Key Coverage

The Graying Presidency

As a majority of college presidents reach retirement age, a wave of turnover in college presidents is imminent, particularly at research universities. Whether the new blood will bring about a substantial reshaping of the nation’s higher education agenda is a matter of debate, but the shift highlights the notoriously poor job that most colleges do to prepare for presidential transitions. And it brings to the fore the stark reality that higher education is now a seller’s market for the handful of candidates whom the nation’s top-tier institutions are likely to view as worthy.