Changing Higher Ed Navigating President Turnover: Higher Ed Leadership Challenges
President university turnover is a major problem in higher education, with the average tenure of leaders serving in this capacity at one institution declining sharply from 10 years to a shocking 3.7 years.
In this first half of a two-part series, Dr. Drumm McNaughton discusses the challenges facing university presidents and why their tenures have become so short with a nationally recognized authority figure who has one of the best track records and overall experience under his belt to speak on such a topic, Chancellor Emeritus Dr. William E. “Brit” Kirwan of the University System of Maryland. Few are as qualified to do so as Brit, having served as chancellor at the University System of Maryland for 13 years, president of The Ohio State University for four years, and president of the University of Maryland College Park for ten years.
Part two of this series will cover what higher ed can do to improve university president retention.
Highlights
§ The role of the university president has become much more complex and challenging over the last few years, causing the average tenure of presidents to fall from 10 to 3.7 years. There has never been more political interference and influence on higher ed as there is now, especially in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina. For example, the governor of Florida recently directed his attorney general to file a lawsuit against the Department of Education on changing accreditors.
§ There's also an unprecedented amount of pushback on DEI when diversity and inclusion were once very much a part of higher ed. In Ohio, a very anti-DEI bill was introduced that would restrict what higher education could do on diversity issues. This change in focus is forcing presidents to juggle what can be taught in the classroom and their faculty, who are very much invested in DEI initiatives.
§ Divisions and political beliefs are also over-influencing boards, causing them to be more directive and engaged in operational issues than they should be. As a result, sound board governance has declined, with many boards going rogue. Politicized boards also are forcing presidents to translate policy into operations when this should be done in parallel and jointly by the board, while boards are sticking their noses into what can be taught, which should be decided by the president.
§ For example, at the University of Virginia, the board chair recently told the president to announce her resignation at the next board meeting before board members were made aware of this decision. At Chapel Hill, the board refused to grant tenure to a distinguished journalist for political reasons. A similar situation occurred at Texas A&M.
§ Funding issues are mounting and will likely worsen, forcing presidents to make massive cuts to programs, negatively affecting faculty morale. Presidents are also more involved in fundraising than ever, complicating their leadership roles. Meanwhile, big-time intercollegiate athletic programs are forcing presidents to cobble together money to keep these expensive enterprises afloat.
§ There are two reasons universities can still hire presidents despite these major problems. The first is that it’s human nature to want to advance and meet new challenges. As a result, many people are still compelled to rise to the top. The second is that salaries and compensation packages for presidents have escalated dramatically. There are several presidents earning compensation packages of $1 million or more per year.
About Our Podcast Guest
Dr. William E. “Brit” Kirwan is chancellor emeritus of the University System of Maryland (USM). He is a nationally recognized authority on critical issues facing higher education. He served as chancellor of the University System of Maryland (USM) for 13 years (2002-2015), president of the Ohio State University for four years (1998-2002), and president of the University of Maryland, College Park for 10 years (1988-1998). Prior to his presidency, he was a member of the University of Maryland mathematics faculty for 24 years.
Dr. Kirwan is the past chair of, among other boards, the American Council for Higher Education, the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, the American Association of Colleges & Universities, the Business Higher Education Forum, and the National Research Council Board on Higher Education and Workforce. He also served as the co-chair and chair of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics from 2004 to 2016. Presently, he chairs a Statewide Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, which has been asked to make recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly to enable Maryland schools to perform at the level of the world’s best school systems.
Among Dr. Kirwan's many honors is the 2010 TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence. Considered one of the nation's top higher education honors, this award recognizes outstanding leadership in higher education and contributions to the greater good. In 2009, he received the Carnegie Corporation Leadership Award, which included a $500,000 grant to support USM academic priorities. Dr. Kirwan was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002 and inducted into the Baltimore Sun’s Maryland Business and Civic Hall of Fame in 2017.
Dr. Kirwan received his bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Kentucky and his master’s and doctoral degrees in mathematics from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in 1962 and 1964, respectively.
About the Host
Dr. Drumm McNaughton, host of Changing Higher Ed®, is a consultant to higher education institutions in governance, accreditation, strategy and change, and mergers. To learn more about his services and other thought leadership pieces, visit his firm’s website: https://changinghighered.com/.
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