"Taking the Reins is based on the ACE Project on Leadership and Institutional Transformation, a five-year effort funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation involving 23 diverse institutions working on transformational change. Some of these institutions were successful in their efforts; others were not. This book focuses on a subset of six of the institutions that had made the most significant change at the end of five years. Key findings include an identified set of core change strategies, the interrelationship among these strategies, the importance of helping people think differently, and the need for sensitivity to institutional culture.

The authors formulate a coherent model, called the Mobile Model of Change, which is used as a metaphor for the process of transformational change, since it illustrates how the identified change strategies work together." "This book will be of interest to presidents and provosts, deans, department chairs, and faculty committee chairs, as well as other campus administrators. Others who will benefit from this information are higher education scholars and directors of leadership development programs that incorporate modules on change management."--Jacket.