Women leaders face bias, undue scrutiny.(NEWSWATCH)

Many of the country's key female college leaders are facing challenging times, including:

* At the University of Nebraska at Omaha, chancellor Nancy Belck recently resigned after months of controversy. Bleck had earned praise during her nine years as chancellor, but her proposed cuts to the athletics program and allegations about use of athletics boosters' funds brought new scrutiny to her administration.

Belck said she was stepping down to help the university, saying it would end part of the controversy over the allegations. Belck said it finally occurred to her that the scrutiny was not going to stop. "That's when I said, "Hey, I've got other things I can do in my life, and I don't want UNO to be disadvantaged,'" she remarked.

* At Gallaudet University DC, protesters led by football players continued to disrupt the campus over the choice of provost Jane Fernandes to become president in January. More than 130 protesters were arrested in an attempt to break up a three-day shutdown of the nation's premier school for the deaf.

Protests began immediately after Gallaudet made the announcement in June. Some are upset with her performance as provost, others with the presidential search process, and many with Fernandes' not being "deaf enough."

Fernandes said she sees herself at the center of colliding forces over how new technology affects the definition of deafness. "I have to believe it's not about me. ... I believe it's about evolution and change and growth in the deaf community," she said. The board has failed to take a stand in the controversy.

* In Mississippi, the president of a two-year college is facing pressure to resign in the midst of ...