When dinosaurs die, will women lead two-year schools?

With many of the nation's 1,472 community and technical colleges facing the imminent retirement of their top leaders, the time has never been better for women to seek the presidency.

Women are now 70% of community college students. But when the opportunity knocks, how many women will be in the pipeline, willing and able to answer the door? What type of career development program is most effective and what practical suggestions can overcome barriers?

Dr. Victoria Seals, a math instructor at Gwinnett Technical College GA, based her dissertation in educational leadership at Georgia Tech on the topic of career development for women at two-year colleges. Seals spoke about her findings at the University of Nebraska's Women in Educational Leadership conference in October in Lincoln.

Starting as a mathematician with a degree from Spelman College GA, she found herself tutoring in the athletic department. "My mother always told me I'd be a teacher," she said. So she returned to school for an educational specialist degree and spent two years teaching 8th grade math before finishing a doctorate in 2006.

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The research

Leadership development at the two-year college level is a critical topic. Enrollment in community and technical colleges is on the upswing, by both traditional high school students seeking that first career or the returning adult retooling for a new one.