NASHVILLE, Tenn. — From landing a presidency to the first 100 days on the job, there are several things new presidents can do to prepare for leadership success. The first steps, of course, are knowing when the time is right to start searching for a presidency and finding the right college to land at.
Monica Brown was a senior vice president at Montgomery College in Maryland when she started on her journey to the presidency. When she interviewed for the president role at South Seattle College, she was interested in its work to become an anti-racist institution. Also, the college’s workforce development programs would give her an opportunity to grow and learn new things.
Brown also was intrigued that the Seattle Colleges district was hiring three new presidents at the same time. It seemed odd to her until she learned that a new chancellor wanted to create a “cohort” of new leaders to move the district forward. When Brown learned that, she thought it was “brilliant.”
“I thrive in cohort models,” she said during a panel discussion of three “new-ish” presidents at AACC 2025, the annual convention of the American Association of Community Colleges.
Deciding on the next step
Marcus Garstecki started at Barton Community College in Kansas last July. When his son graduated from high school, Garstecki – who was working at a university in South Dakota – and his wife felt the time was right for him to move into the role of president.
He had spent most of his professional career in rural areas. Barton was the right size and was innovative, particularly in terms of providing online education, helping incarcerated individuals and serving the military population at nearby Fort Riley.
“I wanted to be part of that,” Garstecki told the audience.
Like Garstecki, Bryan Newton had mostly served in rural areas. After more than 20 years of working in community colleges, he was ready to apply for the presidency. He told his mentor, who made sure to email him a piece of advice every day. When Newton landed at Glen Oaks Community College in rural Michigan, he felt somewhat prepared for the role.
Before the first day
Despite that, Newton knew he couldn’t show up to his first official day as president without having done his homework on the college. He was hired in April 2024 and started at the college in late July.
During that time in between, he visited Glen Oaks for a few days to meet with the executive assistant and some of the vice presidents to get the lay of the land. But Newton was cognizant of the retiring president. He didn’t want to be on campus too much.
“You can’t have two presidents at one time,” Newton said.
Brown was hired in May 2024 at South Seattle College and was set to start in August. During those three months, besides preparing for a cross-country move, she had conversations with the chancellor and some cabinet members. She also took a deeper dive into the strategic plan and the budget, which Brown said is “so critical,” and learned about the community.
She did some online sleuthing, too – searching beyond the college’s website – to try to prevent surprises.
“But there’s a lot you won’t know until your feet are on the ground,” Brown said.
Garstecki, who had about five months between getting hired and starting the job, also dove into his new college’s strategic plan. It helped him to figure out the college’s current direction, what changes he might want to make and what stakeholders he wanted to engage with first.
“I started setting my priorities and my vision,” Garstecki said.
Stepping into the role
Once he arrived on campus as president, Garstecki spent the first few days looking at his calendar and trying to get a handle on what was coming.
The first day – and week – can be intimidating, the panelists agreed. But it’s important to be authentic and to start by listening.
“Listening to people builds trust,” Newton said, especially with college employees. “You’re new, but they aren’t. What they have done is very valuable. You don’t want to step on that.”
Newton also went into the community right away – something he said is very important in a rural area, where people may be wary of a newcomer.
Brown and Garstecki conducted listening sessions across the campus and community over their first few months. Garstecki – who has 12 communities in his service area – advised the audience members not to just visit communities once.
“Going once doesn’t build trust,” he said. He now has it built into his calendar to get off campus and into the community.
Besides listening, during an all-staff celebration, Brown highlighted the work that was done before she started – and the employees behind it.
“I believe in leading with gratitude,” she said, and that helped build trust.
Brown also was conscious of being authentic but understanding that the Pacific Northwest is a little different than the East Coast – a little more relaxed. She learned how to be herself while she “leaned in” and engaged with her college and community in ways they are comfortable with.
Newton also said that authenticity is key.
“You can’t fake who you are as you go through this,” he said. He hosted fireside chats where staff could ask him anything and learn about him.
Put on your game face
Though a person can plan everything, challenges and surprises may arise. That happened with Garstecki and Brown regarding budgets. For Garstecki, state budget cuts in Kansas were an unexpected surprise.
“You’re not ready for that the first time you sit in the chair,” he said.
He heard about the cuts coming from a Kansas legislator and then, five minutes later, had to greet 200 prospective Barton students with enthusiasm.
Somedays, he said, can be an “emotional rollercoaster,” but he’s learned to have a good “game face.”
Brown has had to handle college budget difficulties but took a firm stance that the budget would not be balanced “on the backs of our students,” and that she would do everything to keep jobs. She’s had to make difficult decisions but has built trust by being transparent.
But that’s part of being the president, Brown said: it’s about being frank and honest, while creating “safe and brave” spaces.
