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Characteristics of College Presidents, 2016, 2011, and 2006

Almanac 2017 August 13, 2017

In the five years from 2011 to 2016, the proportion of presidents who were members of minority groups climbed by about four percentage points, although minority representation is still far below that of the college-student population, especially for Hispanics. The average age of a president crept up during those five years, from 60.7 to 61.7, and the percentage of those whose previous job was outside academe fell, from more than 20 percent in 2011 to 15 percent in 2016.

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In the five years from 2011 to 2016, the proportion of presidents who were members of minority groups climbed by about four percentage points, although minority representation is still far below that of the college-student population, especially for Hispanics. The average age of a president crept up during those five years, from 60.7 to 61.7, and the percentage of those whose previous job was outside academe fell, from more than 20 percent in 2011 to 15 percent in 2016.


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Gender and family

Status201620112006
Women 30.1% 26.4% 23.0%
Currently married 85.2% 85.0% 83.2%
Has children 84.0% 85.3% 85.7%

Race or ethnicity

Identification201620112006
American Indian 0.7% 0.8% 0.7%
African-American 7.9% 5.9% 5.9%
Asian-American 2.3% 1.5% 0.9%
Hispanic 3.9% 3.8% 4.5%
Middle Eastern 0.6% — —
White 83.2% 87.2% 86.4%
2 or more races 1.4% — —
Other — 0.8% 1.5%
All minority 16.8% 12.6% 13.6%

Education and top 3 fields of study

Background201620112006
Has Ph.D. or Ed.D. 79.5% 76.8% 75.0%
Studied education or higher education 41.1% 37.7% 43.0%
Studied social sciences 14.2% 11.9% 13.8%
Studied humanities/fine arts 11.3% 14.2% 13.7%

Career history

Past positions201620112006
Previously a president or interim president/chief executive of college or system 23.9% 19.5% 21.4%
Previously a chief academic officer or provost/other senior executive in academic affairs/dean 42.7% 44.7% 43.8%
Previously another senior campus executive 16.3% 11.9% 17.3%
Previously worked outside higher education 15.0% 20.3% 13.1%
Never been a faculty member 18.8% 30.4% 31.1%
Ever worked outside higher education 58.0% 47.8% 63.0%

Average…

Experience201620112006
Age 61.7 60.7 59.9
Years in present job 6.5 7.0 8.5
Years spent primarily in the classroom/lab (for those who reported having done so) 10.2 9.6 —

Note: Data for 2016 are based on survey responses from 1,546 leaders of two-year and four-year public, private nonprofit, and for-profit institutions across the United States. A total of 3,615 surveys were distributed. Response rates varied from 43 percent to 51 percent per sector, with the exception of the for-profit sector, for which the response rate was 6 percent. A dash indicates that data were not available. Percentages may not add up to totals because of rounding. More data are available at www.acenet.edu.

Source: American Council on Education, “American College President Study 2017"

A version of this article appeared in the August 18, 2017, issue.
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