Backgrounds of New Chief Executives at Colleges, 2017-18

More than two-thirds of college presidents or chancellors appointed in the 2017-18 academic year had never held that role previously. More than a third of newly appointed college chiefs were female. Women were nearly twice as likely as men to move into the presidential position after serving as provost, while men were more likely than women to assume the top post after acting as lower-level college administrators or in major roles outside academe.

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Note: Data were drawn from announcements of 286 appointments of permanent college presidents or chancellors that were submitted to The Chronicle or found online and then listed in The Chronicle’s Gazette section from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018. New chiefs were categorized as “experienced” if they had ever served as permanent or interim chief of any college. “Chief executive of another college” includes interim chiefs at other institutions. “Chief academic officer” includes provosts, vice presidents for academic affairs, and people with similar titles. “Vice president for student affairs” includes vice presidents for student services, enrollment, and similar areas. “Other college vice president” excludes the two aforementioned roles. “Outside academe, not education-related” includes high-level positions in industry, government, foundations, and law firms. The highest position in academe was counted for people with multiple roles, even if the person had recently stepped down from that role to take a lower-level position or a post outside academe.