Has The Job Of Running A University Simply Lost Its Appeal?

The Board of Governors for the State University System of Florida recently appointed Ray Rodrigues, a former state senator, as their next chancellor. While the political ties between Mr. Rodrigues and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have been the focus of much intrigue, even more fascinating is the fact that no one who applied had the experience of being a former or sitting university president. Could it be the case that the job of running a university has simply lost its luster among academics with leadership experience?

To be certain, this particular position is focused on coordinating the efforts of all of Florida’s major public universities, including the flagship University of Florida and eleven other institutions of higher learning. Perhaps this more bureaucratic job is better suited for a non-academic who nevertheless has experience in running large and complex operations. Still, not one sitting university president was interested in applying?

For all the perks that typically come with such positions — high pay, generous food and housing allowances, and generally high visibility and prestige — there continues to be a marked decline in the number of years that presidents hold (or wish to hold) their posts. The most recent study conducted by the American Council on Education, for example, reported that the average tenure of a university president had dropped to less than a 7 year span, a decline of approximately 2 years compared to the previous decade.

Periodicals such as the Chronicle of Higher Education more recently have been paying attention to “faculty burnout” as a direct result of Covid-19’s negative impact on the campus workplace environment. We must remain mindful of the fact that the majority of candidates typically seeking the presidency of a university are faculty members themselves. In this light, it is not hard to imagine that this same post-pandemic weariness may be the most significant contributing factor to the wariness of academics now on display in searches for new university leaders.