Emotional Intelligence and Deans: Exploring the Nature of the Emotional Intelligence of Community College Deans in the Southeastern Region of the United States

Leadership is an essential aspect of community college administration. Community colleges are currently facing numerous challenges such as: above average retirement rates for administrators, funding and limited government support, diverse student populations, changes in technology, shift in teaching to student-centered learning, and steep competition. The purpose of this study was to understand the nature of the emotional intelligence of community college deans within the southeastern region of the United States of America. I used the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) to measure the emotional intelligence scores of community college deans, and a demographic questionnaire for the demographic variables. Public community college deans from the entire southeastern region of the United States of America were selected for the survey. I sent a total of 323 invitations to community college deans from 294 public community colleges in the southeastern region of the United States. Findings from this study indicated that total emotional intelligence, using emotions, and managing emotions were not statistically significant with any of the demographic characteristics. There was a significant negative relationship between gender, size of institution, level of education, and perceiving emotions. Male participants had low levels of perceiving and understanding emotions when compared with females. Level of education and experience were also significant with understanding emotions. This study provided a snapshot of the nature of the emotional intelligence of community college deans in the southeastern region of the United States, adds to the available information on emotional intelligence in general, and also provides insights for future research