Clark Cothern was just five when he realized that college presidents were powerful, frightening beings. What Clark saw of college presidents he noticed from floor level, as he played on the other side of his mother's desk in the administration building at Grand Canyon College (now University) in Phoenix, Arizona. His mom was dean of women at the time.
Clark watched as students walked timidly down the hallway toward the president's office and stopped, their nerves on high alert. They rubbed sweaty palms on their pants or skirts, breathed deeply, and knocked.
The door would creak open. That's wh...
