Toward the Top: Future Presidential Leadership and the Realities of the Numbers Peter Eckel, Ph.D. Center for Effective Leadership

Key Questions Why focus now on presidential leadership planning, transition and succession? What is the state of the leadership pipeline, short- and long-term? What can be done to develop the pipeline?

Why leadership for the future? Anticipated turnover and little progress on diversity. Lack of intentional investment in future leaders. Higher education is in a high stakes environment, facing high expectations and difficult challenges with no tested solutions – multi-generational solutions.

The Aging of Presidents: 1986 and 2006

Women Presidents by Institution Type: 1986 to 2006

Minority Presidents: 1986 and 2006

Actual and Projected Number of Public High School Graduates, by Race/Ethnicity, 2001 to 2021 Source: WICHE, Knocking at the College Door.

Facing Challenges with Multi-Generation Solutions Obama Administration – “by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.” (Canada leads at 55%) 76% of Governors described initiatives to foster partnerships that link the research capacities of college and universities with business needs.

Limited Investment in Leadership: On-Campus Leadership Programs, by Institutional Type

CAO Participation in Formal Leadership Programs, by Gender and Race/Ethnicity

The Pipeline Up

First-Time Presidents’ Pathways to the Position: 2006 Academic Positions = 61%

Lost Capacity? Next Career Steps, As Reported by Successors

CAOs’ Presidential Aspirations, by Gender and Race/Ethnicity

Select Reasons for Not Aspiring to a Presidency, by Minority Status

Select Reasons for Not Aspiring to a Presidency, by Gender

Select Reasons for Being Undecided, by Minority Status

Select Reasons for Being Undecided, by Gender

Perceptions of the Presidency

New CAO Frustrations with Their Presidents Too driven or Not driven enough Insecure or Egotistical Micro-manager or Absent Indecisive or Autocratic Complacent or Too many commitments

The Initial Rung: Faculty at Four-year Institutions

Succession Planning or Not?

CAOs’ and Presidents’ Previous Institutions

Number of CAO Career Moves

Ensuring the Future Presidency Restructure the CAO position (terminal position for 53%). Expose future leaders to the joys of the presidency. Seriously encourage talented people to prepare for a presidency early; intentionally support them. Adopt recruitment (not search) approach; think differently about the hiring process and assumptions. Explore different career ladders, but understand short-cuts rarely exist. Provide deep sources of political capital to internal candidates. Can we rethink the structure and demands of the presidency?

Thank You