The revolving door, island hopping, career advancement—all are phrases used to describe a trend in frequent turnover among top leadership at Louisiana universities.
Over the past two years, almost 20% of the state’s private colleges experienced a change in chancellor or president, while nearly 25% of Louisiana’s 32 public institutions took on new top leadership, a Business Report analysis of staffing indicates.
National experts say these numbers aren’t unique to Louisiana and are indicative of larger shifts happening in the higher education talent pool. However, they can be troubling, as frequent changes in leadership cause turbulence to ripple through a university’s system.
Approximately 92% of presidents and provosts across the country are between their late 50s and mid 70s, explains Jan Greenwood, a partner and co-owner of Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Inc., a national executive search firm that has conducted numerous searches for LSU.
Greenwood explains that among both private and public universities nationwide, a bump in retirements is leading to high turnover.
In her 23 years in the executive search business, Greenwood has witnessed the shift occur. At the start of her career, one presidential search she conducted attracted 160 candidates. Today, she feels fortunate to be able to produce six.
She expects the cycle of turnover to continue for the next 10 to 15 years as current leaders continue to retire and a new crop of experienced executives moves up.
Business Report has the full story. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
