The major purpose of the study was to describe the presidents of the Eastern Seaboard public and private community-junior colleges in terms of their social, geographical and occupational origins, educational preparation, career patterns, non-professional lives, and their feelings about the presidency. A second purpose was to compare the characteristics of: a. public and private male two year college presidents; b. male and female two year college presidents; c. two year and four year college and university presidents; and d. two year college presidents and business executives.

The population for the study included 282 presidents of community-junior colleges in the Eastern Seaboard states. The principal means of data collection was a questionnaire. The total number of questionnaires returned was 232 (82 percent), of which 204 (72 percent) were usable for the analysis.

The community-junior college presidents were predominantly white males, married, from urban middle class families and had an above average education. Their paternal grandfathers were farmers or professional men and their fathers were business or professional men. Most presidents had earned an Ed.D. degree from a public college or university. Nearly all began their careers in education, assumed office at age 44, were presently 51, and their average tenure in office was 7 years. The presidents were deans immediately prior to reaching the presidency and were selected from outside the college. The presidents were active sports participants and spectators, read numerous magazines, newspapers, professional and nonprofessional books, were members of numerous civic groups, and thought they managed well family commitment and professional career. The major consideration of the presidents before making a position change was for the new position to be a challenging opportunity. The presidents felt the most relevant strengths for the future were: executive and administrative abilities, business and financial expertise, public relations and political sensitivity, collective bargaining skills, and research and teaching abilities.

The public and private male community-junior college presidents were similar: however, the private male college president came from smaller population areas, earned a Ph.D., rather than an Ed.D., were slightly older, emphasized business and financial knowledge as an essential for future presidents, and placed a greater emphasis on fund raising activities than the public president. The parents of private college presidents were better educated than public college presidents parents.

The female two year college presidents were like the male private two year college presidents; however, they differed from the male public college presidents in that the female college presidents' parents received more formal education than the male college presidents; fewer female college presidents were married and fewer had earned a doctorate. The females assumed office at an older age, were chosen from within the institution and placed greater emphasis on expertise in business and finance.

The two year college presidents approximated the college and university presidents in terms of social, occupational and geographical origins, educational preparation, and career patterns. The only major differences between the two year and four year college and university presidents were that the two year college presidents had earned an Ed.D., rather than a Ph.D., and the two year college presidents were younger when they assumed office, younger at the time of this study, and had a shorter tenure in office than the senior institution presidents.

The two year college presidents were different from the top business executives in that the college presidents came from families of a lower financial and social status, but the presidents' families were better educated. The college presidents had received more education, were younger, had been associated with their present institution fewer years, and were selected from outside the institution.