New Female Amherst College President Tweets

Lately, there have been articles on leaders, including the CEO, Rupert Murdoch, who are now tweeting and how their personas, and, perhaps, leadership styles, are coming through. The New York Times had such a column on Murdoch yesterday.

Now, the Chronicle of Higher Education (CHE) has an article on the new President of Amherst College, Dr. "Biddy" Martin, who took over the Presidency from Anthony "Tony" Marx this past Fall (he is now head of the New York Public Library).

The article begins in a wonderful way, speaking about Amherst, the town that I live in, as being idyllic.

It also discusses the challenges that Dr. Martin faced in her former leadership position at the University of Wisconsin and asks why she left there to assume the Presidency of a small, outstanding liberal arts college (that actually is more diverse than many institutions).

The CHE article also has some inside information that I was not aware of -- of how Amherst College is essentially run by a "Committee of Six" with weekly 3 hour Monday meetings.

It quotes Dr. Martin as saying: "Everyone warned me about it," she says of the power of Amherst's faculty. "Someone just recently told me that a former president of Dartmouth is alleged to have said: 'Being president at Williams is a fun job. Being president at Dartmouth is a hard job. And being president of Amherst is an impossible job.' There's a reputation of faculty being ­really hard on presidents."

It also notes the anti-professionalism credo at this liberal arts college (and I can personally attest to this since I have had Amherst College students in my office trying to figure out how they can take courses at the Isenberg School of Management and the College of Engineering with the Amherst College restrictions). Yes, we are part of the Five College system but that does not mean that students from Amherst College (as I have found out) can take any course that they are interested in at UMass Amherst.

I do wish Dr. "Biddy" Martin all the best in her new leadership role. I think that she will be outstanding. Students are starting to notice already.

You can follow President Martin on Twitter.

The article from the Chronicle of Higher Education.

President of Amherst College to Lead the New York Public Library

Dr. Anthony "Tony" Marx, the President of Amherst College, is expected to be approved today to head the New York Public Library. This news was reported in today's New York Times as well as in our "local" paper, the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

************An Update -- It is Now Official*******************
Dr. Marx will step down from his Presidency of Amherst College on June 30, 2011 to become President of the New York Public Library, with approval of the board.

Dr. Marx is the product of NYC's public schools and holds advanced degrees, including his PhD, from Princeton University. His wife is a Professor at Columbia University. He is a wonderful father and, in fact, just Monday night at a dinner for parents (his son and my daughter attend the same school), our tablemates were discussing how the 5 College System, which includes UMass Amherst, Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and Hampshire College, provides wonderful resources for our community in western Massachusetts.

Speaking of previous heads of the New York Public Library, Dr. Vartan Gregorian, served as President of the New York Public Library, and then became President of Brown University, my alma mater. Now he heads the Carnegie Corporation.

We wish Dr. Tony Marx the best in his very exciting new position in NYC!

Now, who will take over as President of Amherst College?!