Holding Out for a Hero

Abstract

This chapter presents findings from a study of the discourse around college and university presidential leadership. Using feminist critical discourse analysis, the authors analyzed the discourse in job postings in the Chronicle of Higher Education for the years 1996 and 2016. The goal of the study was to analyze postings in a 20-year span to explore and unpack differences in leadership discourse from a gendered perspective. The findings show that although leadership discourse has become somewhat more inclusive, it remains entrenched in the ideas of a hero or “great man” leader.