The purpose of this study is to determine the pathway issues supporting or challenging the advancement of student affairs officers to college and university presidencies and the experiences and skills student affairs officers must have to be competitive candidates in searches for presidencies. There is an impending serious gap between the number of institutions needing presidents and the available and interested talent pool from traditional academic backgrounds may be insufficient to serve the need. Student affairs practitioners are an underutilized source of presidents that could be tapped to alleviate this impending leadership crisis. The problem of research is that little is known about the pathway of a chief student affairs officer to the presidency of an institution of higher education. This study, grounded in the constructivist paradigm, employed a Delphi Technique which gathered and analyzed opinions from a panel of experts (eight presidents with student affairs backgrounds and two search consultants) to probe this issue. A study strength is that the Delphi panel of experts came to consensus about specific characteristics of the student affairs pathway to the presidency. A study limitation is that the population of presidents who rose from student affairs upon which this study draws is unknown. The expert Delphi panel identified positions, challenges, responsibilities, and competencies it felt would strengthen a student affairs officer's preparation to compete as a candidate for the position of college president. The primary finding was that it is not specific positions which student affairs officers must hold to make them successful presidential candidates, but roles and experiences within those positions which are important and limit weaknesses which student affairs candidates might have. These findings contribute knowledge that can help student affairs professionals prepare for the college presidency. As the anticipated turnover of college presidents unfolds over the next decade, the findings of this study may help student affairs professional better position themselves to compete for newly-opened presidential positions. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]