The path to the presidency -- The leaders and best -- Institutional saga -- The Michigan saga -- A heritage of leadership -- Michigan's character as a trailblazer -- The role of institutional saga in presidential leadership -- The "what," "how," and "who" of the university presidency -- The path to the presidency -- Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor; rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief ... and university president -- The academic leadership ladder -- The path to the Michigan White House -- On to Michigan -- Trapped in the gravitational pull of academic administration -- On the brink -- The presidential search -- The search process -- The presidential search : a victim's perspective -- A postmortem -- Some advice for presidential search committees and university governing boards -- Some advice for candidates for university presidencies -- So what are we supposed to do now? -- Presidential leadership -- Presidential leadership -- The elements of presidential leadership -- Several unique aspects of university leadership -- The many styles and philosophies of presidential leadership -- Adapting leadership styles to the times and the institution -- A matter of personal style -- Movers and shakers, pushers and coasters: the impact of the presidency -- Leadership for a time of change -- Executive leadership -- The executive officer team -- Go downtown and get the money -- Bricks and mortar -- Crisis management -- The challenges of executive leadership -- Academic leadership -- The academic clockwork -- Academic leadership -- Faculty quality -- Selection and recruitment of academic leadership -- Tinkering with time bombs -- The challenges to academic leadership by the president -- Political leadership -- Growing up in a rough neighborhood -- Defending the university -- The loyal (and sometimes not so loyal) opposition -- The president and the governing board -- The broader political agenda of the university and the university presidency -- The hazards of political leadership -- Moral leadership -- The challenges to moral leadership -- Social diversity and academic excellence -- Student affairs -- Institutional integrity -- The bully pulpit -- Pastoral care -- Personal traits and traps -- Strategic leadership -- The approach -- The action plan -- Lessons learned and the growing concern -- Institutional transformation -- Experiments and ventures -- More lessons learned: the challenges of transformation -- The university president: an endangered species? -- Life as a university president -- The president's spouse -- The hired help -- A turn about the university calendar -- Lifestyles of the rich and famous -- On the road -- A matter of style -- Always some doubts -- Tilting with windmills -- Windmill no. 1: the privately supported public university -- Windmill no. 2: college sports -- Windmill no. 3: university governance -- The importance of fighting losing battles -- The endgame -- Survival instinct -- Putting it all on the line -- Wear and tear -- The two-minute warning -- Taking stock -- Fading away -- Years after a decade at the helm -- Whence and whither the university -- Some final thoughts on the university presidency -- Notes.