Many notable leaders in the United States previously served in their college's student government, including Stacey Abrams, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Elijah Cummings. Findings in this article derive from a larger study on the experiences of former college student government officers who ran for or served in post-college public office between…

Women have long held leadership roles in society and education, yet little attention has been given to the experiences of women student body presidents. We studied 20 women student body presidents at multiple four-year institutions to understand their experiences in student leadership. We found that these women felt extreme responsibility and…

This action research project centers the narratives of women and nonbinary students of color as they navigate leadership roles within student government at Ivy League institutions. The overarching aim of the project is to develop an understanding of the barriers to participation for women and nonbinary students of color and collaboratively…

The lack of women in elected leadership roles trickles down to student governance at colleges and universities (American Student Government Association, 2016). The researcher sought to understand how women student leaders made meaning of their experiences as a leader and how their understanding influences their actions and motivations. Through the…

With recent literature documenting the benefits of diversifying senior leadership teams (Madsen, 2015) and leadership development a desired outcome of the higher education experience (Komives et al., 2013), understanding ways to increase the pipeline of diverse leaders merits research attention. The findings of this qualitative study regarding the…

In recent years in the United States, women have been outpacing men on important college outcomes such as grade point average and degree attainment. While women have made strides in the last few decades, there are still important areas of higher education in which women are significantly underrepresented. In student government, women are vastly…

Student involvement is encouraged at contemporary colleges and universities. Involvement in student organizations can assist with academic and social integration, as well as retention. One way for students to become involved is through student government associations. As student government members, students participate in the governance process at…

Student governance has existed as an integral part of higher education since the time of the first college in Colonial America. Through a detailed history of each phase of student self-governance--from the earliest literary societies to the present-day student government associations--the struggles of students in higher education to acquire and…

During World War II, female students at the University of California, Berkeley--then the most populous undergraduate campus in American higher education--made significant advances in collegiate life. In growing numbers, women enrolled in male-dominated academic programs, including mathematics, chemistry, and engineering, as they prepared for…

We explored whether women were equally represented in leadership roles in college student governance at 21 Midwestern comprehensive universities. We surveyed the college student governments and asked them to report how many women participated in governance, and how many had been president, vice president and more. Our analyses showed that, while…

Interviews with 15 women student leaders at three large universities were conducted to learn more about these students and their out-of-class environment. Information about the students' characteristics, role models, leadership styles, relationships with peers, perceptions of what they learned, and the experiences of women of color emerged from…