Thanks to our partner Randolph Community College, we’ve uploaded audio tapes of 62 interviews and discussions that informed the work Cultural Leadership Inside America’s Community Colleges by George Baker and contributors. Each interview asks an outstanding community college president or leader a series of questions about their leadership style and their vision for the future of their institution.

The large collection of tapes from interviewees around the country offers a great opportunity for teaching with primary sources; here are three ideas for how these materials could be used.

1. Journalism: What makes a good interviewer?

Although the interviewers in these tapes are rarely identified by name, their interviewing styles vary. Having a team of researchers ask the same set of questions makes it easier to identify some of the strategies that each person uses to engage their subject. Here are a few examples:

• Jeanne Stark (Miami-Dade Community College, Medical Center campus)
• Tom Fryer (Foothill-De Anza Community College District)
• Judy Merritt (Jefferson State Community College)
• Tom Van Groningen (Yosemite Community College District), tape 2

2. Representation & Gender

According to the American Association for Women in Community Colleges, close to 30% of community college presidents in 2020 were women. At the time of the recorded study, the researchers note that the proportion of women was closer to 7% (according to Baker and Rouche on tape 2). The majority of these tapes features interviews with male-identifying subjects; only four of the 50 community college presidents recognized for their leadership were women (thought other women in leadership positions at Miami-Dade CC were interviewed as well). 

How do women’s answers differ from men’s in these recordings (or do they)? How do they approach the topic of representation in this setting?

• Judith Eaton
• Judy Merritt (Jefferson State Community College)
• Phyliss Greenfield
• Ruth Shaw (Central Piedmont Community College)

3. History of Higher Education

In each of these recordings, community college leaders reveal some of the strategies that they use to attract and retain students, serve their populations well, and prepare their institutions for the future. Since this study’s findings were published in 1992, community colleges have had to adapt and reflect even more. What has changed in community college leadership over the past 30 years? How have schools shifted their approaches to serving students?

For comparison, it might be useful to check out our collections of N.C. community college handbooks and catalogs, which you can filter by school name and year.

You can see the full batch of audio recordings here. To see more materials from Randolph Community College, you can visit their partner page or their website. Even more audio materials are available in our North Carolina Sights and Sounds collection.