Dive Brief:
- College presidents in their first year on the job should not aim unnecessarily high in attempting to fulfill expectations of their performance, according to a new report by the Aspen Institute’s Task Force on the Future of the College Presidency analyzed by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
- The task force, which consisted of 35 college and university presidents across a variety of different types of institutions, said it was incumbent on new presidents to collaborate with school boards and administrators to work toward creating a “first-year induction process” that would set a positive tone.
- It was also vital for college presidents to spend time with students and faculty to help become more acquainted to the college and to the particular rhythms of campus life unique to that institution, according to the task force’s findings.
Dive Insight:
The tenure and expectations of how college presidents’ tenures unfold has changed dramatically in the past five years, as reporting learned that 56 out of 81 presidents at Research I institutions had left the jobs, an incredible degree of turnover in what had previously been considered a stable role on campus. Additionally, college presidents are serving shorter terms on average, which can put pressure on new hires to feel like they must deliver results immediately.
As college presidents often feel the brunt of attention and criticism in the event of a crisis or a controversy on campus, it is important to ensure that college presidents have the ear and the respect of students on campus, it is equally important to ensure that college presidents have the trust and respect of administration as close to the outset of their tenure as possible. By establishing strong relationships quickly among long-serving staff, presidents will have dependable sources for advice in the event of a crisis, even if they are comparatively new to campus. Many of the challenges colleges and college presidents will face are unknown, but developing strong staff relationships to prepare for such storms is within the ability of college presidents to start today.