On the Pathway to the Presidency

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On the Pathway to the Presidency

• Characteristics of
• Higher Educations
• Senior Leadership

Jacqueline E. King Assistant Vice
President Center for Policy Analysis
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Background

• Follow-up study to The American College
  President 2007 Edition (ACPS).
• First-ever attempt to describe characteristics of
  senior leaders other than presidents.
• Partnership with College and University
  Professional Association for Human Resources
  (CUPA-HR)
• Sponsored by AIG Retirement.
• Co-author Gigi Gomez.

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A Wave of Presidential Retirements is Imminent
Source ACE. 2007. The American College
President 2007 Edition.
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Progress on Diversity has been Slow
Source ACE. 2007. The American College
President 2007 Edition.
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Research Questions

• What is the age profile of senior leaders? (Will
  the last person out please turn off the lights )
• Are those in position to be the next generation
  of presidents more diverse than the current
  group?
• To what extent have current leaders benefited
  from succession planning?

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Methods and Data

• Surveyed HR directors at 4,300 regionally
  accredited, degree-granting institutions.
• Used CUPA-HR position taxonomy and ACPS results
  to identify 35 positions on the pathway.
• Asked for information in HR databases.
• 850 institutions responded with info about 9,700
  positions (20 response rate).
• Response rate varied by institution type. Data
  weighted to reflect national distribution of
  institutions.

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Pathway to the Presidency
Source ACE. 2007. The American College
President 2007 Edition.
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Senior Administrators are Younger than Presidents
Sources ACE. 2007. The American College
President 2007 Edition. ACE. 2008. On the
Pathway to Presidency Characteristics of Higher
Educations Senior Leadership.
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And more likely to be women
Sources ACE. 2007. The American College
President 2007 Edition. ACE. Sources ACE.
2007. The American College President 2007
Edition. ACE. Forthcoming. On the Pathway to
Presidency Characteristics of Higher Educations
Senior Leadership.
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Women Less Likely to Hold Key Line Positions
Source Forthcoming. On the Pathway to
Presidency Characteristics of Higher Educations
Senior Leadership. ACE
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Senior Administrators No More Likely to be
People of Color
Sources ACE. 2007. The American College
President 2007 Edition. ACE. 2008. On the
Pathway to Presidency Characteristics of Higher
Educations Senior Leadership.
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Minorities Most Likely to Hold Diversity and
Student Affairs Positions
Source ACE. 2008. On the Pathway to Presidency
Characteristics of Higher Educations Senior
Leadership.
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Asians Only Group Not Equally Represented in
Senior Faculty Academic Administration
Sources On the Pathway to Presidency
Characteristics of Higher Educations Senior
Leadership. ACE. 2006. Minorities in Higher
Education 22nd Annual Status Report.
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White Men Hold Plurality Among All Senior
Administrators
Sources On the Pathway to Presidency
Characteristics of Higher Educations Senior
Leadership. ACE
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Pockets of Diversity within Institution Types

• Asian Americans at Doctorate-granting
  Institutions
• African Americans at Masters and Baccalaureate
  Institutions
• Hispanics at Associates Institutions

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Job Characteristics

• Shorter average tenure than presidents 6.5 years
  for all senior administrators vs. 8.5 years for
  presidents
• CAOs have shortest average tenure 5.2 years.
• Half of senior administrators promoted internally
  (vs. 28 of presidents). Most common among
  academic affairs administrators.

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Next Steps

• Disseminate results.
• Integrate results into leadership development
  programming.
• In-depth research on CAOs.
• New American College President Study in 2011,
  possibly repeat Pathway survey in 5 years.

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