by Robert A. Scott
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Harvard, Penn, Stanford, and other universities are looking for new presidents. In fact, many institutions are searching for new leaders. According to the American Council on Education, the average tenure for college and university presidents is now 5.9 years, down from 6.5 years in 2016 and 8.5 in 2006. One-half say they will retire in five years.
While allegations of plagiarism and possible fraud in research frequently make the headlines as reasons for cutting short a president’s time in office, other reasons are plentiful. These include political interference, enrollment and financial challenges, irreconcilable differences with the governing board, social media posts, poor fit due to inadequate screening and selection, and over-reliance on an executive search firm, among others.
The composition, competence, and leadership of the search committee are key. Colleges and universities compose search committees so that they can look far and wide to create a diverse pool of candidates for a position, whether an assistant in admissions, a full professor, or a president. While trustees typically do not serve on searches for faculty and staff, they do comprise the majority of those on a committee searching for a president, and one or two of them will chair or co-chair the committee. The remainder of the presidential search committee will consist of a senior dean, two faculty, and two students (one undergraduate and one in a graduate program on campus), or some close approximation to this model.
An honest and active search will serve the institution well. Such a search can mean that the person selected, even if an internal candidate already on campus, has been compared to a diverse and competitive field. This will reduce second-guessing about why a particular person was chosen.
Presidential searches at public universities and colleges in states with so-called “Sunshine Laws” can be challenging. These laws require that the names of candidates must be made public, thereby limiting the number of experienced leaders from becoming candidates. They do not want to take the chance that knowledge of their candidacy on a different campus would undermine their leadership on the campus they already serve.
Private institutions have more flexibility but still must answer to diverse stakeholders and be guided by a knowledgeable governing board. There are many of the former and too few of the latter. This is why many boards turn to outside help.
An executive search firm may be hired to be of assistance in the search. Both not-for-profit and for-profit firms can be helpful. As with any other consultant, success depends upon the clarity of the assignment, the leadership of the chair or co-chair, and the commitment of the search committee to adhere to the goals and criteria of the search. Committees should be flexible about deadlines. It is more important to find the right person, even if it requires extending the deadline, than it is to make a mistake by being fixed to a date.
The board will most likely delegate the task of soliciting and interviewing potential search firms to the trustees on a presidential search committee or to a subset of the executive committee. The board chair or another designated person might ask the trustees of other institutions for the names of firms used, or ask the campus president or board administrator to compile profiles of several firms to be reviewed. If one of the trustees is from higher education, he or she probably has knowledge of available firms.
It is essential to interview the firm’s representative thoroughly. What is the background of the person assigned to your search? Will he or she be available when the committee or its leader(s) need them, or do they have “four other” searches underway at the same time? What methods do they use to search actively?
The next task of the committee and the board is to prepare and agree on a briefing document for the search committee and the consultant. This document should include:
- a profile of the institution
- the needs and priorities of the campus
- a data book of information about the institution, its peers and competitors, and its models for aspirational goals
- the suggested profile of experiences, skills, abilities, and values of the successful candidate
- any particular expectations for the post
- the compensation and benefits for the position
In other words, the board must define the job to be done in a way that candidates can be screened and the successful candidate can be evaluated during and following his or her first year in office. The goal of the search committee and the search consultant is to search by means of advertisements, letters and telephone calls to potential prospects, communication with national associations, and requests to the campus community and alumni to suggest potential candidates. The search must be active; screening is not the only task.
