Exploring the Use and Application of Framing Devices in College/University President Speeches

Using a random stratified sample, presidential speeches were collected from college/university websites and content analyzed for framing device usage. Framing devices, delimited in the current study as transcripted oral communication used to frame a vision for the college/university, were evidenced in the speeches analyzed with the following trends noted: (a) Traditional leadership framing devices were used more than cultural symbolic devices and (b) private university and female presidents used more culturally symbolic framing devices, while public university and male presidents used framing devices typically considered more traditional. Although the findings were not statistically significant, the current study opens the door for a closer examination of how culturally symbolic framing devices are, can, and, some would argue, should be used as higher education leadership tools.