Search Results

1. Kollman, Kathleen If She Were President: Fictional Representations of Female U.S. Presidents in Film, Television, and Literature in the Twentieth Century

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2020, American Culture Studies

This study looks at twentieth-century representations of fictional female U.S. presidents in film, television, and literature. Examining how these portrayals either reinforce or subvert existing ideas about gender may give some insight into why the U.S. has not had a female president yet, as well as how each wave of feminism may have its own corresponding backlash. This project employs a textual analysis method and uses a feminist methodology. After analyzing the primary texts under consideration, it becomes clear that the majority of twentieth-century fictional representations of female U.S. presidents reify hegemonic gender roles and do not portray the presidents as being fully capable and worthy of respect. It is only toward the middle of the 1990s and later that any real change is seen in these characters. The media framing of real-life women running for president is somewhat in line with how female presidents are portrayed in fictional texts. These women are not depicted as being fully capable to serve the office of the U.S. presidency, and it takes quite a few decades before content creators are willing to deviate from this norm. This study has broader implications, too, insofar as the U.S. presidency is symbolic of systems of power more generally, and thus the texts herein can offer insight into how women are received in many positions of political and economic leadership.

Committee: Kimberly Coates PhD (Advisor); Emily Pence Brown PhD (Other); Cynthia Baron PhD (Committee Member); Andrew Schocket PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Literature; American Studies; Film Studies; Gender; Gender Studies; History; Literature; Mass Media; Performing Arts; Political Science; Womens Studies

2. Steinke, Korine Madwoman, Queen, and Alien-Being: The Experiences of First-Time Women Presidents at Small Private Colleges

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2006, Higher Education Administration

This study examined the experiences, challenges, and transitions of eight college and university presidents who were the first women senior executives at their respective institutions. A qualitative research method, following the principles of the constructivist paradigm, was used as the underlying framework. Two in-depth sequential interviews were conducted with each president. Case studies were created for each participant and were aggregated to form the basis for these results. Most of the participants in this study did not plan to become presidents. Usually the role emerged as a possibility later in their careers, while priorities—such as being with their families, remaining professionally challenged, and serving others—shaped their career directions. Although cognizant of gender, most did not believe that it significantly impacted their presidencies; yet because in each case, a woman, instead of a man, was appointed for the first time, several changes and adjustments occurred. In their view, the influence of gender was essentially peripheral, meaning that it affected major operations and concerns less than smaller matters located on the edge of their agendas. The professional demands of the presidency inevitably affected their personal lives, and finding a balance between professional and personal responsibilities often proved challenging. Several factors, such as individual management strategies or the kinds of external services employed, impacted the personal demands placed on them. The greatest challenges frequently related to the state of the institution when they assumed the office, addressing various leadership issues, and resolving intrapersonal issues. The participants recommended that presidential candidates be articulate and adept regarding financial and philanthropic issues, acquire a broad understanding of higher education, prepare for the magnitude of the position, and gain various leadership skills. More attention needs to be paid to the mentoring (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: C. Carney Strange (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Higher

3. McKinniss, Sean Case Studies of Organizational Mindfulness and Shared Governance

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Educational Studies

Organizational mindfulness is a construct drawn from the literature on high reliability organizations (HRO), such as nuclear power plants and aircraft carriers. These are organizations where the slightest instability can lead to disaster. However, the principles of organizational mindfulness are suitable for any organization that seeks stability. In this study, organizational mindfulness is applied to higher education institutions; specifically, it is applied in shared governance contexts at colleges and universities. Disputes involving shared governance, especially between faculty members and administrators, often create serious instabilities on campuses. This study provides new insights on how organizational mindfulness may address this particular problem in higher education. In particular, two research questions were posed. First, is there a relationship between institutional type and one's role within an institution with perceptions of organizational mindfulness? Second, how do faculty members and administrators perceive organizational mindfulness in shared governance at their institutions? A sequential two-stage, mixed-methods research designed was employed. Faculty members and administrators at a liberal arts college and a research university were surveyed to answer the research questions. Then, a document analysis of governance-related materials from each institution was conducted. Finally, interviews of twelve faculty members and administrators were conducted. Generally, the type of institution or one's role within it did not influence perceptions of organizational mindfulness. Faculty members and administrators shared mostly positive comments about shared governance and organizational mindfulness at their institutions. This was a mixed-methods study with a small sample. Hence, more robust quantitative and qualitative research on organizational mindfulness in higher education is proposed. Additional research on institutional (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Tatiana Suspitsyna (Advisor); Bruce Kimball (Committee Member); Terrell Strayhorn (Committee Member); William Brantley (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

4. Rashid, Timeka Leading by Example: An Examination of Mary McLeod Bethune's Leadership as a College President

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2009, Higher Education (Education)

African American female college presidents represent a unique population within the leadership of higher education; however, their leadership, management styles and their contributions to higher education are understudied. A study of this population is particularly important for several reasons. First, it provides a framework for understanding the leadership potential and management style of African Americans in higher education. Second, it contributes to the limited knowledge base of African American women leaders in higher education from the early 19th and 20th centuries. Third, this research provides insight into an understudied aspect of Mary McLeod Bethune's life: her presidency of Bethune Cookman University.This study is a historical analysis of Mary McLeod Bethune's leadership as a college president. It tests Jones' (1991) finding that African American female presidents exhibit the characteristics of transformational leadership. Jones' findings related to African American women presidents in early twentieth century society. The study explored Bethune's leadership in three major areas of her presidency: academic/curriculum, financial, and personnel management. The researcher sought to determine whether Bethune's leadership style reflected transformational or transactional leadership as defined by James MacGregor Burns, Bernard Bass, and Bruce Avolio. Avolio and Yammarino's four “I's,” and three factors of transactional leadership were used as the primary analytical framework for the interpretations of transformational or transactional leadership.

Committee: Robert B. Young (Committee Chair); Peter Mather (Committee Member); Dafina Stewart (Committee Member); Tom Duncan (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education

5. Cunningham, Phillip “Well, It Is Because He's Black”: A Critical Analysis of the Black President in Film and Television

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2011, American Culture Studies/Popular Culture

With the election of the United States' first black president Barack Obama, scholars have begun to examine the myriad of ways Obama has been represented in popular culture. However, before Obama's election, a black American president had already appeared in popular culture, especially in comedic and sci-fi/disaster films and television series. Thus far, scholars have tread lightly on fictional black presidents in popular culture; however, those who have tend to suggest that these presidents—and the apparent unimportance of their race in these films—are evidence of the post-racial nature of these texts. However, this dissertation argues the contrary. This study's contention is that, though the black president appears in films and televisions series in which his presidency is presented as evidence of a post-racial America, he actually fails to transcend race. Instead, these black cinematic presidents reaffirm race's primacy in American culture through consistent portrayals and continued involvement in comedies and disasters. In order to support these assertions, this study first constructs a critical history of the fears of a black presidency, tracing those fears from this nation's formative years to the present. This history is followed by textual analyses of those films and television series featuring a black president, with an emphasis on showing how the narratives and codes within these films reflect those historic fears.

Committee: Angela Nelson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Michael Butterworth Ph.D. (Committee Member); Susana Peña Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ashutosh Sohoni Ph.D. (Other); Maisha Wester Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; American Studies; Film Studies