Correspondence: William D. Nicholson, II, Coastal Carolina University Myrtle Beach Sa 29528, USA. Email: wdnichol@coastal.edu

¹serves as Vice President for University Advancement at Coastal Carolina University. He holds a B.A. in Communications from Charleston Southern University in Charleston, South Carolina and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina.

Received 2 November 2007; Revised 2 November 2007.

Abstract

This paper provides presidents and academic leadership with a body of literature that will strengthen the leaders' understanding of the unique behaviors and characteristics that are paramount to successful fund raising in the academic arena. A better understanding of transformational, transactional, and transformative leadership theory, and the attributes that are associated with them, can not only help leaders shape and mold their approach to fund raising but also enable them to infuse a greater sense of meaning into their respective institutions while increasing the amount of financial support they garner.