For most of American history, the college/university presidency could be described as an “all-boys club”; however, over the last three decades, this has changed. The number of female college/university presidents has steadily increased, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Recently, I sat down with Dr. Angela Franklin, the first female and African-American president of Des Moines University, to talk about her experiences.
Q: What are some of the challenges that you have had to face as the first female and African-American president?
A: I would begin by citing the obvious challenges of any new leader, regardless of gender or race. Being a newcomer in any environment can have interesting challenges given longstanding cultural dynamics. The difficulty comes from trying to establish rapport, build consensus, create vision and set strategic priorities, all while trying to assess and learn a new culture.
I believe I was selected for the job based on a genuine appreciation for my past experiences and skills, yet you really have no way of knowing how those experiences will translate or be received in a new environment until you get there. I had to fall back on some basic principles of leadership, which fall into the category of servant leadership or even more basically … following the Golden Rule. So, there is a curiosity of new leadership that sometimes gets in the way of being able to mobilize a new team toward a collective vision. The curiosity typically stems from stereotypical thinking, which comes from each individual’s past experiences. And, like most institutions, there had been experiences with previous presidents that colored expectations and impressions of me.
So I came to a place [that] had some preconceived notions of the role of the president, which did not necessarily fit with my experiences. Being the first woman president, as well as the first African-American, added elements [that] made for some interesting dynamics. Although subtle and, on the surface in most instances, these factors clearly had an impact underneath it all.
There is actually some research from an organization called Catalyst that suggests that female leaders are scrutinized in a different way than males, and I believe there is clearly a double standard. Catalyst has found that often there is an impression of a female leader of being either “too soft or too tough” but never “just right.” There is also an impression of either being competent but not necessarily well liked, or being liked but not necessarily being considered competent.
