Why does queer leadership matter? In this book, the first of its kind, 15 LGBTQ presidents and chancellors in higher education provide insight into their experiences and highlight the importance of queer leadership for the academy and the world.

Prior to this century, there were few known gay or lesbian presidents in North American higher education. Mary Emma Wooley, president of Mount Holyoke College from 1901 to 1937, is documented because her life on campus with her partner, Jeanette Marks, is described in their love letters, which have been recently curated. Jacquelyn A. Mattfeld, president of Barnard College from 1976 to 1980, rarely receives recognition for braving sexism, heterosexism, and homophobia during her presidency. Theodora J. Kalikow, president of University of Maine Farmington from 1994 to 2012, bridges the few early examples to the era of contributors to this volume.

In LGBTQ Leadership in Higher Education, Raymond Crossman brings together 15 currently serving or retired LGBTQ presidents and chancellors in higher education to explain why, to whom, and how LGBTQ leadership matters. Writing from the perspective of their lived and specific experiences as LGBTQ presidents, these current and former leaders consider whether there is something distinctive about LGBTQ leadership. They also attempt to draw insights and principles from their personal stories. In addition, the book considers a profound question: Is being queer a superpower for these leaders, something they manage as part of their intersectional identities, or is it just another attribute of accomplished leaders?

In essays ranging across 12 topics, including intersectionality, mentorship, feminism, self-care, coming out, heteronormativity, and partners and spouses, the authors address why LGBTQ leadership matters at this moment, and more broadly, why diversity, inclusion, and equity in leadership are important to meet today's challenges for higher education and human rights. The first book on this topic, LGBTQ Leadership in Higher Education simultaneously archives a moment that is the forerunner to new, enormous, and necessary evolutions in the practice of leadership.

Contributors: Terry L. Allison, Peggy Apple, Nancy "Rusty" Barceló, Raymond E. Crossman, Erika Endrijonas, James Gandre, Richard J. Helldobler, Susan E. Henking, Ralph J. Hexter, Theodora J. Kalikow, Daniel López, Jr., Charles R. Middleton, DeRionne Pollard, Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, Regina Stanback Stroud, Boris Thomas, Karen M. Whitney