Commentary: The Link between Presidential Ideology and State Policy: A Complex Equation

• Author: Lorelle L. Espinosa,Heather L. Johnson,Lynn M. Gangone
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12630
• Published date: 01 September 2016
• Date: 01 September 2016

The Link between Presidential Ideology and State Policy: A Complex Equation 777

A n emerging body of work documents the

relationship among presidents, governing

boards, student characteristics and success

in college, and the types of networks that lead to

the development of social capital. Some higher

education scholars now call for social network analysis

of college president leadership and organizational

change. The influence of postsecondary networks

raises an important question: should we invest

in postsecondary education networks to sustain

individual and institutional growth and longevity?

While not a social network analysis per se, Thomas

Rabovsky and Amanda Rutherford ’ s ar ticle, “The

Politics of Higher Education: University President

Ideology and External Networking,” adds to an

expanding body of work on the role of networks.

Using statistical tools, they examine the connection

between university president ideology and external

networking. The authors highlight the growing

importance of networks when integrating politics into

the actions of leaders at the state level. They recognize

the importance of university presidents’ capacity to

develop needed knowledge and skills around how and

when to network within political systems, putting

forth a highly relevant exploratory analysis.

The key measure in this study identifies the political

ideology of university presidents and whether

ideology predicts external networking behavior by

presidents through their engagement with state-level

actors. The unstated assumption is that this external

networking influences higher education funding and

other policies that impact individual institutions—a

premise that may be problematic.

First, higher education governance models vary

from state to state. It is hard to make a substantive

claim about the interaction of presidential

ideology with the ideology of state actors when

Lynn M. Gangone

Lorelle L. Espinosa

Heather L. Johnson

American Council on Education

The Link between Presidential Ideology and State Policy:

A Complex Equation

Lynn M. Gangone is vice president

for leadership at the American Council on

Education and previously served as vice

president of the Maryland Independent

College and University Association.

E-mail : lgangone@acenet.edu

Lorelle L. Espinosa is assistant vice

president for the American Council on

Education ’ s Center for Policy Research

and Strategy, where she works on issues

of diversity and equity, public finance, and

transformational leadership in higher

education.

E-mail : lespinosa@acenet.edu

Commentary

Heather L. Johnson , specialist in

education-related leadership, organizational

development, law, and policy, is a former

graduate research associate with the

American Council on Education’s Center for

Policy Research and Strategy.

E-mail : john1981@msu.edu