Presidential turnover at colleges and universities is high. Between 2022 and 2024, more than one in five presidents and senior executives left their roles. At many of those institutions, the departure came sooner than expected and without a transition plan in place. Boards cannot always prevent a president from stepping
The Presidential Imperative AI is no longer relegated to tech labs, computer science courses, or futuristic think tanks. At many universities, it is already reshaping how students learn, how faculty teach, and how institutions operate. Professors, no doubt, are on the front lines of this teaching-and-learning transformation—the focus of this
A Growing Challenge in Higher Education Leadership Across higher education, the role of the university president has always been a challenging one. But in recent years, it has become what some have called a “position impossible.” The data bear this out. The average presidential tenure has dropped from 8.5 years
Unlocking the transformative power of artificial intelligence as a pedagogical partner in modern universities and colleges. Key Takeaways: The Future of AI-Powered Higher Education Introduction: Embracing AI in Higher Education Without Losing Human Connection In colleges and universities throughout the world, educators are weighing the promise of artificial intelligence in
A. The Both/Ands of Resource Allocation University leaders rarely face clear-cut choices in the budget and resource allocation process. More commonly, they navigate “both/and” realities that demand speed and restraint, innovation and tradition, in investments and curtailments. At every turn, the president’s fiduciary responsibility requires balancing legal and ethical imperatives
In Part 1 of this series, I provided a short overview of each of the five phases that mark a university presidency. Part 2 offered a deeper dive into the transition phases that include the discovery and honeymoon phases. Part 3 went into considerable detail about the accountability and conflict
In the first part of this series, I described the president-elect and new president phases of the presidential journey. These are the opening acts, with leaders waiting in the wings before stepping onstage to establish their presence. In this part of the series, I turn to the next two phases.
Phase 1. President-Elect—“I Don’t know you; You don’t know me” Timing This phase starts the moment the university announces its new president and ends on the first day the new president officially takes the seat. Description This is the behind-the-scenes, early discovery stage. Without formal authority, you make no official
A few days ago, I started my third university presidency, and a colleague asked me how it felt to be the “new” president again. The question got me thinking about the arc of this role, and I quickly found myself conceptualizing the five distinct phases that many university presidents encounter.
The early days of a university presidency can feel like stepping onto a challenging new trail—filled with excitement and a bit of trepidation. To help new presidents navigate the trail successfully, most institutions have an official onboarding process coordinated by an ad hoc presidential transition team, sometimes called the “transition
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift toward hybrid and remote work in higher education. Once rare and prevalent only in online universities, remote work became the sector-wide norm overnight as faculty, staff, and administrators assumed their respective responsibilities via Zoom-enabled technology. The rapid move from a physically cohesive workspace to
Today’s Higher Ed Leaders Are Drinking from a Fire Hose Leaders at colleges and universities today are drinking from a fire hose. They are leading through the myriad issues and opportunities that confront academic leaders on a routine basis. At the same time, they are being bombarded by a number