeneous population”, “do not act politically on
the basis of shared interests with other women”, and “gender does not bind
women as a group any more than it binds men to one another in constructing
and enacting a political agenda” (2006, p. 63). Will we find that each of the
women in this study view their individual experiences so different from the other
women in the study that we will not be able to infer any commonalities?

Women who are politically elected officials operate differently than their
male counterparts in their approach to governance. They tend to “emphasize
congeniality and cooperation” and “act as facilitators” whereby men “emphasize
hierarchy” and “use their power to control [the] direction” (Lawless & fox, 2005,
p. 6). Women able to govern this way could benefit community colleges as the

opening statement from Amey (2006) suggests. This study tried to understand if

28

women governing board members see gender issues as a way to influence policy
at the community colleges that they serve. It was hopeful that there would be
some definite ways in which these women leaders were trying to change the
patriarchy that is higher education through their work on community college
boards.

Summary of the Literature

In the literature outlined above, I provided a summary of governing
boards and the history of their significance in higher education. The impact of
these boards, in terms of governing higher education and the issues boards
deem important, help shape the communities that we live in and the education
provided to our citizens. The structure of these boards is important so that we
understand that we are analyzing a form that was created as a hierarchy, began
as, and is evolving from, a patriarchal institution.

The community college as an institution is unique in its mission to the
community, and it serves a slightly different population than do other institutions
of higher education. I illuminated the history of community colleges and how the
governance structures of these institutions in the state of Michigan operate and
are populated. The reality is that these boards continue to operate community
colleges with less than equitable representation from their constituents. The lack
of literature on this unbalanced representation is in part the purpose of this

study. Revealing at least one segment that is not fully represented on these

29

boards - women — may add to the literature in terms of leadership on these
boards.

In trying to understand a woman’s point of view as a member of these
boards, it was important to look at like institutions (K-12 boards) to try and
construe similarities or differences in these women’s ways of knowing. Because
the women on both K-12 boards and community college boards are elected from,
and live in the communities that they serve, it is necessary to recognize the
struggles that are connected with public elections and what that might mean to
these women.

Theoretical Framework

There was not a specific theory or series of theories used deductively to
guide this study, but rather a phenomenological approach was used to “develop
a picture rather than study cause-effect relationships” (Creswell, 1994, p. 98).
This helped to prevent preconceived notions about how a theory would apply,
and allowed me to draw on various theories to help understand common themes
that arose during the interview process and the compilation of the interview
texts. Some of the theories that emerged as being relevant to understanding the
themes in the data were positionality theory, ways of knowing, gender based
theories, and leadership theories.

Positionality theory is useful in describing these women and their
experiences because it depicts identities that have intersecting roles and

responsibilities in society such as personal, professional, community, and

30

 

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religious (Kezar, 2000). The fact that positionality theory is “fluid and dynamic”
(Kezar, p. 726) makes this a ‘good-fit’ for describing women because they tend
to be relational, not instrumental leaders (Tedrow & Rhoads, 1998).

In Women’s Ways of Knowing, Belenky et al. (1997) studied women that
resulted in a scheme for describing cognitive development as separate,
connected, or constructed. These concepts were based on the extent to which
women framed their understanding of their world. These ways of knowing were
useful in this dissertation by allowing this researcher to define the stages of
cognitive development in which the subjects were, and if the subjects leaned
toward separate, connected, or constructed knowing. Separate knowing involves
thinking that is autonomous, impersonal, comes from others, and is steeped in
procedures and conformity. Stereotypically, this way of knowing has been
attributed often to men, and much of the governance literature speaks to the
presence of separate knowing in rational decision-making, political negotiations,
and other aspects of operating that might be part of being on a governing board
(Fox & Lawless, 2004; Lawless & Fox, 2005). Connected knowing is geared more
toward relationships, responses to others, empathy, trust (based on care to
others), and personal experiences (Belenky et al., 1997). Women tend to utilize
relational ways of knowing more so than men (Amey, 1992; Glazer-Raymo,
1999; Tedrow & Rhoads, 1998). It will be interesting to see if the women who sit

on boards in stereotypically male-dominated colleges have relationships with the

31

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others on the board and the president that resemble connected-knowing (i.e.
empathetic, trusting, caring)?

Gender-based, or standpoint theory, suggests that a person’s experience
is based on a trait or one aspect of that person as the basis for all of their
knowing — in the case their gender (Kezar, 2000). The notion that “women share
a common experience has been challenged since it was articulated” (McCann &
Kim, 2003, p. 17) and there is no single feminist theory (Blackmore, 2007). If
McCann and Kim and Blackmore are correct, then each woman should provide
unique experiences that are not like the other women in this study. It is also
feasible that gender is at the crux of these women’s knowing, but their
standpoint on feminism might result in completely different understandings of
what that means. Ford (2006) lays out distinctive feminist standpoints that might
return unlike ways of knowing all based on gender. “There are many strands of
feminism” (Bensimon & Marshall, 1997, p. 135), and the threads that Ford
(2006) includes are Liberal, Radical, Socialist, and Cultural/Gendered Feminism.
Mary Hawkesworth (1999) couples feminist standpoint theory with some of the
major vantage points of feminism. The nesting of these two theories could
provide some insight into the ways in which women on boards make decisions.

Liberal feminism is based on women and men working “within the existing
political system and structures” (p. 19) to eliminate discrimination (Ford, 2006).
Increasing the numbers of women in areas that men control is a start to the

change necessary to improve equality (Bensimon & Marshall, 1997). Although an

32

increase in the amount of women in positions of power might strengthen the
numbers, the true outcome of liberal feminism is autonomy and the ability of
everyone to make their own choices (Ford, 2006). Hawkesworth (1999) suggests
that liberal feminists not only see underrepresentation as an issue, but
underutilization as well. Underutilization “is defined as having fewer
women/minorities in a job category actually employed than would reasonably be
expected from their availability in the labor pool” (Hawkesworth, 1999, p. 153).
Unlike liberal feminists, radical feminists see the dichotomy of men/women at the
heart of discrimination and oppression. The goal of a radical feminist is to
dismantle and revolutionize social structures and societal values that restrain and
enslave women (Ford, 2006).

Socialist feminism sees the oppression of women as a product of
capitalism. Society does not value the work of women (both in and out of the
home) and therefore does not pay for, or pays poorly for the work that women
historically have done (Ford, 2006). Hawkesworth (1999) suggests that from a
socialist standpoint perspective, increasing the numbers of women and minorities
would not necessarily benefit them, but using power to change the institution is
what is necessary for equality.

Cultural feminism addresses the differences of women and men in terms
of how we are socialized from birth, and seeks to increase the value of ‘feminine’
traits in the workplace (Bensimon & Marshall, 1997). Ford argues that gender

feminists believe this coupled with biological and psychological differences makes

33

women superior to men, and that both sexes “should strive to develop relational
webs” (2006, p. 25).

These are but a few of the feminist theories that may possibly assist with
analyzing the experiences of the women in this study. Because standpoint or
gender-based theories are likely in conjunction with a possible feminist theory, it

is necessary to include these in this review.

Leadership theories abound in the literature and are too great to mention
all of them here. However, some may be helpful in understanding the women
th at were interviewed in terms of how they see leadership, and if there are
leadership theories with which they might identify. These few are trait and power
theories.

Trait theories apply characteristics that define what a leader looks like
(Jablonski, 1996; Nidiffer, 2001). Many of these descriptors of leaders include
Words that are typically considered male or masculine (Nidiffer, 2001), and as
Such keep women from seeing themselves, and being seen by others as ‘natural’

'eaders (Amey & Twombley, 1992; Twombley, 1995).
Power theories help define what the relationship is between leaders and
f0. lowers, and what that relationship is based on in terms of the type of influence
th e leaders has (official, informal, or formal) on the follower, and what type of
DQWer the leader has over the follower (Nidiffer, 2001).
The theories of positionality, ways of knowing, gender-based, and

'e
a Cl ership listed here have been chosen to interpret the picture of the

34

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experiences of the women in this study. Laying out the positionality of each
woman interviewed in terms of her relationship with her institution, community,
and the ‘world’ that she lives in will give us the foundation of her experiences as
a board member. Understanding her ways of knowing will help me appreciate
the stage of cognitive development that she is in and how that affects her
relationships within the institution and the board. Recognition of the participant’s
standpoint on feminism will give me some background on the ways in which
gender has affected this person throughout their experience on the board.
Although not discussed specifically with each, an interpretation on feminist
theories will be made. Finally, their leadership characteristics will round out the
knowledge about how they lead on the board. All of these theories will give us a
multi-dimensional picture of the women who are governing board members at

community colleges in the state of Michigan.

35

Chapter III: Methodology

This study was done to gather information on the experiences of women
who are governing board members at community colleges in the State of
Michigan. The central research question was:

What are the lived experiences of women elected to serve on community
college boards of trustees?

Within this research question are three more specific questions that allowed me
to examine the understanding these women have of their experiences and their
ways of knowing. The three questions were:

1. What factors influenced the decision to seek a seat on the board?

2. How do women feel they influence the governing board on which they

serve?

3. In what ways has board membership impacted women members?
Responses to these three questions, using data collected from on-site interviews
helped develop a better understanding of how women came to run for a seat on
the board in a public election, how they view their role on the board, and their
perception of the overall experience of being a trustee.

The study included personal interviews with four board members,
observation of each of these four women at a board meeting in which they
participated, and the analysis of meeting minutes from two additional board
meetings for each of the participants. Gathering information from more than one

method assisted in the consistency and dependability of the data (Lincoln &

36

Guba, 1985). The triangulation of these different forms of data collection
supports each other in a deeper understanding of the subjects and their
experiences (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2008).

This chapter will describe the research sample and give an overview of the
demographic data of the entire population. A summary of the data collection and
overview of the design will follow. Finally, a discussion of ethical considerations,
trustworthiness of the research, and limitations of the study will be addressed.
Rationale

Qualitative inquiry and a phenomenological strategy were chosen for this
study design in order to gather data that would describe the experiences of
women who are governing board members at community colleges in the State of
Michigan. To understand a person’s lived experience in a specific role and in a
precise setting, collecting qualitative data in a “natural setting” is necessary to
develop an accurate picture (Patton, 1990). Involving the participants in writing
their own story by providing the opportunity for them to review written interview
transcripts helps us to grasp ideas and feelings that articulate their experiences
with more clarity than can be provided with quantitative data (Creswell, 2003).
This study relied most heavily on data collected from personal interviews and
observations from board meetings in which the subjects participated. Additional
board meeting minutes were analyzed as were responses from a survey, all of

which combined to paint a picture of each participant and their experience as a

37

board member. Interpretations of the data allowed for a broad understanding of
each woman’s experience as trustees.
Population Survey Data Collection

In order to address the research questions in this study, a purposeful
sample of women trustees was chosen in order to obtain a rich and specific
understanding of each of the participants and their experiences as a governing
board member. Research was done on the internet, using the worldwide web to
search each community college in the state, and obtain the names of each
female board member; each community college has all current board members
listed on their web site. A list was created of the college, the names of each
woman serving on the board, and contact information for either that board
member or the college. The total number of women board members at
community colleges in the State of Michigan, 81, became the total population for
this research.

After determining that the entire population would be contacted, I then
developed a brief survey to send. The letter and the survey (Appendix B) were
intended to solicit participants for the interview process and to collect basic
demographic information about the participants. These data will be presented
first in the analysis, giving an overview of the demographic data of the total
population across the community colleges in this state. The questionnaire that
was sent to each woman trustee member included an option to choose a

pseudonym for themselves and for their institution. The letter that was sent

38

included information about the purpose of the questionnaire and interview, how
they could contact Michigan State University, and how the information collected
would be used.

Although an e-survey was the original intended method of dissemination
of the letter and questionnaire, another approach had to be found when it was
determined that not all female board members in the state had a published email
address. It was determined that it would not be possible to obtain the home
addresses for all 81 women board members in the state. After speaking with the
board secretaries for three of the community colleges in the state, the resolution
to this dilemma was to send to the college an envelope containing the
questionnaire and request for an interview for each woman trustee. Each
secretary for all 28 community colleges was called to determine if it would be
acceptable to distribute the survey in this manner. All agreed that this would be
an acceptable approach for distributing the surveys.

The letter and survey was mailed in an envelope that contained a self-
addressed, stamped envelope. Of the 81 envelopes sent to the total population,
34 were returned with surveys completed, but only 28 agreed to participate in
the interview process. Although the survey was used as a method to collect
information about interested interview participants, the data collected from the
survey provided some quantitative data about the entire population of
respondents with regard to age, years of education, ethnicity, marital status, and

other data.

39

Demographic Information.

The information regarding all the respondents of the survey gives an idea
of the possible similarities and differences of all of the women that filled out the
survey (Appendix X). Of the 34 women who responded, 27 self-declared their
race to be White or Caucasian. As shown in Table 1, three declared their race to
be African-American, one Arab-American, one Biracial (described by the
participant as black and white), one self-described as White/Native American,
and one person replied that she was of the human race.

Table 1

Se/fiidentified race of respondents

 

 

RACE n
White 27
African American 3
Bi-Racial 3t
Other 1*

 

*Self-described as being of the human race
tSelf—described as Black and White(1); Arab-American (1); and White/Native
American (1).

The average age of the group of respondents was 61.9 years old, and the
median age was 62. All but two of the respondents gave their age, which is

shown in Table 2. Of those that answered the age question, the oldest was 81

years old and the youngest was 40 years old.

40

Table 2

Age of Respondents

 

AGE
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
No response

 

NNOU‘IO’IO‘O‘AOW:

 

Table 3 shows that twenty-two of the women respondents were married.
Of the remaining 12 women, four of them were divorced, four were single, and
four were widows. Nine of the participants that replied had no children and the
remainder of the women had anywhere between one and six children. The
average among the respondents was 1.83 children. (See Table 4).
Table 3

Marital status of respondents

 

 

MARITAL STATUS n
Single 4
Married 22
Divorced 4
Widowed 4

 

41

Table 4

 

 

Children of respondents
CHILDREN n
1 3
2 13
3 5
4 3
6 1
None 9

 

Table 5 shows the educational attainment of each of the respondents that
extends from High School diplomas to Doctorate degrees. Two women replied
that they have a high school diploma, while five have some college and no
degree. Seven of the women have Bachelor’s degrees and 14 have Master’s
degrees. Of the 14 women who have Master’s degrees, three have multiple
Master’s degrees. Two hold Ph.D.’s and three have Juris Doctorate degrees.
Table 5

Educational attainment of respondents

 

EDUCATION

 

High School Diploma
Some college

2 years college

3 years college
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Master's Plus
Doctorate

Juris Doctorate

No response

HWNWl—‘Vl—‘NNN:

 

42

The current profession for these 34 women varied widely and included
homemakers, attorneys, college professors, teachers, realtors, artists, among
others. There were seven women who declared they were retired. All but six of
the women who responded named several other organizations in which they
were involved either as members or serving on boards for these organizations.
Table 6

Current employment status of respondents

 

 

EMPLOYMENT

Unemployed 2
Employed 25
Retired 7

 

The Interview Sample

In order to gather information from a diversity of perspectives, a method
to sort the respondents was necessary. Although a representative from each of
the colleges would have been a good way to perform this research, 28
participants would have been too large of a sample. Therefore, it was useful to
group like institutions, or use an already established categorical reference. The
state of Michigan breaks down the public community colleges into four categories
based on statistical information regarding the institutions such as head count,
square footage, etc. (www.michigancc.net, 2007). The state uses these statistics
to group like institutions by size. The groupings were created to determine state
appropriations, and could possibly provide a link to similar issues to examine,

within each category. One woman from each of the four tiers was purposely

43

chosen to interview in order to get a representation from each of the groupings
already in use by the state with the thought that this would provide reasonable
contextual diversity that might influence aspects of serving as a board trustee.

Using the institutional categories described above, I separated the women
who responded to the invitation letter into the four categories based on the
community college that they serve, and I selected one from each category.
Because I was specifically looking for variety in age, experience, and race, I used
purposeful selection to determine the individuals to invite to participate using the
demographic data they provided on their written surveys.

In order to start somewhere, I chose the institutional category with the
least number of respondents who fell into that group and started contacting the
women who indicated interest in participating in the interview process. Of the
three women in this category, I was able to speak to only one on the first
attempt, and she agreed to meet for an interview. I then moved to one of the
other institutional categories and looked for a woman who was demographically
different to the first one chosen (e.g., age, years of service on the board, race,
and education). I then moved to the third and fourth institutional categories,
following the same approach to participant selection and striving to identify
women different from those who had already agreed to participate. This
continued until I had four women who agreed to an interview.

This method of participant selection was intended to represent trustee

members from Michigan community colleges that were both large and small, and

44

urban, suburban and rural areas, which they do. The women also represent a
good cross-section of the characteristics that were reported from the survey
results. They cover the spectrum of the ages, race, and educational attainment.
Two are married, one is single, and one is a widow. One of the women has a
high school diploma, one has a Bachelor’s degree, one has a Master’s degree,
and one holds a terminal degree. One of the women interviewed was one of the
five youngest and one was in the five oldest of the survey participants. Two of
these women self-declared as White, and two self-declared that they were non-
white. This was a good representation of the survey respondents.

I contacted potential interviewees to make appointments with the four
candidates. There were two candidates chosen who were interested in
participating, but after trying to schedule the interview for a couple of weeks, I
moved on to choose other candidates.

Sample Data Collection

Interviews.

Once the identified women were contacted, they chose a location and a
date and time for the interview to take place. The discussions with each
interviewee introduced other factors of the uniqueness of each institution such as
location (rural, urban, or suburban); the composition of the student body,
faculty, and community that each serves; and other factors that were distinctive
to each institution. Although the focus of this study was not on the institutions

themselves, or the communities that the participants reside in and serve, it was

45

assumed that institutional and community characteristics influenced the
experience of board members, at least to some extent (Bloomberg & Volpe,
2008).

Interviews were conducted with the board members in person at a
location of their choosing. The interview process was approximately 90 minutes
in length, and I used semi-structured, open-ended questions (Creswell, 1994;
Patton, 1990) to gather information about the women's experiences on the board
using the protocol found in Attachment X. This phenomenological strategy
(Creswell, 2003) helped the researcher “identify the ‘essence’ of human
experience” (p. 15). All of the interviews were conducted in July and August of
2009. The open-ended interviews allowed for a flexible examination of each
woman’s viewpoint by hearing their experiences in their own voices (Patton,
1990). This interview protocol allowed for the women’s stories to unfold as
directed by each participant. The questions were placed on a spreadsheet with a
column representing each of the four women. The responses from each woman
to all of the protocol questions were then populated into the chart. This allowed
for data analysis of each question by the four participants to see the themes that
emerged from the analysis, both by question across the participants and themes
through the participants. The accounts that each shared of their individual
experiences added a richness that could only be gathered by allowing them to

speak from their own point of view.

46

Board Meeting Observation and Document Data.

I attended one board meeting for each of the interview participants to try
and gather more data through observations. Observation techniques bring to this
study a personal observation of the setting in which each of these women
operates as a board member (Patton, 1990). Each interviewee was informed that
I would be conducting an observation and we discussed which board meeting
that I should attend. Each of the interviewees gave me two choices for meetings
to attend and I chose the one that fit best with my schedule. They were aware
of which meeting I was to attend, and I was not an active participant in the
meetings. I observed the subject in her role on the board and her interactions
with the other board members and president at the meeting. The intent was to
see if there was anything from the observed meetings that I may have missed
during the interview in terms of my perception of the subject and their
interactions with others (Patton, 1990).

Two board meeting minute packets, from meetings where I was not
present, were also requested and obtained so that I would have a written
transcript of two other board meetings. This information provided written
interactions between the interview subject and others on the board without a
possible bias from the participants because of my attendance. I did not have any
preconceived notion of what I would find or that it would be any different from
attending a board meeting, yet, it did provide information without bias from the

subject.

47

Pilot Study.

Pilot data collection was done with two women who were previously
governing board members at community colleges in the State of Michigan. I
chose two women who had previously served two separate community colleges
and sent them the questionnaire. Because these women were going to be used
for the pilot, their approval to do a personal interview was sought before both of
them agreed to be interviewed at their home. This pilot allowed me to modify
both the survey document and the interview protocol questions where necessary.
There were two protocol questions that were modified prior to the study.

Role of the Reseacher

The biases of this research are based around my background and
upbringing. As a woman who grew up in the 70’s during the 2nd wave of
feminism, there may have been a tendency to expect a certain outcome from
some of the questions. These biases were acknowledged up front and every
effort was made to keep my opinion and attitude out of the interviews and
interpretation of data. Although my personal experience and assumptions were
that women in positions of power were either there because of some financial
benefit that they could provide the college, or they were merely token women on
the board, I realize that these are merely biases and do not reflect the actual
experiences of the women that were interviewed. I also had an expectation that
governing boards were groups that were drama-filled and contentious most of

the time. Although this did not seem to be the case with the four women and the

48

boards that they belong to, it does not mean that it does not happen with other
boards.

Because I am employed by a community college in the State of Michigan,
I purposely did not choose any of the women who sit on the board for the
college where I work. Creswell (1994) quotes Glesne & Peshkin who caution on
“backyard research” and I chose to not use these women for the interviews (p.
184). If they responded to the questionnaire, the information is included in the
data gathered from the survey.

These data could have other interpretations from other researchers.
Because I am a white female who grew up during the 2'“ wave of feminism in
the 1960’s and 1970’s, someone who is of color or younger who did not live
through bias and discrimination based on gender may have a different
perspective. Male researchers may have a different interpretation of the findings
of this study also.

Validity

Triangulation of data was used to help with the validity of the data
(Patton, 1990). Not only were there surveys for the participants to fill out, and
interviews to provide, I also attended one board meeting for each of the
subjects, and requested copies of other board meeting minutes to assist with the
interpretation of the women and their data. Theme justification can be built and
supported using these different data sources (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2008;

Creswell, 2003.)

49

e:

v'v-

_‘

—-~‘

Creswell (2003) also suggests that using descriptions to “transport
researchers to the setting” and sharing experiences provides accuracy for the
data (p. 196). The pictures that I have attempted to paint of each of the
interview subjects are not only intended to entice the readers to understand
them as people, but to provide examples of shared experiences by these women.

My description of the biases that I bring to this study, and the discussion
of points that are discrepant between the four women also strengthen the
accuracy of the findings of the research. These discussions highlight the four
women as individuals who are not exactly alike, and who did not experience their
role as trustee exactly like the others in the study provide a human dimension
that adds to the credibility of this research.

Limitations

The limitations of the data collection for this study revolve around the
participant’s perception of the study. During the interview phase the study
participants could have filtered or presented a bias in their responses based on
their interpretation of who will be reading the dissertation, how they want
themselves to be seen, and other factors that may have changed their
responses. Each participant may not have been as articulate or precise in their
responses to questions as the other respondents.

The interview participants may have modified their behavior in the board

meetings that I observed simply because I was present. There could also have

50

been private non-verbal messages between participants of the board meeting
that I would not have been able to discern.

My interpretation of the participants’ responses and the written board
meeting minutes could be biased based on my experiences or my expectations
for the study. Other researchers could have different interpretations of the
interview data, their perceptions of the observations could be different, and
construction of relationships using all of the collected data could be different. A
male might interpret these data differently and someone who is older or
younger, or of a different race might also interpret the data differently than 1.

Another limitation of this study involves the participants. Because the total
sample size was relatively small, 81 women for the survey and four interview
participants, a more complete study would have included many more (or all) of
those who are in the sample. Because only one woman was chosen from each of
the predetermined categories, a larger sample from each category may have
provided more comparable data.

Summary

This chapter has provided information regarding the methodology used in
this dissertation. Details were given about the total sample, how each potential
participant was contacted, and the final four chosen to contribute. A discussion
of the personal information gathered by the survey was done. This was followed
by an explanation of how the data were collected. Finally, the validity and

limitations of the methods used were discussed. This chapter provides

51

information to the reader to set the stage for the stories of each of the four

women .

52

the
Fr.a

Ella!

hst

ex;

3
(P

Chapter IV: Presentation of Data

This purpose of this study was to learn about the experiences of four
current female community college trustees in the State of Michigan. In this
chapter, findings from the study are presented. Following a description of the
women, the institution that each woman serves and the community in which the
college is located, I present data related to how and why the women became
interested in running for a trustee position and aspects of running for a publically
elected board seat. I discuss running for (or being appointed to) a board position
affected the women, their families, and their community relationships. Other
relationships are also examined and include those that each woman had with the
other board members and with the president of the college that she serves.
Finally, an appraisal of each woman’s perception of their overall experience as a
board member is examined.

Once the background of each woman is laid over the top of the
institutional and community attributes, themes are explored that provide an
explanation of the experiences of these women. These themes were created
based on the transcripts of the interviews, observational data, and the board
meeting minute transcripts after all four of the participants had been
interviewed.

In order to comprehend these themes, it is necessary to become more
familiar with each of the women that were studied. This study attempted to paint

a written picture of each of the women by providing background information on

53

each, and sharing their stories. The foundational information includes some
demographic and familial data that will assist in painting the picture. This
demographic and familial information, along with facts about the colleges and
communities that each one serves, provides the reader with a depiction of the
experiences for each of the women. Providing this information assists the reader
in a more holistic view of the women, the community they live and work in, and
of the institution they serve. All of these things helps the reader understand the
lived experiences of each of these women.
Background of Trustees and Institutional Data

I provide some information about the institution and describe the
community that is served by the college at which each of these women is a
trustee, so that in the end, it is possible to posit whether the specific
characteristics of each institution have an impact on the experiences of the
women. It was assumed that the community and the institution itself could have
some effect on these women and their experiences as board members, although
it was never discussed by the participants. None of the women in this study
talked about the institution having an effect on their experiences as a trustee per
se, although aspects of the community in which it is located were mentioned in
connection with their experiences. A categorical reference created by the State of
Michigan was used to break down the 28 public community colleges into four
groups in order to sort the colleges logically that was discussed more fully in

chapter 3.

54

Although not an intentional part of the data collection, the location of
choice for the interview speaks to the women in this study and their way of
relating with me as a researcher. Each woman was given the option of where to
hold the interview and each chose a different venue. These choices ranged from
a home, a place of business, the college, and a public location (a restaurant).
The content of the protocol questions was the same for all of the women, but my
perception of each interviewee was different, partly because of where we met,
and is detailed below.

Ms. Rebecca Jones, Trustee of Washington County Community
College.

In category A, Washington County Community College is situated in
Washington County (WCCC), which has over 800 square miles of land, with a
population of over one million. Comprised of over 50 communities, Washington
County houses one of the largest community colleges in the state on multiple
campus locations, all situated in urban areas. The college began in the mid-
1960’s with record enrollments in reply to the educational needs in the
community. The board consists of 2 males and 5 females. The board member
who agreed to be interviewed from WCCC was Rebecca Jones who happens to
be one of the youngest board members in the State of Michigan. She has served
on the board for 3 years. She is a single African-American woman whose

employment experience has been in health care. She is an alumnus of WCCC

55

where she obtained an Associate in Applied Science, and also holds a master’s
degree.

Ms. Rebecca Jones met me in the board room at Washington County
Community College at their main campus. When I arrived, she was already there
in the board room on her cell phone. I was escorted in by the receptionist and
she ended her call. Like Ms. Patton, Ms. Jones seemed very professional and
focused on the task at hand. We went through the protocol questions in a very
linear, structured way. Because the location of the interview was in her college’s
board room, the way she was dressed (business suit), and the fact that she was
focused on the questions at hand, with little personal conversation or getting
‘off-track,’ led me to believe that she was also a separate knower (Belenky et al.,
1997). The feeling of the board room lends itself to very serious, impersonal
conversation. This is a room where very important, serious things happen, so the
conversation felt that way to me.

Belenky et al. speak about students who receive good grades but “lack a
personality” (1997, p. 108), and are so “highly polished...that it is hard to catch a
human voice” (1997, p. 109). This is a feeling that I got when I met Rebecca,
and then again when I saw her at the WCCC board meeting. Every word seemed
to be carefully calculated, and there was little or no personal expression with

anyone on the board.

56

Ms. Josie Stanford, Trustee of Sunset County Community College.

In category 8, Sunset County Community College (SCCC) is situated in the
community of Ashton, which is considered a metropolitan area in the state.
Ashton is located in a county that has total population of over 400,000 residents
and is over 600 square miles in size. SCCC serves the entire county and serves
almost 12,000 students. The college held its first classes in the early 1920’s so
that county residents could seek an education without leaving the area. The
seven-member board of SCCC is comprised of 4 males and 3 females. The
campus is completely housed in the Ashton community. Ms. Josie Stanford is the
trustee who agreed to be interviewed from this college. She happens to be one
of the older female trustees in the state and is in her first 6-year term at the
college. She is a widow with four grown children, holds a Juris Doctorate degree,
and is currently semi-retired.

Ms. Josie Stanford asked me to come to her home to conduct the
interview. She is semi-retired, and her office is in her home. My expectation was
that we would meet in her office in her home and that the interview would take
place there. Just the fact that I was invited to her home, her personal space,
added a personal touch that was unlike the other interviews. When I arrived, she
was dressed for an event that she was to attend in the early evening, and was in
her kitchen making salsa. She invited me into her kitchen and we drank tea and
talked while she watched the salsa on the stove. Because of the location, this

was an opportunity to see her in a way that was unlike the other interviewees. A

57

at; f

.‘tl I

tea

ar-

Cl.

widow, with grown children and grandchildren, Josie is one of the older trustees
in the State of Michigan. Although the protocol questions were the same, the
delivery of those questions was different because of the casual warmth of the
setting. It felt more like a conversation between old friends than the interview
that it was. Her philosophy about broader subjects was shared in detail.

Being in her home gave Josie an opportunity to discuss her deceased
husband, her children and grandchildren, and she was able to show me pictures
of her entire family. This personal touch made this interview different from the
others in that I felt as though we were friends, and that we were simply having
tea and visiting. This feeling of friendliness from Josie reminded me of the
connected knowing that Belenky et al. (1997) described in that it was open, not
structured, and safe (trust). There was more there however, and I realize that
Josie is a constructivist knower (Belenky, et al., 1997). She has the knowledge
that every situation is different for each one of us based on our frame of
reference and our perception. She has the answers to questions, but prefaces
these answers with the statement that it is her answer, potentially not mine or
anyone else’s. She understands that her point of view, the way she sees and
interprets her life, is based solely on her perception and her experience. This
constructed knowledge fits Josie because every question is answered with

another question (Belenky, et al., 1997, p. 139).

58

Fl .
ll 5.1:

C. T'i

Ms. Jane Dells, Trustee of Fruit Ridge County Community College.

Fruit Ridge County Community College (FRCCC) has four campus locations
in three urban areas of the county, and is the represented college from category
C. The county is over 500 square miles and has more than 150,000 residents.
More than 7,000 of these residents are students at FRCCC. The first of the four
locations began holding classes in the early 1960’s with three new campus
locations built in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The seven-member board that serves
FRCCC consists of three males and four females. Ms. Jane Dells is the
representative from FRCCC who participated in the interview and has been on
the board for 13 years. She and her husband are business owners in the
community, and she has one grown daughter. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in
secondary education.

Ms. Dells asked me to meet at a restaurant in the heart of Lewis. We met
for lunch on a beautiful, sunny summer day. I arrived first and was seated when
she came in. Being familiar with the staff at the restaurant, Jane participated in
small talk with them prior to joining me. She was very outgoing and exuberant
throughout the interview. She seemed warm, animated, and unafraid of sharing
her ideas and though processes.

The fact that we were meeting in a public place may have given me the
feeling that this interview with Jane Dells was going to be different from the
other two. It may have been because sitting at a table eating food with someone

provides its own intimacy that is difficult to replicate. Either way, this interview

59

had a warm, personal feel that the other two interviews did not. The protocol
questions did not get lost in this interview, but they were not delivered in a linear
fashion, and I did not feel like a robot reciting them.

Belenky et al. indicate women who are connected knowers converse in an
“intimate, relatively informal” way (1997, p. 114). This meeting with Jane felt
very informal and intimate. She spoke about her entire life, with personal people
and anticdotes mentioned without fear of repercussion. Belenky et al. (1997)
describe connected knowers as those who have a sense of trust of others, and I
felt in this interview that I could be trusted with what she said, and that she
could be trusted with what I said. I am not saying that she was speaking without
thinking, just that it felt as though she could trust me and was talking not just
about the answers to the questions, but opening up herself as a person and
speaking from the heart.

Ms. Kathy Patton, Trustee of Burns County Community College.

Ms. Kathy Patton is a board member that represents a college from the
final category D. I chose Burns County Community College (BCCC), located in the
heart of Michigan. Burns County covers over 700 square miles, and has a
population of over 60,000 residents. BCCC began in the mid 1980’s with a need
for local access to higher education, and the rise in specialization of the
workforce. The college sits in a very rural location, approximately 2-10 miles
away from the nearest towns. There are currently 5 locations in the county

where classes are held. The seven-member board consists of three males and

60

four females. Kathy is a semi-retired business owner in her community and has
served this board for almost 30 years. She is married with two grown children
and has some college credits beyond her high school diploma.

I was asked to meet Ms. Kathy Patton at her place of business. Although
she is semi-retired, she was working on a sunny, summer day in July. I was
greeted by the receptionist and asked to have a seat while I waited. Ms. Patton,
dressed in a suit, greeted me and asked me to join her in an office. It was not
her office, but an unoccupied office with beautiful wood furniture. She sat behind
the desk in an office with no pictures or papen~ork or life, and the feel of the
meeting was very impersonal. I went through the protocol questions in a very
methodical, linear way and she responded to the questions in a professional,
polite manner. I felt as though I had to be very business-like in the interview,
and there was very little conversation about personal feelings or interpretations
beyond what I would describe as the ‘public voice’ with which she may have felt
she should speak. Because she was the first interview that I conducted for this
project beyond my pilot interviews, I did not have any expectations or previous
experience to compare it to. This interview struck me as what Belenky, et al.
(1997) describe as separate knowing:

Separate knowers speak a public language. They exhibit their knowledge

in a series of public performances...and they see the listener not as an ally

in conversation but as a potentially hostile judge. (p. 108)

Towards the end of the conversation, the atmosphere changed a bit when Ms.

Patton chose to speak to the way that community colleges are measured at the

61

state level. It was at that time that I felt she was giving me a personal point of
view as a member of the community, but it was also something that she could
(and probably would) have said at a board meeting. She expressed concern that
the way the state measures the success of students in higher education is not a
good model for community colleges. Many of the students of community colleges
are not degree seeking, or are planning on transferring to a four-year college
without obtaining an Associate Degree. This puts community colleges at a
disadvantage because the State of Michigan (and the Federal Government)
measure schools based on degree completers. When she spoke about this issue,
I actually felt her passion. Prior to that point in the interview, the discussion was
almost antiseptic.

Observing Ms. Patton as the chair of the board of BCCC at a public board
meeting confirmed my perception of her from the interview. She was very
professional and a leader in the sense that she was directing the board meeting.
She was matter of fact, direct and polite, with very little in the way of what I
would consider intimacy with people that she has worked with for many years.
Belenky et al. describe the separate knower as playing the game of “impersonal
reason” (1997, p. 104). This impersonal feel from Kathy came from both her
image and expressions in the interview and at the board meeting.

These women all made a conscious choice of where to hold the interview
for this study. I believe that each of them showed a little bit about who they are

and how they experience the world by the choice that they made. I would

62

assume that there are multi-faceted reasons that each of one of them made the
choice that they did.

Each of the four women chosen to participate in this study selected a
pseudonym for their institution and themselves to protect their confidentiality.
Their journey to obtain the board seat, and their introduction and orientation to
the board provide an awareness of where the women started and how they
understand their function on the board. Then a look at their individual
experiences serving as a board member over the years is explored. Keeping in
mind the research questions, a picture will be painted of these women’s
experiences not only on the board, but with members of the community, their
families, and their friends.

Generating Interest

The four women interviewed each came to their board seats in unique
ways. A look at each route to the board seat gives more information on the
journey to where they are now and help in understanding their individual
relationships and ways of knowing. Two of the women in this study came to their
first experience as a community college trustee through appointment to an open
seat that vacated prior to the end of the board member’s term. The other two
women began their experience as a board member through an election to a
vacant seat. The experiences of the women participants regarding these

placements follows.

63

Ms. Patton was the owner of her own real estate business and an active
member of her community when she was approached by the then-sitting
president at BCCC. Both Ms. Patton and the President of BCCC at the time were
members of the same church, and there was a college trustee position that was
going to be vacated in the middle of a term. The college president thought Kathy
might be interested in the vacated seat.

My husband and I talked about it, and we decided that it would be of

value to me to do this, with little risk. I let the President of BCCC know

that I would be interested, and the board interviewed four or five people,
and selected me.
When asked about factors contributing to why she might have been approached
by the president of the college, Kathy replied:

[The president] had gotten to know me at church, and knew that I was

actively involved in the community, and that I owned my own business. I

think probably all those things contributed to him asking me.

When she decided to interview for the vacant board seat, Ms. Patton recalls that
her husband was the only other person that helped influence her decision.
Although her children were already out of the house, she felt the need to include
her husband in the decision making process, “because obviously a decision like
this affects the family."

Ms. Jane Dells’ experience becoming interested in a community college
governing board seat was somewhat similar to Kathy’s in that a seat was being

vacated prior to the end of a term. The vacated seat at FRCCC was to be filled by

selection for the one and one-half years remaining in the term. Jane was

64

approached by the college president, the new chairman of the board of the
college, and one of the deans to take the vacated seat. She recalls the dean
saying:

Jane, you just have to run for the board. You would provide something to

it that is missing. I hope you will consider.

This interest of college personnel in Jane as a potential board member
was not random. Jane had cultivated several relationships with people from the
college over time. The business that Jane and her husband owned was growing
and they needed space to expand. They found out that the local business
incubator had the necessary space they needed and FRCCC also had a presence
there. The college offered non-credit classes and seminars for business owners
in this location that she and her husband regularly attended. It was at this
business incubator that she became familiar with the college and members of the
faculty and staff.

Prior to being asked to serve on the FRCCC board, Jane was approached
by the local bank president to participate in a charrette to determine if there was
interest and need for a branch college campus in Lewis, the town in which Jane
and her husband live. Jane not only participated in the charrette, but was
instrumental in getting the millage passed in Lewis for the college campus by
attending town hall meetings, speaking with community organizations, and

talking with residents about the potential benefit of having a college in Lewis.

65

The branch campus was built in Lewis for the college, and prior to the opening of
the building, the trustee position was vacated. Jane recalls:
It occurred to people that they needed representation from Lewis because
the bulk of the membership on the board was from the ‘original campus
community.’ The new chairman of the board, the President of the college,
and the Dean were the three that approached me to seek the open
trustee seat because of my involvement with the charrette, in the
community, and as a business owner.
Jane was pleased to fill the vacant trustee position and felt that she was
contributing to the welfare of the community that she calls home.
Ms. Josie Stanford was “courted for three years” to run for a seat on the
SCCC governing board before she conceded. As a prominent attorney in the area
with very strong ties to the political community in Sunset County, she had
extensive leadership and political experience. As a member of numerous
organizations she sits on several boards, participates on many advisory
committees, volunteers for various organizations, and has won countless awards
for her service to the community. After Josie left her position as a county
commissioner, she traveled for awhile and found, “there was a world out there.”
She was then approached by several different people to run for a board seat,
and decided it was time. She knew if she ran and was elected to the open seat,
she would not be able to travel much anymore. Still, Josie felt that it was time
for her to run for the seat, and was the top vote getter.

Although Josie never mentioned specifically who it was that asked her to

run for the board of SCCC, she had previously run for public offices. She

66

mentioned on more than one occasion that she is politically connected, so my
assumption is that she was approached by someone in her political circle of
acquaintances.

Ms. Rebecca Jones was first recruited to run for a seat on the WCCC
governing board by a board member at the time who decided not to run again
for his seat. She had developed a relationship with this board member and his
wife while she was a work-study student in one of the academic departments at
the college. She developed several relationships with senior level faculty and
staff while a student at the college, and assisted many trustees with their
campaigns for board seats over the years. When the board member approached
her to recruit her to run for his seat, Rebecca thought “why don’t I campaign for
myself?”

It seems there are a couple of ways the women in this study came to
realize that being a community college trustee was an option for them. They all
seemed to be encouraged by someone to participate as a trustee. As a result of
relationships they had with someone(s) associated with the college (i.e., the
President, staff or faculty member, or another trustee), they were recruited to
consider running for a seat. This is not to say that the women did not think
about being a potential candidate, but taking the step to run or be considered
came after each of them was approached by someone else. This begs the
question of whether these women, and other women, recognize the potential

that they could be elected officials? Or does this come only after they are

67

approached by others to contemplate the possibility? With these four women, it
was their relationships with others that led them to consider getting a seat on
the board. The study participants believe their existing relationships and the
visibility that they have in their communities assisted them with their campaigns
to be elected.

The campaign

Typically, the ability to raise money for election campaigns and identifying
key issues or platforms on which to run for election are important aspects in who
decides to pursue government and agency positions, including community
college boards of trustee positions. Finances were not a factor per se for the
women in this study, as none of the four spent very much money.

All four of the women in this study spent very little money on campaigns
for their first election to a board seat. Although these are elected positions, the
women agreed that there is much less cost to campaigning when running
unopposed. For all of the participants, there was at least one run for office when
they were unopposed, which required less in terms of money and effort. Because
two of the four women were appointed to the board prior to running a campaign
for election, they had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the issues of
the college, and may have had an advantage in their subsequent run for the
trustee position in that they were then incumbents, and possibly running

unopposed, or running knowing the current issues. All four of the women agree

68

that there is a time commitment, even when running unopposed, with increasing
their visibility in the community, organizing and executing a campaign.

Ms. Rebecca Jones described her campaign for the trustee position as
“grass-roots” with volunteers putting together a flyer with her picture on it. The
“bare bones” campaign consisted of Rebecca attending events and passing out
these flyers with her volunteers. Because she was running for the first time and
did not have the advantage of being appointed to a vacant seat like two of the
other interviewees, Rebecca operated under the model she had participated in
when assisting other trustees in their campaigns. Although she did not provide
details on what that model was, Rebecca did describe that she was committed to
attending as many community functions as possible to help increase her visibility,
and began attending all of the board meetings prior to the election so that she
would be able to understand the current issues of the college and the board. She
even spoke with board members she knew to discuss strategies to use in her
campaign.

When running for office, Mrs. Kathy Patton did some advertising in the
local newspaper, but felt that she was well known in the community and did not
need to spend a lot of time and energy running for a seat that she acquired
before the election. She ran four times for this board seat, and ran unopposed all
but one of those times. The one time that she had an opponent, she did not

change her campaign, and still got the most votes.

69

Tr": C

Cw

Because Ms. Jane Dells had the advantage of acquiring a board seat
before having to be elected to the board, and because she ran unopposed, she
did not do any advertising or campaigning the first time she served as a board
member. The second time she ran for the board seat, she was once again
unopposed, so she felt there was little advertising or campaigning needed. Jane
said “I obtained the necessary signatures for the petition, filled out the
application, and drove the paperwork to the office to turn it in. It just
happened.”

Ms. Josie Stanford had a completely different experience than the other
women in this study because she ran against an incumbent board member the
first time she sought the seat. She felt it necessary to hold fund raising events
for the election to assist with the financial burden of running a campaign, but the
majority of the money that was needed for the campaign was from her personal
resources. She did a lot of advertising in the newspapers in the area, used flyers,
posters, and billboards, and was successful in her campaign. She is not quite
sure why she ran for the board and spent all of that money, “maybe my ego got
in the way. I don’t know.” Her financial and emotional efforts paid off, and she
was successful in ousting the incumbent, which she claims “speaks to my
visibility in the community.” She is now in her second term on the board and
spent quite a bit of her own money on her second campaign, also.

Although the money expended on these four women’s campaigns seems

small, the study participants agree that circumstances in the community, at the

70

college, and economic times contribute to the nature of the elections. If there is
no opponent, there is little need to spend much money as there is only one
choice on the ballot. If there is little controversy at the college, people seem to
be detached from its operation and unaware of the need to hear specific political
agendas from those running for board seats. The participants acknowledge the
fact that public participation in the activities of the community college board is
limited. Attendance by community members at the board meetings for the
college is very limited. Although the public pays a portion of the operating
budget for the college in their area through tax dollars, unless there is
controversy that is publically discussed via the media, there is little concern
regarding the election of board members including any concerted attention to
particular ideological stances of individual candidates. All of the women
interviewed agreed that it seems there is a motto held by the community
members regarding their college of “no news is good news." For those women
that have run for their seat more than once, they agree that their success hinges
on this climate of the college and the community. When times are tough and
there is controversy with the college, the need to be more diligent in
campaigning on issues is necessary.

Jane Dells gives an example of how she and one of her political
campaigns were affected by decisions made about the college’s operation. She
believes that during the difficult economic times that higher education is

enduring now, the effect on trustees and their political aspirations can be directly

71

tied to their actions as a board member. Jane was approached to run for a State
Representative seat and was in the middle of her campaign when the trustees of
the college decided that it was necessary to raise tuition. “When the college
board decided that the only thing they could do to continue to stay fiscally sound
was to raise tuition, the opposition for the Representative seat used the fact that
I sit on the board against me in the election, and quite frankly, it was probably
the reason I lost that election.”

During the election process, all of the women agreed that they met a lot
of new people and usually won their races by overwhelming numbers. They feel
that when running unopposed, people only have one choice on the ballot and
everyone that votes checks that box. When running in opposition with someone
else, all agreed that it is difficult to determine whether people choose one
candidate over another because they know that candidate, flip a coin, or pick
based on gender or something else. All of the interviewees agreed that visibility
in the community is critical in being elected, but there is no proof, apart from
their perceptions, whether this is true or not.

Still, the women in this study are convinced that name recognition is how
they got elected rather than their stance on political issues, their campaign
platforms or the money they spent on their campaigns, especially because they
spent comparatively little. Once elected or chosen to fill an empty seat, each
woman experienced an introduction and orientation to their respective boards

differently.

72

Orientation and Training for the Trustee Position

Each of the women interviewed was introduced and oriented to their
respective governing board in different ways. Although orientation is a function
of the college and the board, the interpretation of orientation is relevant in
creating a picture of each of these women’s relationships with the president and
other board members. Although there is not a defined, common orientation to
trustee positions either at the state level, or through the Association of
Governing Boards (AGB) as a national professional organization, there are
guidelines through the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). The
ACCT is a non-profit educational organization that provides support and
resources for trustees across the country regarding board operations and issues
that are specific to community, technical, and junior colleges (www.acct.org).
Membership in the ACCT is voluntary and is meant to be used as a resource to
“enhance boards to be effective; support board members in their efforts to
govern; build boards capacities; and assist boards to recruit, select, and retain
CEO’s” (www.acct.org/services). Orientation guidelines for new trustees and a
checklist for orientation for CEO’s (Presidents) and board chairs to follow from
ACCT are listed below. These are suggestions for colleges and boards to follow,
but they are best practices only. There is no accountability to ACCT for these
things to be done, and it is vague as to who in (or outside) the organization is to
perform the training. Although ACCT suggests that, “New trustees, chief

executive officers, board chairs and other trustees play important roles in this

73

orientation process,” it is unclear who of those listed is to carry out each of the

items on the orientation guidelines.

1) Learn about Trustee roles and responsibilities

2) Learn about the College’s Programs, History and Culture

3) Learn about External Trends and Issues

4) Learn about College Planning Processes and Budgets

5) Learn about Board Meetings and Board operations

6) Practice good human relations skills

7) Rely on the other resources such as the CEO of the organization, the
Board Chair, and State and Federal professional organizations

The checklist that ACCT provides for CEO’s and board chairs to use in the

introduction and orientation of new trustees consists of:

1) Contact and orient new candidates

a.

Send information regarding roles and responsibilities of board
members

General information about the college

Policy statements about board operation (conduct, meetings,
privileges, etc.)

. Invite new trustee to meet with CEO and Board chair, tour the

campus(as), meet with other experienced board members

2) Schedule and participate in orientation

e.
f

a. Meet with CEO, board chair, other board members
b.

Meet with Vice Presidents, Department Chairs, faculty, staff and
student leaders

c. Discuss guidelines and protocols for communicating with staff
d.

Provide documents such as college catalog, student handbook,
strategic planning documents, annual reports, accreditation
reports, organizational charts, etc.

Assign a mentor

Strengthen new trustee’s community ties

3) Be flexible

a.

Allow for different learning styles

b. Allow for different schedules

74

‘ iln

Mu'

Since ACCT is the leading professional organization in the nation specifically for
community college trustees, one might assume that these guidelines would be
used and followed by community colleges across the nation. What was found
from the interviewees from the is study is that there was no discussion about a
checklist or a list of orientation guidelines that were followed when these women
were elected or selected to fill a trustee seat for the first time. This is not to say
that the board chairs or CEO’s did not use these guidelines or checklists when
orienting these women to the board, simply none of the participants mentioned
them. One thing about all four of the board members interviewed was that they
had all participated in or were members of other organizations where there was
a governing board. Therefore, these women were not novices to board
operations, even if they were to community college board operations, but each
explained their orientation to and training for the trustee position differently.

For the purpose of this study, training is considered the mechanics of how
things are done at the board meetings and instruction on how to act, chain of
communication and command, and logistical matters concerning the board.
Orientation is the familiarization with the operation of the college for students,
staff, faculty, and community members. Becoming acquainted with people and
policies already in place that affect the board members and are affected by

decisions that the board members make are part of the orientation process.

75

COl

to

If ACCT guidelines and checklists were used at all community colleges in
the state, then there would be an expectation that each of our interviewees
would experience a somewhat similarly structured experience in their orientation
and training. However, each of the participants in this study not only had
different experiences with their individual training and orientation to their
respective board, but had different expectations of what that training and
orientation should include. Three of the women interviewed (Josie Stanford,
Rebecca Jones, and Kathy Patton) had previous experiences on governing boards
prior to becoming a trustee at a community college. These experiences gave
them a unique frame of reference to their orientation and training at the
community college.

Ms. Josie Stanford remembers that most of the training she received as a
new trustee was done by males, and feels there should be more female
representation during the training. She already had quite a bit of experience
working with boards (both public and private) so she understood how they work.
She was training on what the board does and how they do it, but felt that the
trainers were “condescending” and acted like she did not know “anything about
how boards operate,” which she felt spoke to how little the rest of the board
members knew about her. She gave me the impression that women would have
delivered the training in a different way that would not have been so
condescending. Although Josie was approached first by the board chair, she had

to initiate a search for the college documents necessary to orient herself to the

76

college and their policies. She was not provided with a mentor but still felt she
had enough board experience and knew how things ran. It was clear to me that
Josie felt as though the board members should have gotten to know her better.
This could have occurred through individual meetings with her, or by the board
chair or college president giving the other board members information about her
and her experiences with other organizations. An understanding of Josie and her
previous experiences by the rest of the board members and the president may
have given her a different experience during the training and orientation.

Ms. Rebecca Jones was active in her church board so she had an
understanding of the structure and function of a governing board. When she was
first elected to the community college board, she “contacted the President’s
office and the Chairperson at that time to get oriented.” She was provided with
the college policy manual, and got information about the logistical items that she
needed to know concerning the operation of the board from the president’s
secretary. It was important to Rebecca to “understand what projects were
currently going on and getting abreast of everything,” so she obtained and read
previous board meeting minutes. She also initiated a meeting and spent time
with the President and the board chair to talk about current agenda items.

It seemed that Rebecca took charge of obtaining the information that was
necessary for her to feel comfortable to begin being a trustee. She did not have
access to the list from the ACCT, nor did she mention a checklist or guidelines

used by her college president or board chair. Rebecca basically oriented herself

77

to the college by seeking out and gathering information about the college, the
other board members, and the student population.

Ms. Kathy Patton’s orientation to the board was “very informal in that
there was not training per se.” She was originally approached by the President of
the college because she knew him from church. She initiated several
conversations with the President and other board members that she knew about
information necessary “to participate in the board.” Because Kathy had
experience sitting on other boards in the community, she was aware of
“parliamentary protocols” of board membership. Although her experience was on
private boards that were closed to public scrutiny, she felt that boards were run
basically the same and her initial concern for the public being present at the
board meetings were quickly dismissed.

Jane Dells was the only one of the interviewees that had not had
experience on a governing board for other organizations. Because of this, and
partly because she was appointed to fill a vacant seat, her experience with
orientation and training as a new board member is unique and what I might
consider critical to her performance as a board member. “Baptism by fire" is how
Ms. Dells explains her orientation and training to the board at FRCCC. Keeping in
mind that Jane was selected to fill a seat on the board that was vacated prior to
the end of a term, her orientation and training had to happen quickly. Although
she does not speak about anyone contacting her in the beginning, she was quick

to say that “there was really no formal orientation to the board" for her. Jane

78

focused on what she could do to “get up to speed.” She “read everything I could
get my hands on and I became a very good listener,” and she also asked a lot of
questions. Jane spent her time as a “replacement” board member gathering
information about the college, the relationship that the college has with the State
of Michigan, and information about higher education in general. The mechanics
of learning how the board operates were not discussed, nor did Jane shed any
light on how she came to understand these things beyond what I have already
noted. Another thing that Jane spent that first one and one-half years doing was
getting an understanding her role, other board members and their roles so that
she could make a decision about what she would want to accomplish if she were
to run and be elected for the next 6-year term.

Even though each woman experienced her individual orientation to her
respective board differently, some commonalities arose. Three of the women had
previous experiences participating in various boards and they understood the
protocols followed during a board meeting. Even so, what their expectations
were for introduction and orientation to the community college board were quite
different from each other. Ms. Jane Dells perceived her orientation to the board
as a process that takes some time, and included personal research of the
operation of higher education in the state, along with a comprehensive
understanding of the way that each of her other board members operate. Ms.
Kathy Patton was in need of orientation to the operation of a board that was

held to public scrutiny. Ms. Rebecca Jones needed the logistical and historical

79

torn
were
trair

Peri

of ti
for
ten

Rel

information to be comfortable with her role as a trustee. Ms. Josie Stanford
seemed to want more relational information about the other trustees and the
President. She seemed to clearly want more interaction with the other board
members and the president in terms of understanding each other as they
became a group that was expected to work and make decisions together.

Although the ACCT ’s guidelines and checklist did not seem to be a
common manual for these women and the organizations that they serve, there
were some things from the ACCT guidelines and checklists that were part of the
training and orientation of these new trustees and some things that were not.
Perhaps these guidelines from ACCT are just that, because the needs of each
individual trustee are different. Although there is no evidence whether or not any
of these colleges used these guidelines, there seems to be some justification
from the experiences of these women that using the guidelines would be
beneficial for incoming, new trustees.
Relationships

Traditionally, women and men lead differently, and relationships are often
more significant to women than men (Amey, 1992; Glazer-Raymo, 1999, Tedrow
& Rhoads, 1998). Getting to know and understand these women in this study
with regard to their relationships helps add to the picture of each woman’s lived
experience. The interviews brought to light two major relational areas for each of
these women. The relationship that each of these women has with the

presidents of the colleges they serve, and the other board members, makes a

80

significant impact on their experience as a governing board member. There was
also considerable discussion about the relationships that these women have with
their family members, and other community residents. The creation and
maintenance of these relationships seemed to be important in their view of
themselves as a board member, and contributed to their success as a board
member.

Board Members and Presidents.

Critical to the operation of the community college board is the relationship
between members of the board (Carver, 1997), and each trustee’s relationship
with the college president (Vaughan & Weisman, 1997). Because these
relationships are significant in how the board operates as a group, and could
potentially be a source of how each woman feels about her experiences on the
board, excluding this information might not provide a clear picture of the
experience of these women. Each of the participants was asked about their
relationship with the president and other board members, and their perception of
the relationships among board members.

Ms. Rebecca Jones is involved with a board that, since she was elected,
has been going through change. She was fairly new to the WCCC board when
she was elected chair; she had recently been elected chair at the time of our
interview. Not only was she a new trustee, then she was learning chair
responsibilities, then the president of the institution left. There was an interim

leader chosen as the presidential search began. Because she was the new board

81

St."

the

go

chair, and because there was a presidential search going on, she and the interim
president worked very closely together. They met on a regular basis to make
sure those things ran smoothly, and that the search was progressing. Because of
these meetings, Rebecca felt her relationship with the interim president was very
good.

When the new president was hired, Rebecca worked very closely with him
to help with the new leadership transition. She feels that her relationship with
the new president is “unique” because she was board chair when he was hired.
As chair, she felt she had a different relationship with the new president than the

other trustees might have.

I can talk with him and be very honest with him about issues that might
be bothering me. We work very closely together. I work much more
closely with him than [do] the other trustees. I think that his relationship
with the other board members is a work in progress. It is a matter of the
getting to know each other because there are fairly new board members
and a fairly new president.
When describing her relationship with the other board members, Rebecca uses
the term “cordial.” She has known most of them for a while; she helped
campaign for quite a few of them. “Am I best friends with them, no, but we work
together." She has a “professional, business” relationship with them. In

describing the group, Rebecca says:

I know that we, as a board, we have the responsibility to move this
organization forward. We are supposed to be the leaders.

82

Currently, Rebecca works very closely with the Vice-Chair of the board,
who is also a woman, and she describes their relationship this way: “We speak in
one voice.” Rebecca and the Vice-Chair recently attended the state trustee
conference in a town 3 or 4 hours away from the college. They rode together to
the conference and spent these hours discussing issues and ideas about the
college, and getting to know each other better.

We spent the time discussing things, not necessarily agreeing on

everything. We would discuss each point of view and try to convince the

other to change their mind. We stopped for ice cream, and got back in the
car and started discussing the same issues that we disagreed on in terms
of what needed to be donefor the good of the college. It was then that
we found common ground and areas where we could compromise. It was

a great way for us to get to know each other better.

Jane Dells describes her relationship as a board member with the three
presidents with whom she has worked as good. She has a tendency to go
directly to the president with questions and concerns. She realizes that this is
frowned upon, and her understanding is that each trustee should run everything
through the board chair. As a board chair in the past, she knows that she did not
like it when the other trustees would go directly to the president. However, she
feels that her relationship with the presidents has been such that she could do
that.

The first president that she worked with was someone with whom she felt
she had an extremely good working relationship. They had a lot in common, and

they “just clicked." Jane feels that she never “had the same feeling with the

second president.” They were professional and cordial, but Jane just did not feel

83

the same way about him; she did not elaborate on why. This indifference did not
keep her from approaching him as she has the other presidents with whom she
has worked, and Jane feels that they had a good working relationship. The third,
and current, president is someone she has known for quite a few years through
his work in the community. Jane “just loves him,” and they have a great working
relationship.

Jane believes she has a good, working relationship with all the other
trustees on the board. She has concerns about some of the board members and
what she perceives to be their narrow focus on the “main campus” with a lack of
interest in the off-campus sites. Because Jane is from one of the off-campus
locations, she constantly has to make sure that the board members remember to
service the entire region, and not just make decisions that are beneficial to the
main campus location. Jane also has some concerns about two of the trustees,
and feels that they are not bringing any value to the board. She feels that maybe
6-year terms are too long, and that maybe some people lose interest in their role
on the board.

Jane also expressed frustration with the other board members because all
of them do not take advantage of the professional development opportunities
that are available to them. The Michigan Community College Association (MCCA)
offers retreats and conferences to all Michigan Community College governing
board members. She believes that the retreats should be mandatory, and that

the conferences that are sponsored by MCCA should be better attended.

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These conferences are stimulating. They provide opportunities for
networking with other board members across the state, and keep us up to
date on state community college issues.
She cannot believe that all members do not go to the conferences as all
expenses are paid for by the college.

Jane is also concerned that some of the board members do not participate
in college events that she thinks they should. She purposely attends every event
that she can at all campus locations. She feels that some of the board members
do not attend any, or as many as they should. As a more political person, Jane
believes that attendance at these events increases a board member’s visibility in
the college and broader community, which in turn helps build relationships.

While Jane did express frustration about several aspects of her fellow
board members’ behaviors in these ways, during the board meeting that I
attended, there did not seem to be any animosity between Jane and the other
board members. From my perspective, it does not seem to hinder her
professional relationship with the other board members especially when she
describes the board this way:

Everyone has a tremendous amount of respect for one another. The

reputation of the FRCCC board around the state is that we are a good,

professional board.

Ms. Josie Stanford describes her relationship with the other trustees on
her board as good. She says there is not one of them that she does not like, and

because she likes to entertain, she would like to have them all over dinner, but

that would violate the open meetings act that regulates board meetings in

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Michigan. She describes the board members as “very good people with good
intentions.”

Josie feels that her relationship with the president is very good. She
considers him a good president, doing the best he can with what he has to work
with, and “he always answers questions from the board members.” She tends to
communicate directly with the President instead of going through the board chair
because Josie does everything via the internet, and “the chair does not have the
internet.” She typically sends the president information so that he is up to date,
asks him questions, and shares her opinions with him. Although unspoken, I
think that Josie feels one of her roles as a trustee is to share everything about
higher education and college with the president.

Although she does not believe in micromanaging the president, she is
cautious about everything that the administration brings to the board.

If everything that administration brought to the board was the right thing,

what would be the purpose of a governing board? I don’t want to be

controversial or adversarial, but I do expect to be treated with respect if I

am asking a question or gathering information.

There is currently a new president at BCCC. Because Kathy Patton is the
current Board Chair, she has a very close working relationship with the president.
She feels he is a “wonderful president.” The previous president was a friend of

Kathy and her husband. They socialized and attended the same church. She feels

that she will eventually have the same relationship with the new president. It

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seemed important for her to have a close professional relationship with the
president of the college.

Kathy has respect for all of the board members and feels that her
relationships with them are professional. The board members and the president
have dinner prior to the board meeting each month. This allows them to have
personal conversations and share information about their families and other
personal things with each other. The idea to get together and have dinner prior
to the board meeting was Kathy’s years ago, and speaks to her commitment to
building relationships among the board members. She feels that this addition to
the dynamics of the board members and president is crucial to the smooth
operation of the board.

Kathy feels that she works well with the other board members, and
although she has some concerns about one or two of them and how they
represent the college, they seem to “find common ground when problem-solving
for the good of the institution.” Her concerns about some of the board members
have more to do with time commitments to the college and attending college
events than with their actual performance on the board. Kathy is always eager to
attend as many events as possible, and thinks that some members spend very
little time outside of the actual board meetings in service to the college.

Each of the women interviewed seemed to have a pretty good working
relationship with each of their respective presidents (current and past), and were

a bit more verbal about some of their concerns with their fellow board members.

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However, they all felt as though they were professional with each of the other
members of their respective boards. From the board meetings that I attended for
each of these women, they were nothing but completely professional and
respectful in their behavior towards both the president and the other board
members.

Two examples from the data illustrate the extent to which the women
worked to maintain professional relationships with other board members even
under what seemed to be more confrontational situations. There was one board
meeting where another board member (male) verbally attacked one of the
interviewees publically, but she chose to not reciprocate during the board
meeting. I did see them in discussion after the board meeting was complete, but
was not privy to their conversation. I am uncertain as to her choice to not
reciprocate during the board meeting and if that had anything to do with my
being present.

The second example came during one of the interviews when there was a
concern raised about an issue with another board member, but the participant
made it clear that raising the concern in public to the president, chair, and the
other board members would do no good, and would only cause hard feelings.
She felt that letting it go was the best solution to the problem. Although this was
not a fight that she was willing to do in public, she made the point to let me
know that the group functions fairly well together, but there are underlying

issues that she has concerning other board members. She was not clear if this

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situation was a conflict that she did not want to address, or if she was simply
doing her best to maintain a professional relationship with another board
member.

Both of these examples give us a brief insight into how women present
themselves at public meetings and how they approach conflict among board
members. All of the behaviors of these women with respect to how they handle
themselves in relationship with their presidents and other board members is
beyond the scope of this study. Two of the four women had no problem sharing
thoughts with me about concerns that they have with the other board members,
but none of them were willing to approach these issues head on with the others.
Is it because everything they do together is fodder for public scrutiny? Is it
because they want to play the correct role in public and “be the good girl”? Is
their public voice different than their private voice? Although group dynamics per
se were never discussed during the interview, each of the women in this study
seem to have a handle on what they perceive to be appropriate behavior to
exhibit in their respective groups both in public and private.

Family and Community relationships.

Women tend to be relational leaders (T edrow & Rhoads, 1998) and a look
at each of the participants’ relationships can help us understand their
experiences as leaders, specifically how being a leader affects their family and
community relationships. Publically elected officials have the responsibility of

being accountable to the community they serve (constituents, tax payers,

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community members), and to their own families. During the interview process
with the four board members, they spoke about how their personal/family
relationships were affected by their public position, and how they were
influenced by the community members that they serve. I also asked how their
responsibilities around the house had been affected by the time commitment of
serving (without pay) the community college.

Ms. Jane Dells has a long history of serving her community in many
different ways. Besides owning a business with her husband, she has been
involved in community organizations since she and her husband moved back to
the area several years ago. She is a member of Welcome Wagon, the local
Historical Society, and the Service League. She admits that sitting on the
traditional male-led organizations, i.e., Toastmasters, Optimists, and Rotary,
were not on her radar as she “was sawy enough to know that they would not
serve her well.” She admitted that when she was asked to speak to those
organizations, she was happy to oblige, but was not to become a member.
Although she did not elaborate on her choice to be part of some organizations
and not of others including those led by men, with her political aspirations I
imagine she made deliberate choices. When she was asked to specifically
address the potential effect on her personal and community relationships, Jane
said:

People are busy and not paying attention to the community college. My

personal relationships have not been impacted. My position on the board

has had a positive impact on my professional relationship with other
organizations. School superintendents in the area come to me with

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questions [and] foundation boards want to know what is going on. These
other organizations are interested in the community college and what is
gorng on.
Although Jane’s husband saw her as a different person after she took the board
position, she does not feel that being a board member has affected her
relationships with her family members. She does not believe her responsibilities
in the home have not changed since she was elected, either. For example,
because she and her husband have always owned their own businesses, she has
always had a person come in and clean once a week and this has not changed
with her added trustee responsibilities. She feels that she has grown from the
experience as a board member, as does her husband:
At some point in time during my second 6-year term, my husband said to
me, “Who are you, and what have you done with my wife?” He explained
that I had grown in so many different ways that I was a different person
than the one that he married, in a positive sense.
In one respect, Jane has been changed not just as a person, but in her
aspirations for public office. She ran for a state legislative position, and was not
elected. She blames her unsuccessful run on the fact that during the campaign,
the community college board had to raise tuition, and this was used against her
in the campaign. This has not stopped her from doing other things to improve
the community in which she lives. One example Jane offered was that she is

currently working with other educators in the community to start a non-profit

foundation to assist with growing the community.

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As a widow with grown children, Ms. Josie Stanford did not think that her
personal life was affected by her election to the board. Her responsibilities at
home have not changed because she lives alone. Before she decided to run for
the seat at SCCC, she travelled quite a bit and knew that continuing to travel
extensively would be out of the question if she were elected to this seat.

In terms of her relationship with community members since becoming an
elected official, Josie spoke only to how she can assist community members
through education. Josie talked frequently about mentoring and assisting women
with improving their lives. She spoke fondly of many women who she helped go
back to school to better themselves and be strong and independent. Josie
reflected that she “lost more than one good assistant and secretary” because she
encouraged them to get an education and pursue loftier goals. Because she feels
that women’s work is devalued, and working in the home has no monetary
value, Josie is a true believer of women having the skills, education, and
experience necessary to be independent if that is what they want to do.

Josie’s desire for affordable, accessible education for everyone that wants
it comes from, in part, her upbringing in a home where “we didn’t educate our
women back then.” She was raised in an environment where women and men
ate in different rooms, worshiped separately, and females were expected to be
seen and not heard. Her devotion to education rang clear:

Look at me, who is going to take me without even a high school

education? How many more people are out there like me, who don’t have
the opportunity, or never had the opportunity to go to college? If it

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weren’t for the community colleges, they never will because the

universities are never going to take them.

When asked directly about the impact of board membership on her family,
Rebecca’s response was “there has been no impact.” Rebecca shared very little
concerning her family life, and when she talked of family, she spoke of her
church family. Rebecca did not speak to her responsibilities at home as being
more or less than prior to being elected to the board. She did mention the effect
on her as a person that board membership has had.

I have not been changed by this position. I am still who I was before, with

a focus on what I am doing on the board and where I am going in my

professional life. My ability to critically think has increased, and my work

load has increased.
She goes on to speak about how the position has affected her:

There is a lot of responsibility in being a board member. People look at

you differently, I mean in the college community. You hold a lot of power

in that position.
Rebecca tries to keep conversations with community members about the
operation of the college to a minimum. If the conversations go down a road that
has to do with the day to day operations of the organization, she refers people to
the President. If the conversation is regarding policy items about the college, she
thanks the community member for their input, and then terminates the

conversation (or changes the subject). As a board member, she “needs to focus

on serving the public and moving the college forward." Ms. Jones’ perception of

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the impact on community relationships led her to introduce the term “servant
leadership”.

The power lies within our owners; we are servants to them, to help their

business ventures, or whatever is going on, to help push that forward

through educating the public.

Ms. Kathy Patton spoke of the “responsibility that I [have] as a board
member is to do the right thing." She feels it is an honor to serve her community
by participating as a trustee for the college, and that community college people
are special:

Working with community college students is a calling. Assisting people to

better themselves, change their lives, and improve their communities

through that change is a very important task in life.

Kathy is very committed to the community and she and her husband are
very active in it. She did not speak to any issues with her community
relationships as a result of serving as a trustee. I asked specifically if she could
describe a relationship that may have been damaged because of decisions that
the board made. She only replied that “I have gained more relationships than
have been lost.”

As a married woman with grown children, Kathy also did not see that
being a board member interrupted her personal and family relationships. She
said that her responsibilities at home were the same now as they were before

she became a trustee.

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Each of these women shared a little of what they thought was the impact
on their families of them being elected to a trustee position, as well as any ways
in which this role affected relationships within the family and community.
Although the amount of information shared on this topic varied for each
participant, it seems that the women felt there was little impact on their families
as a result of their decision to seek and assume the trustee position.

The impact on relationships with community members of serving as a
trustee was viewed by each of the women in different ways. Jane spoke
specifically to her relationship with other community organizations and how she
was affected politically. Josie talked of her responsibility to encourage and assist
community members with educational attainment. Rebecca highlighted a desire
to be a servant to the community, but drew specific boundaries around the
issues that she would discuss with community members, and Kathy described
the desire to assist community members with improving their lives through
education. With the exception of Jane it did not appear that there were negative
effects of serving as a trustee felt by these women in their community
relationships. At the same time, all of the women expressed ways in which they
were able to work differently in their communities as a result of their position,
and in some cases, felt compelled to act in certain ways because of their role

with the community college board.

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Overall Experience as a Trustee

To summarize their experience as trustees, each participant was asked if
serving as an unpaid trustee for the community college had met their
expectations. Each of their responses gives insight into the women and what
they thought the experience was going to be. Although each of them shared that
the experience of being a governing board member at a community college was
positive, they all have a question in their mind as to whether they will run again
in the future. There is a time commitment that each one of them feels might
hamper their decision to seek election again. As well for some of them, there are
other public positions that they might be interested in that would take time away
from the college board.

Kathy Patton has enjoyed her experience as a trustee of BCCC, it has
“exceeded her expectations.” She feels like the community college is probably
one of the most important things going on in the county. She has learned a great
deal from being a trustee, and the knowledge she has acquired during her
experience has helped in her business as well.

Rebecca Jones feels that the experience of being elected to this position
was “amazing." Because she is an alumnus of the college, she has a passion for
the institution and making it better.

I know I am in a very important position. I am honored to serve on the

board. The first year I was on the board was a ‘gimmie.’ You send time

learning about the board, going to seminars and professional development

opportunities for board members. Then in the second year, you start
examining things differently.

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Rebecca really feels that after the first year, she began seeing her impact on the
board and the college. That is where she finds satisfaction, making a difference.

Jane Dells has had a “wonderful, pleasant, broadening experience” on the
board. Although she ran twice for state office and lost both times, she feels that
her potential to “make a difference” can be done on the board of FRCCC just as
well as in a state office. She has many ways that she can be fulfilled by
contributing to her community, and she is proud to be able to do that.

Josie Stanford is pleased with her experience as a governing board
member. She is not certain yet if she will run again, but she will make that
decision when the time comes. Josie is one that may be running for other public
offices as she has in the past.

All four of the participants have had positive experiences as governing
board members at community colleges in the State of Michigan. Each of them
feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment from the experience, that they are
able to make a difference as a trustee, and their expectations of this part of their
lives have been met.

Gendered differences

The literature has shown that men and women experience things
differently (Amey, 1992; Kezar, 2000; Valian, 2004) and lead differently (Amey,
2006; Kezar, 2000). I began the study therefore, wondering whether or not the
women trustees would perceive that they had different experiences than their

male counterparts, so I pursued this topic with the participants. There were

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varied responses to this topic ranging from a perceived level of commitment to
the board, a different approach to making decisions, and diverse opinions on
what experience meant to each participant.

Ms. Kathy Patton feels that some men are not as committed as she is. She
feels the need to attend all of the college activities that she can and believes that
this is part of her service to the electorate. Some men, in her eyes, do not
necessarily have the same level of commitment, and are only willing to do so
much. Kathy did not speak to the commitment level of the other women on her
board.

Females want to do more, or try and do more. Adding one more thing to

their plate could be a gender thing.

Ms. Rebecca Jones feels that her experience is very different from that of
the male members of the board. She feels that women take things more
seriously, and do more critical thinking. Rebecca feels that women need to make
sure that “they do the best job possible.”

[Men] just want it done. We (women) want it done, but we want more

detail. We want it done but we want to know how we are going to get

there, what the

implications are going to be, etc. Women take everything that they are

involved in to heart. Men don’t necessarily do that. They placate to this

one, or smooth things over. Men want to check things off the list. Women
in powerful positions

are very direct, they know where they want to go, and how to get there.

They don't take no for an answer. Women in positions of power are
leaders.

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Rebecca thinks that men and women see things differently partly because of
ego. She feels that men who do not have a lead position or are not in leadership
positions in either their professional or personal lives exert more power on the
board to satisfy their ego. Although the men on the board do not dismiss
women’s ideas, they just want to “plow through” the agenda item. She feels that
women are more process oriented and sequential. Rebecca’s collaborative
process shows when talking about working with the board to resolve issues:
When dealing with a group of people, in any setting, there are always
challenges in working with the group. There are some things that take
more effort than others, you work at it. I am stubborn, I don’t give up
easy. I am going to figure out another way to come at an issue. If I see a
slight opportunity, I will take advantage of that, and change some minds.
Although Jane Dells claims a neutral position on the National Organization
for women (NOW) and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), her choice to not
publicize her stance on feminism issues is directly related to her political
aspirations. Jane feels as though declaring a feminist approach would alienate
voters, so she claims a middle of the road tactic.
I have a real problem going on either side of the fence. I am slowly,
quietly making a difference. I am not a rabble-rouser.
Ms. Dells did have an example of a situation that she feels happened because
she was a woman, and is certain that if she were a man, this would have never
happened.
Fairly early on in my year and one-half as a selected trustee, there was an

issue about the Lewis campus. I went to use the restroom, and when I
returned, I realized that they had voted on the agenda item while I was

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gone. I believe that would not have happened if I was a man, and I have

never forgiven them for that.

Jane felt at that time that she was taken advantage of because she is female and
the other members of the board were all male. However, other than this one
incident, Jane does not feel that her gender has hampered her experience as a
trustee. There are now four women on the board, so Jane does not feel that a
gendered issue would happen. Does she use the fact that there are more women
than men for behind the scenes leverage? Her answer was a resounding “yes.”

Jane does feel that men and women experience things differently, and
used the example above as a way to share with me that she and her other
women board members would “have never acted that way” to another board
member, male or female. She believes that “we are all equal, and I treat each
member with respect”. She feels that the incident above showed that she was
not respected by the male members of that board at that time, and things have
improved for her over the years.

Josie Stanford does think that women and men perceive things differently,
and are different in their approach to being leaders. She does not feel that issues
on the board are initiated because of gender. For example, there is one board
member that does not know how to speak to people in public. Josie feels that he
shows very little respect for others, but also says that he does not discriminate

between men and women when behaving this way.

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Josie shared a couple of stories that happened throughout the years (prior
to becoming a board member) that spoke to her perception of gender issues
more broadly. She retold a story about “bigoted and sexist” men in a social club
in which she and her husband were members. Josie’s husband wanted to run for
the board of the social club and she told him that he should not be a part of that.
“He told me that it is easier to change things from within than from outside.” She
felt that having her husband on that board would cause others to think that he
was also bigoted and sexist while her husband wanted her to understand that his
mission as a board member was to make changes to the organization from
within.

I believe that of the four women that were interviewed for this
dissertation, Josie was probably the most aware of gendered differences in the
public and political arenas. She was more verbal about the roles of men and
women and how those roles are changing. However, overall, there were fewer
examples of gendered differences than what I would have imagined going into
this study, based on the literature. Although the women interviewed think that
men and women experience things differently, there were very few ways in
which the women differed from their perceptions of their male counterparts’
experience.

Matting and Framing the Pictures
The intent of this study was to explore the experiences of four women

who occupy governing board positions at community colleges in the State of

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Michigan. Trustee positions in higher education are presumed to be leadership
positions so it is important to understand how these women view their
experiences in a publically elected position and how (or whether) they approach
the role as a leader. Kezar (2000) suggest that a woman’s understanding of
leadership comes partially from fundamental aspects of her identity (p. 723).
Following this line of thinking, because I studied women trustees, there is value
in understanding whether the women construct their experiences with gender or
feminist frameworks, if they perceive that they have different experiences than
men do, and if these perceptions and perspectives affect how they operate as a
trustee. Attempting to understand these women and their ways of knowing
(Belenky, et al., 1997) may help other women who desire to obtain a governing
board position. Although none of the participants spoke specifically to their
leadership style(s) or their specific ways of knowing (Belenky, et al., 1997), they
did provide insight into these areas and their feminist standpoints. None of the
four women interviewed has what seems to be a pure, singular leadership style
and not each of the four had a clear, concise way of knowing as described by
Belenky, et al. (1997), still, some observations of leadership styles and
discussions of ways of knowing for the interviewees provides information to the
reader, colleges, presidents of colleges, and professional organizations to better
the experience for women who are trustees, or desire to become trustees.

The conversations with each of the four women took somewhat different

paths in terms of emphasis. I believe that each of the participants talked about

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their own unique way of understanding their experience as a trustee, and so,
various aspects emerge for each of them. Because of this, there will be different
areas of discussion for each of the participants.
Ms. Rebecca Jones

During the interview with Rebecca, she spoke about servant leadership
several times, using that very term. She constantly talked about the need to
serve the people that elected her, finding out what their needs are, and trying to
figure out ways to meet those needs as a trustee at WCCC. Rebecca’s references
to servant leadership coupled with her questions during the board meetings that
I reviewed and attended leads me to believe that she really believes that her
leadership style is that of servant leadership. Servant leadership is defined as the
need to “identify and meet the needs of others” (Keith, 1994, p. 6). Although
servant leaders are not concerned about the accumulation of power, they are
able to garner power simply by serving others (Greenleaf, 1977). By putting
others’ needs first, by striving to assist others in becoming better people, the
servant leader feels a sense of accomplishment and self-fulfillment (Greenleaf,
1977). There are many references to service in religious writings, and it seems
that Rebecca sees her service to church much in the same way that she sees her
service to the board of WCCC.

Some of the traits that I would use to describe Rebecca Jones are
professional, rigid, congenial, service-oriented, and collaborative. She seems to

have a bit of the ‘public face’ or the ‘political speak’ that does not let us see her

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personal opinions and thoughts. She seems intent on serving the public with the
good of the institution as her focus, but does not share with us what her
personal opinion about things might be.
These traits seem to be conflicting in discussion of leadership styles that are
male oriented (rigid) or female oriented (collaborative). Rebecca is also
conflicting when we look at her in terms of women’s ways of knowing (Belenky,
et al., 1997) in that she is a separate knower in that she seems impersonal and
autonomous, but is also a connected knower in that she responds to others and
looks for truth based on care, and her morality is based in service. These
contradictions lead us to see Rebecca as having an experience as a trustee that
is unique.
Ms. Josie Stanford

The best way to describe Ms. Stanford’s ways of knowing would be
gender-based (Kezar, 2000), or standpoint theory (Kezar, 2000). Ms. Stanford
relates many of her life’s experiences and relationships in terms of what it means
to be a woman, or how being female has affected her life. Her experiences begin
with her relationships as a child and growing up in a home that she describes as
“not valuing women,” through to her recognition that there are some men in
organizations that she is involved with that still speak to women as if they are
second class citizens. Josie seems to have a clear gender-based way of knowing
(Kezar, 2000) because her experiences seem to be based on the fact that she is

female, but her theoretical take on feminism is not as clear. Her stories of

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working within a system to eliminate discrimination and her recollection of
helping other women with whom she was associated better themselves through
education suggest a liberal feminist point of view (Blackmore, 2007). Liberal
feminists work within existing systems to eliminate discrimination, and Josie’s
continuous search for power positions e.g., on boards, running for political office,
suggests that either liberal feminist or socialist feminism (Blackmore, 2007) —
changing the institutions that we operate in — is her way of knowing how to
improve the opportunities for women. Acknowledging how she was socialized
speaks to cultural feminism (Blackmore, 2007) in that she seeks to increase the
value of women and their traits in society (Blackmore, 2007). Listening to Josie
talk about her life, what she has done and how she has come to “know” the
world around her leads me to believe that she operates under what Belenky,
et.al. ((1997) describe as constructed knowledge. She “aspire[s] to work that
contributes to the empowerment and improvement in the quality of life of
others” (p. 152).

I believe that Josie uses her power in the community in the form of her
name recognition to entice change and lead people and organizations. She is
active in specific communities and sits on several profit and non-profit boards
that give her opportunities to make those changes.

I have to wonder if Josie has a more developed sense of self and more
complicated way of knowing because she is more mature than most of the other

trustees in the state. Although her years of experience on the board are less

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than most of the other women in this study, as one of the older trustees her life
experiences may have provided her with a more mature way of looking at and
evaluating life. With a wide variety of experiences, going from a woman who did
not even obtain a high school diploma to a well respected attorney, does this
alone explain her evolution of development?

Ms. Kathy Patton

Ms. Patton seemed to be more guarded in her responses throughout the
interview, and very stoic during the board meeting that I attended. This leads
me to believe that she is a separate-knower as “...[they] bring to their group
propositions that they have developed as fully as possible” (Belenky, 1997, p.
108). Unlike Ms. Jane Dells who is “nosey, and asks a lot of questions" and Ms.
Josie Stanford who “is the inquisitor” in comparison, Ms. Patton seems to
measure her words and responses carefully. Her interview seemed very
impersonal, and although she was friendly, I did not get the same feeling of
warmth or intimacy that I got with two of the other three. Belenky, et al. (1997)
describe this as “impersonal reason” (p. 104).

Kathy Patton has quite a bit of experience on governing boards in her
community and has the longest tenure on the community college board of the
women that were interviewed. Her knowledge of behavior that works well in
these situations must be beneficial to her. It may be that her concern about the
community college board meetings being public has something to do with her

guarded posture in them. With her husband as a reporter for the local paper, she

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was concerned about the perception of his writing about the board meetings.
She was even asked by board members when she interviewed for the open seat
her first go around with this board if her husband’s occupation would be harmful
to the college and the board. So her sensitivity and reserve may be warranted.

Kathy seems to function as a separate knower in that she seems to “play
a game that has belonged traditionally to boys” (Belenky, et.al., 1997, p.104).
This actually contradicts some of the things that I found about her such as a
traditional marriage with children, no formal education beyond high school, and
what seems to me as a “conventional female role" (Belenky, et al., 1997, p.
104). Kathy spoke several times during the interview and at board meetings
about “doing the right thing," almost as if these decisions were not personal, but
that she was making decisions based on what she thought to be the right thing
to do...not because that is what she wanted. It was like she was doing what she
thought others expected her to do. This is what Belenky, et. al (1997) describes
as “public language” that “aims to please" (p. 108-109). It seems to be Kathy’s
intent to provide purely non-emotional, fact-based decisions, lacking a personal
voice to all of her decision making as a board member.

This seemingly separate way of knowing for Kathy affects her leadership
style in many ways. Characteristics that could describe her leadership style would
be collaboration and congeniality. Collaboration does not fall under the separate
way of knowing according to Belenky, et al., so again, there is a contradiction in

comparison to the authors ways of knowing. During board meetings, she

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deferred to the appropriate people when necessary, but pushed on to complete
tasks and check-off items from the agenda. She was pleasant and cordial to all in
attendance, and seemed to have a very political face on her interactions with the
board members, president, and members of the public. Her words, at times,
seemed scripted, like when Belenky, et al. describe as speaking “a public
language” (1997, p. 104).
Ms. Jane Dells

Jane calls herself a “natural born leader.” She enjoys participating in
organizations and is a strong believer in doing what she thinks needs to be done
for the good of the community, the college, and her constituents. The fact that
she ran for public office in different settings (the community college and a state-
level position) leads me to believe that she is politically motivated and concerned
with her public persona. She said that she has a “real problem going on either
side of the fence,” which leads me to believe that she is very politically motivated
to reach out and serve as many people as possible. She is very charismatic,
warm and personable. She is a seeker of knowledge, learning as much about
everything that she comes in contact with so that she can speak intelligently on
every subject. For example, Jane and a man in the community are working to
create a foundation and they are currently in the process of putting together the
governing board. Their discussions and research have led them to the conclusion
that the board needs to be evenly divided between men and women, but if

necessary, there should be more women. When asked why, Jane said that she

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and her partner in this venture did research and found out that “boards are more
effective and valuable if there are more women than men”.

Interestingly, although a political speaker, there were times in our
conversation when the personal and passion came through in her tone. She
seemed to feel safe with me in that she shared some of her passions. This is not
typical of separate knowers, but more of what Belenky, et al. (1997) call
constructed knowledge. This integrates the self with the knowledge that is
learned from others. It seems as though Jane is able to take a political point of
view that is pleasing to others and integrate her personal self into this language.
This is where I think her charisma and charm comes into play. She chooses the
point of view and speaks to the least harmful position to retain her image and
sustain her reputation, but is able to assimilate a personal viewpoint into this for
her maximum benefit. It seems very clever, but very genuine and real.

I think that positionality theory best describes Jane Dells leadership
because it seems that her experiences are all wrapped up together (Kezar,
2000). Her personal and professional identities are what they are because of, in
part, her community relationships and her political aspirations. Jane’s
professional experiences and her personal attributes of charisma and charm have
made her who she is in the community, and have contributed to her political ties
throughout the state. To reiterate what was said earlier about positionality
theory, Jane’s power is definitely a force that permeates every one of her

relationships.

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Summary

In summary, each of the women in this study have different ways of
understanding their experiences in life and as governing board members at
community colleges, and they each have a different way of communicating that
information. Each of them has unique, separate journeys that brought them to
where they are now. They each deal with their role as a trustee member
differently and have gotten distinctive value from being a board member. The

analysis and interpretation of the findings will follow with implications for further

study.

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Chapter V: Discussion and Interpretation

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of women
who became members on community college boards in the State of Michigan.
The need for an appreciation of these women and their lived experiences is
lacking in the current literature and may be helpful to different sectors in higher
education. There are three groups that could potentially benefit from the findings
in this study. The first group that may benefit from this study is women who
aspire to contribute to higher education through participating at the board level
in order to donate their knowledge and wisdom to the citizens of the state.
Women could benefit as they may be able to use the information to become
stronger leaders. The second group that could gain from information in this
dissertation is institutions of higher education, specifically community colleges, in
the way that they solicit women to run for vacant board seats and in their
orientation and training of women who have been elected to the board seat.
Higher education institutions could become more robust by purposely
encouraging women to run for board seats. The third group that would benefit
from this dissertation is the professional organizations that support both board
members and institutions that are governed by boards. These organizations
could provide more information and services that would assist new board
members as they transition to the board. All of these factions can take
advantage of the data from this study to promote the institution and provide a

positive experience for both the board member and the organization.

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In this qualitative study, I used survey data, personal interviews,
observation techniques, and written transcripts of board meetings to examine
the experiences of four women who are currently governing board members for
community colleges in the State of Michigan. These data were collected, coded,
and analyzed in order to write descriptions of the women’s experiences based
around the three research questions, which were:

1. What factors influenced the decision to seek a seat on the board?

2. How do women feel they influence the governing board on which
they serve?

3. In what ways has board membership impacted women members?

These questions were answered for the most part in chapter 4. There
were themes that arose that were outside of the scope of each of the questions,
and that added to the understanding of the women’s experiences as a governing
board member. This chapter will discuss and interpret these themes as they may
impact future research, and as implications for practice in higher education,
women’s studies, and leadership.

Generating interest

This study has shown that women who have an interest in running for a
seat on a community college governing board need to create and maintain
relationships. The women from this study felt that relationships were critical to
their becoming interested in running for a board seat, or being asked to fill a

vacant board seat. In each of the four cases, participants were approached by

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someone inside the organization that felt these women were capable of being a
trustee and would be a valuable asset to the board. They were encouraged,
asked, or prompted to run for a seat because of a relationship that they had with
someone who was aware that there was a vacancy. Although these relationships
ranged from personal to professional, the women in this study spoke of the

i mportance of all relationships to their success in obtaining and maintaining a
board position.

Based on the experiences of the women interviewed, it would seem that
women who may be interested in trustee positions at community colleges would
seek to create relationships with people inside the college, and those people
outside the college that have ties to that college. These relationships could be
focused in several different areas, including, within the community college
district, with employees of the community college, and with political factions in
the community. Because community colleges in the state of Michigan are funded
in part by the residents of the district, a visibility within that district is necessary
to be successful in a run for a seat on the board. It was found in this study that
visibility can be cultivated in many different ways. There are political, religious,
and service oriented community groups that can promote women to be

Successful in their campaign for board seats. As was documented in this study,
this collection of organizations can benefit the women considering running for
Office in many different ways. Some of the women in this study came to be

i nterested in running for a seat through people that they knew from their church,

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through their local service organizations, or through dealings that they had with
people they encountered with their personal business. Creating and building
relationships with people in the community is a common factor for all of these
women.

For the leaders of institutions looking for potential new governing board
members, a look around at community members who are active in these
religious, service, and community organizations are a good place to start to
persuade people to run for seats. In some cases, there may be a need to look for
specific attributes such as women who are attorneys, women who are associated
with the specific fields of study, or even church leaders and business owners.
Women who have some of these attributes would have experiences to contribute
to their service on the board. Because boards are responsible for the operation
of the community college from a fiscal and policy perspective, women who have
experience as CPA’s, attorneys, or who have owned their own business may have

skills that would be of value for the board. Women who have experience being
leaders in other organizations (church or service) may be able to provide
knowledge and wisdom from their experiences from other organizations.

The campaign

For the women in this study, the money necessary to run a successful
campaign was determined based on the opponent. If there was not an

Opponent, it was not necessary to spend a lot of money campaigning. If there

Was another person running for the seat, or if that opponent were an incumbent

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in the race, they stated there was much more money and campaigning necessary
to be elected. A course of action for the campaign, and the funding necessary,
therefore, was affected by the nature of the opponent. The women from this
study used all of their relational assets to assist in their campaigns for board
seats. More generally, if there is an opponent for the vacant seat on the board,
women might use relationships within the community to create a supportive
network to assist with campaigning and garnering funds to assist with the
promotion. Typically, the literature suggests that for publically elected
positions, women and men run on different campaign issues (Burrell, 2004; Fox
& Lawless, 2005). It was found in this study of four women who ran several
times for publically elected positions that in community college elections, this
may not necessarily be true. Although there are certainly topics that could be
used as campaign issues, these women did not have that experience, at least not
that they shared. That is not to say that there are never specific issues for
women to run on for community college governing board seats, just that it did
not happen with these four women. There were, however, topics of concern that
the women in this study did advocate during their tenure as board members.
Unlike political positions such as legislative positions at the state and federal
levels, the issues of community college elected officials are more typically about
accessibility and affordability of a community college education. Therefore, it

Would seem that a potential candidate needs to be cognizant of certain topics,

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but running on a specific platform may not be necessary when running for a
governing board position at a community college in the State of Michigan.

For organizations in the community that would like to see a specific
candidate chosen, there are ways that they can assist the candidate to be
successful in a run for office. This support could come in the way of funding,
campaigning, or just word of mouth promotion of a specific candidate.
Community college leaders could also use this information, if a trustee position
were vacant, to seek out women in the community who are visible and well-
known to other members of the college community.

In summary, the answer to the first research question, what influenced
the decision to seek a board seat, the women in this study spoke to the value of

relationships with others in the community. The additional influencers were
family members, more specifically a spouse. The actual campaign was supported
by the family and community members, and financing typically came from the
women, themselves. Implications for practice may be that women who seek
these positions could create relationships with college administrators, faculty,
and staff. They could also increase their visibility in the community in order to
create a well-known name.
Future research may include interviews with men who became interested
in open governing board seats at community colleges to determine if their
experiences differ from the women in this study. In-depth interviews with board

members, both male and female, to understand how trustees specifically

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determine with whom to create relationships, if some are deliberate and some
are accidental, and how they determine value from these relationships might be
helpful in understanding this process.

The second research question, how do women feel they influence the
board that they serve, was a more complicated one to answer. Although I am
not sure the data led to this question being answered completely, some
inferences can be made by listening to the stories of how the women were

oriented to the board experience, how they view their relationships with other
board members and with the president of the college, and how they view the
gender differences of the board.

Orientation

Once a candidate is elected to the board, the orientation and training can
be overwhelming. The results of the study showed that there are many things
that a newly elected board member needs to know and do to become acclimated
to the new position, in order to be an active, productive participant on the board.
The women who were elected (or appointed) needed to get up to speed on the
workings of the board and the information specific to the board that would assist
them in becoming an intentional influence on the board. It seems that the
women in this study needed different things from the other board members, the

president of the institution, and from professional organizations that support
board members. Conversations with new board members can be key to

u nderstanding exactly what kind of orientation they need. Because the women in

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this study found their own path to gathering the necessary orientation
information, whether conversations should be initiated by the board chair, the
president of the college, or some other member is unclear. What is evident is
that a conversation needs to happen with the new member to determine who

can best assist this person and in what ways. A good place to start would be to

use a set of guidelines that professional organizations such as the ACCT and A63 P
can (and do) provide to colleges, board chairs and presidents to assist with

orienting new trustees and providing trustee professional development.

Board Members and Presidents _

 

Critical to the membership of boards is the relationship between and
amongst the board members themselves, and the members’ individual
relationship with the college president. It is critical that relationships are
generated and nurtured to be a successful board member, and to have the board
run smoothly. Although all relationships are not perfect, there seems to be a
need to grow these relationships in order build and create consensus. There was
also a common thread with each of the women interviewed regarding the
professionalism of the board members. There is an expectation that the board as
a whole, and the members individually, will act professionally when working
together. From this study, professionalism is described as respect for one

another and behavior of the board members in public meetings that is non-

confrontational.

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There also needs to be a good working relationship among at least a few
of the other board members that contributes to the cohesion of the board. One
of the functions of the board is to make decisions on policy issues, so having a
good relationship with others on the board helps members come to compromise
and collaboration. Because women have a tendency to be more collaborative
than men (Twombley, 1995), this should be something for which to strive.

It would seem from talking with these women that creating consensus,
having good working relationships, and a professional demeanor with and among
the board members helps with the influence that each of the trustees has with
each other and with the president. These professional relationships seem to be
valuable in how each of the women influence others on the board in the decision
making process.

Gendered Differences

One of the findings of this study was that there was an expectation by the
women in terms of their commitment to the college and college activities that
seems like it was different than what they thought was true of their male trustee
counterparts. For example, the women felt that it was important for trustees to
be present at as many college activities as possible. This perceived difference in
expectations was a concern expressed by the women interviewed, so it seems
important that responsibilities for board members should be made clear from the
beginning of their tenure including participation in college activities. The women

in this study also seemed to have some expectation of attendance at public

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activities, which may be because community colleges are servants to their
communities. Again, setting clear expectations for all board members is
important so that there is a shared responsibility with all members of the board
for attendance at college events and community activities.

The college president, and possibly the professional board organizations
should provide information to board members in terms of expectations for
trustees, ways to manage time and juggle events, and other ways to meet the
expectations of the college, the other board members, and themselves. It could
be beneficial to understand the level of participation of board members at college
sponsored activities. This might provide a comparison to expectation that the
women in this study had in terms of their fellow trustees.

A study that compares and contrasts board members from public
institutions to those members from private/corporate, not-for—profit, and K-12
boards would be beneficial to the study of governing boards. It would be
interesting to see if women on these boards have the same issues with
participation in activities, and if men on these boards experience any of the same
issues as women and/or men on locally-elected boards. Future studies of how
board members are influenced, volunteer, or are recruited to seek board seats
could be beneficial in comparison to the small group in this study. It would be
interesting to know if private and non-profit board members are influenced

similarly to this group of women.

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Research question number three sought to understand how these women
had been impacted by their role as a community college trustee. It was clear that
all four of the women in this study felt that their experience as a governing
board member at a Michigan community college was a positive one. In each
case, the women seemed to have grown from the experience, both on a
personal and a professional level. They all spoke of the people that they met, the
challenges that they faced, and the knowledge that they obtained, all because of
their role as a governing board member.

It would be important to conduct further research with a larger sample of
women board members to see if these positive experiences are more
generalizable among a larger group of women. It would also be worth
determining whether or not there are common factors in larger samples of
women that contribute to their satisfaction with the experience. With a larger
sample, it may be that there would be women participants who have not felt that
their board experience was valuable nor have they been positively impacted by
serving in this role. Having a greater understanding of how women trustees are
impacted by their role might lead to both a better ability to recruit women to the
position and to support them once they assume the role.

Summary

The stories of the women in this study are interesting and provide a

glimpse into their experiences as governing board members at community

colleges in the State of Michigan. There are many things that were learned from

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their stories, and many questions left unanswered. Future research can take
many paths from this study in order to contribute to the literature on women,
governing boards, leadership, and relationships, among others.

The intent of this study was to understand a woman’s experience as a
board member, and I believe that was accomplished. The research questions as
posed were simple, but the answers are complex. Although the themes that
surfaced in the data analysis chapter were not exactly what was expected when
the project started, there are some compelling ideas about women leaders
throughout this dissertation.

The research sample in this study was small, which warrants more
research on a larger sample. Studies in the future could also include men,
women from other types of boards (corporate, not-for-profit, K—12, universities),
women from other states (where the governing structure is different for higher
education), and women who have been elected to other political seats
(municipal, state, federal).

It was interesting that three of the four women who were chosen for this
study happened to be trustees on governing boards that had more women than
men. A larger sample of women might return different results if the women were
in the minority on the governing board that they serve. Although this was not
intentional from the beginning of the research, it is not the norm that there are
more women than men on the governing boards at community colleges in the

State of Michigan.

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It is my belief that the women in this study had a strong commitment to
the college and the community that the college serves. If the women did not live
in the same community and location of their respective colleges, as is often true
for women who serve on governing boards of four-year institutions of higher
education, would the commitment to the college be the same? Would the
trustees see the same connection between commitment to their college and their
community? This idea may pose more questions for future researchers with
regard to the college’s role in building community and how it might go about
doing that. An important factor here is the connection that each of these women
have with their respective communities. It would be valuable to determine if
women are more dedicated to community caretaking than are men.

The implications in this study are specific to the experiences of these
women and the subjective nature of the claims made by the researcher
regarding the meaning of these data is specific to this group of women. It also
includes my experiences and biases, and therefore, is a reflection of my

perceptions of the women and their experiences.

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EPILOGUE

Although this dissertation explored the experiences of four unique women
trustees who serve four different community colleges in the State of Michigan,
there are some very valuable key points that were extrapolated from these
interviews regarding policy making and governance. These women are very
dedicated and well known to the members of the communities that their colleges
serve. Because of this, and the fact that they all have other ties with the
community and its’ members, they are not only looking out for the success of the
students who attend these colleges, but how student success will impact the
community. Although this study has shown that there may be other political
implications for the women besides their role on the governing board, the intent
of these women is to improve their communities. Different from four-year
institutions in the State of Michigan where trustees do not necessarily live in the
communities that the college serves, community college governing board
members have a commitment to these communities. These governing board
members do run these organizations and are intent on making them successful.
This brings us to issues that were not part of the study, but that could be
addressed at the state and national level that would improve the way community
colleges are seen and measured. I will attempt to bring light to some of these
issues in this epilogue.

Because community colleges have a different vision and mission from

four-year institutions of higher education across the United States, the way that

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ti

these institutions are measured and how they are held accountable to
governments at both the state and federal level should not be the same. Right
now, government initiatives provide funding (and accolades) for high graduation
rates as a measure of success. Because community college students are typically
attending part-time, honing job skills, or becoming prepared academically for the
four-year institutional settings, they may not be seeking a degree. Therefore,
accounting for these students as degree-seeking is a misnomer. There needs to
be a structure developed that measures the success of community colleges, and
their students, in a different way than what is already in place.

The second area of government control and/or policy that needs to be
restructured is the definition of types of students. The way the government (both
state and federal) uses to follow college students is based on a designation
about what kind of student they are. There are several categories from guest
students, transfer students, high school students who are dual-enrolled or early
entry students, and students called First Time in Any College (FTIAC). Fl'IAC
students are those who supposedly have never attending any college.
Designating themselves as a FTIAC is not the issue these students have in being
recognized by the government researchers. It is when the Fl'IAC’s change their
course of study, or move from one college to another, they are measured by the
government as a ‘failure’ because they did not obtain a degree at the first
institution that they attended, in the first degree-seeking area that they declared.

Unfortunately, at community colleges, there are many students who change their

125

program of study, do not complete the program that they first declared, or move
to another institution without obtaining a degree. Therefore, the community
college that they started with does not have the luxury of claiming that they
were successful with those students because they cannot count them as earning
a degree.

Another area of concern in this state, and perhaps others, is the ability of
community colleges to educate the entire population of the state. In Michigan,
one third of the money that funds community colleges comes from local tax
dollars. The other two thirds come from state appropriations and tuition. Because
each community college district have distinct borders based on the service area,
not every community in the state is eligible for education at the lower, in district
rate. Residents do not pay a millage to the community college therefore they are
charged a higher tuition rate. The structure in Michigan for the four-year
institution provides two major tuition brackets; in state residency and out of
state residency. At the community colleges there are three; in district, out of
district, and out of state. If the state would restructure the funding options for
community colleges and allow all residents of the state to attend a community
college, there may be opportunity for residents to attend a community college
with less financial burden.

The final area of discussion for this epilogue is about the community
services that are provided by community college. There are many service

oriented programs, including non-credit classes that are provided to the residents

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of the college service area. These services give the residents the sense of
community that helps strengthen the community as a whole. Many times these
community colleges provide forums for political conversations, social services to
residents to attend college that might not have the opportunity to do so if they
were residents of other communities, and with various valuable opportunities to
experience the college campus environment for young people in the community.
These services put the community in community college, and help explain why
these women trustees are so dedicated to their role as a member of the

governing board for these institutions.

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APPENDIX A
Survey Questions
Name:
Age:
Race/Ethnicity:
Institution:
1St year elected:
Current profession:
Previous profession:
Marital Status:
Children: Yes No
Numbers and Ages
Highest Educational Level:
Date of degree:
Field of degree:
Number of terms served:

Years of service on board:

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APPENDIX B

Protocol Questions

Thank you for your participation in this study and your time today. As I

mentioned before our time together should take about 90 minutes. As we

discussed, I will be audio taping our session for compilation of data. Shall we

. Tell me how you came to run for a seat on the board? Who influenced you
or suggested that you run?

. How did the election process affect you and your family? Who or what
organization contributed to the expenses related to the election?

. Describe a typical board meeting.

. Please talk with me about your relationship to others on the board. How
have these relationships changed over the time that you have spent on
the board?

. Please explain the power relationships on the board? What factors affect
these relationships?

. Please tell me about your relationship with the President. How is that
different from the relationship that the president has with the board as a
whole? How is it different from the relationship that the president has with

other board members?

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7. How does the experience of being on the board meet the expectations
that you had prior to becoming a board member? How is it different?

8. Tell me how you feel you are impacting the community and the college as
a board member?

9. What benefits does board membership provide you that you did not or
would not have had if you were not a member?

10.What are some of the challenges you face as a member of this board?

11. How does this membership affect your social/community relationships?

12. Do you think that your experience is different from your male colleagues

on the board? Can you explain?

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