This study explored a question being asked by many current higher education leaders: Who will serve as future leaders in U.S. institutions of higher education? There is an anticipated leadership crisis (Anft, 2018; Appadurai, 2009; McDade et al., 2017; Selingo, Chheng, & Clark, 2017) which suggests an inadequate number of people, in particular those with faculty training and experience, who are willing to serve as campus administrative leaders for modern U.S. universities. To inform this concern, this study explored perceptions of academic leadership held by 12 mid-career faculty in STEM and STEM-related Social Science fields at a research-intensive university and explored the degree to which Cultural, Disciplinary, Institutional, and Demographic Factors shaped their views. Asking faculty members at mid-career—those who represent individuals who have established themselves as scholars and who represent the cohort of future leaders—what they think of academic leadership and how they articulate their views of it, can help inform questions about what will be needed to recruit, train, and support leaders as they negotiate their careers. The study found that faculty perceptions of leadership are shaped primarily by Institutional Factors: the policies, procedures, and institutional bureaucratic structures that shape the conditions in which faculty members work. These factors had the strongest influence on their perception of academic leadership and its suitability for their career goals. Other important factors were the degree to which leadership aligned with scholarly interests, the ability to integrate scholarly productivity with formal leadership opportunities, and the timing of leadership opportunities and where they were within the tenure and promotion process, which illustrate concerns about leadership derailing one’s promotion to full professor. This study provides a helpful context for discussions about leadership development, faculty development, and how higher education leaders can proactively plan for institutional change by enlisting the support of faculty leaders and aspiring leaders. Keywords: Faculty leadership, faculty identity, academic leadership, social identity, professional identity, higher education, administration
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