University presidents, chancellors, and vice-chancellors come and go with unusual frequency today. The average tenure has fallen from 8 to 6 years. News of firings and resignations, and less often hirings fill the front pages of national and higher education dailies. At the same time, major universities seem to learn nothing from their experiences.
Although final decisions rest with Boards of Trustees or Governors—in ageless academic rhetoric, and in the case of public universities in some states final approval by elected state governors, even the pretense of a full, inclusive, clear procedural, and all major interest groups participating search is now rare. Ohio State and Youngstown State exemplify the trends toward minimal input, scant participation, and increasingly unqualified selections.