February 16th, 2024
Fortune recently published an article featuring Mark Williams, Master Lecturer of Finance, discussing the evolving role of college presidents, and the need for comprehensive hiring practices.
Top leadership positions at universities such as Harvard, Yale, and Stanford remain vacant and Williams suggests that the leadership search process must shift away from relying solely on insider networks to fill these roles.
“Given the fact that the stakes are so high now in being a university president—such a highly visible position—and then you’re in a hyper-sensitive environment that has simply turned up the pressure cooker, it just requires greater expertise and outside help in the hiring process,”
“I call it the impossible job…that’s why you’re seeing the tenure of the average college president has dropped in the last decade—and continues to drop,” Williams adds.
