Much recent writing about the college presidency is shaped by one political agenda or another and reveals little understanding of the actual work of academic leadership. Stephen Nelson's volume, by contrast, relies heavily on conversations with those who have served as presidents and have the opportunity now to look back on the rewards and challenges of the position. It is important reading for anyone who genuinely wants to learn about what it means to lead these complex organizations we call colleges and universities.

Brian Rosenberg, president, Macalester College

Being a college president is a tough but exhilarating job. As Steve Nelson explains, it is a job filled with a huge variety of expectations, and a lasting impact as well. His book shines a helpful light into an important but often misunderstood area of university work and will help all of us – incumbents, former presidents, and future presidents – to see the job in a wider perspective. In an age when universities continue to grow in stature and are now driving regional economies, it is all the more important that we understand the inner workings of the engine house. This book will contribute significantly.

Christina Paxson, president, Brown University

Life challenges every one of us, from time to time, to abandon worlds that have engaged us, mind, body, and heart. College and university presidents preside over coming-of-age rituals through which students and their families pass every year. This fascinating new study turns the tables to ask how these masters of transition manage their own. How can they, like the students they have nurtured, take their leave with the grace and curiosity that will open new doors? Their stories offer insights for us all.

Diana Chapman Walsh, president emerita, Wellesley College, and chair, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Whether you call them academic leaders, public intellectuals, or 'captains of erudition,' presidents are individuals. As Stephen J. Nelson shows in College Presidents Reflect, the common threads that run through their experiences – their philosophies, challenges, and achievements – are not simply institutional, but are deeply human. That is only fitting, as the work we presidents engage in, while it involves management, politics, and fund raising, is not of those things. College Presidents Reflect reminds us that leading a college or university is foremost about fostering a culture that values teaching, learning, and innovation – and that never stops questioning how we can be at our best as humans.

Freeman A. Hrabowsk III, president, University of Maryland, Baltimore County