CHE Article: Difficulty in hiring Provosts

[ciao_yall]

CHE: Why is it so difficult to hire vice presidents and provosts? 

I would add - no natural career path.

They are hired from people who intended an academic path and were successful in it - achieving PhD's and tenure. They have completely different skills and personalities from running a large institution.

Or, they hire careerists who get MBA's and EdDs and parachute in without the requisite knowledge of the norms, dispositions, and cultures of an academic environment. 

[FishProf]

It isn't hard.  We've hired 7 provosts and 3 presidents in my 17 years at FishProf U.


Oh, did you mean hiring GOOD ones?

That's very different.

[spork]

It isn't hard.  We've hired 7 provosts and 3 presidents in my 17 years at FishProf U.


Oh, did you mean hiring GOOD ones?

That's very different.

Yes. For me it's been 4 provosts and 3 presidents in 12 years.

Part of the problem is the practice of putting morons on the search committee.

[fourhats]

I think it's more a case of the people who would make good provosts not wanting the job.

[TreadingLife]

It isn't hard.  We've hired 7 provosts and 3 presidents in my 17 years at FishProf U.


Oh, did you mean hiring GOOD ones?

That's very different.

Yes. For me it's been 4 provosts and 3 presidents in 12 years.

Part of the problem is the practice of putting morons on the search committee.

I know Spork and I work at similar institutions but this comment makes me think I am Spork. I fit the description to a T: 12 years, 3 presidents, 4 provosts, and I too think morons are moths to search committees. 

[kaysixteen]

Remind me how one gets appointed to a presidential/ provost search committee at the average uni today?  And does the board of trustees routinely just rubber stamp the committee's choice?

[FishProf]

I think it's more a case of the people who would make good provosts not wanting the job.

Similar to my feeling about POTUS, that is one of my primary qualifications.

[Aster]

In my opinion, one of the greatest challenges with hiring senior leaders within Higher Education is the increasing amount of external political interference being applied in selecting finalists.

It used to be rare to hire a college president that didn't possess the basic qualifications to understand the job and perform it adequately. But nowadays, the right social connections and an endorsement from the governor can get just about anyone through the door.

[fourhats]

But nowadays, the right social connections and an endorsement from the governor can get just about anyone through the door.

That might be true at a public, but not so much at a private. I speak as someone who's been on a couple of presidential and dean searches.

[Aster]

But nowadays, the right social connections and an endorsement from the governor can get just about anyone through the door.

That might be true at a public, but not so much at a private. I speak as someone who's been on a couple of presidential and dean searches.

Yes, I agree with that also. Private universities, for all of their frustrating idiosyncrasies in other things, are large private businesses. Political interference, *if* it happens, mostly just goes in the *other* direction, ha ha.

[marshwiggle]

But nowadays, the right social connections and an endorsement from the governor can get just about anyone through the door.

That might be true at a public, but not so much at a private. I speak as someone who's been on a couple of presidential and dean searches.

Yes, I agree with that also. Private universities, for all of their frustrating idiosyncrasies in other things, are large private businesses. Political interference, *if* it happens, mostly just goes in the *other* direction, ha ha.

I have a hunch that a lot of the moves to hire people from outside academia have to do with a failure of previous administrators to deal with fundamental "business" issues of the institution, such as budget deficits, declining enrollment, etc. Getting all misty eyed about mission and the place of education in society don't cut it if the operations aren't sustainable.

[fourhats]

Actually, most of the people I've seen in searches (and those they've tried to recruit) have been accomplished academics with extensive budget and administrative experience. It's probably different at large publics, where the trustees and governors sometimes go for business types.

[Aster]

The Big Public Universities suffer so much more political interference because the failure of most states to appropriately fund Higher Education has made it into a giant political issue.

If you can't fix a problem for something that's important in the Public's Eye, it's common in politics to designate a Yes Man who will put on the Show of attempting to fix the problem.

Also, being appointed to a leadership position at a major university is now viewed more and more as a political reward to campaign donors and former legislators. A lot of ladder-climbers and retirees are now jockeying for favored positions to land senior management positions at universities. It's increasingly common in my part of the U.S. for senior university leaders to not even be screened by a qualified search committee anymore. Instead, a small group of outsiders who were also politically appointed are taking over.

It's a revival of the "Good 'Ol Boy" system.

[polly_mer]

Remind me how one gets appointed to a presidential/ provost search committee at the average uni today?  And does the board of trustees routinely just rubber stamp the committee's choice?

1) Being appointed to the search committee depends on a lot of factors.  Sometimes, it's a matter of not being fast enough to say, 'not it!'  Sometimes, it's being unable to dodge a limited time, high importance service expectation as someone who is known to be diligent.  Sometimes, it's just your turn to be a token representative in a farce of shared governance to make the casual observer think that shared governance has happened.

2) It depends on how the committee selection went and whether the committee gets the right answer.  If shared governance is really a thing, then the committee's choice likely will be approved.  If the committee was supposed to pick a leader to make hard choices during a hard time and the committee picks someone who won't rock the boat, then the trustees likely will reject the choice.  That's where the idiot accusation comes in because the committee didn't pick what's right for the institution.

In my four years at Super Dinky, we hired one president and three provosts.  Soon after I left, Super Dinky got another president and another provost.

[pgher]

Remind me how one gets appointed to a presidential/ provost search committee at the average uni today?  And does the board of trustees routinely just rubber stamp the committee's choice?

1) Being appointed to the search committee depends on a lot of factors.  Sometimes, it's a matter of not being fast enough to say, 'not it!'  Sometimes, it's being unable to dodge a limited time, high importance service expectation as someone who is known to be diligent.  Sometimes, it's just your turn to be a token representative in a farce of shared governance to make the casual observer think that shared governance has happened.

2) It depends on how the committee selection went and whether the committee gets the right answer.  If shared governance is really a thing, then the committee's choice likely will be approved.  If the committee was supposed to pick a leader to make hard choices during a hard time and the committee picks someone who won't rock the boat, then the trustees likely will reject the choice.  That's where the idiot accusation comes in because the committee didn't pick what's right for the institution.

In my four years at Super Dinky, we hired one president and three provosts.  Soon after I left, Super Dinky got another president and another provost.

I have not served on such a committee, but those who have served tell me that their committee had ultimately very little input to the selection. Put that in the category of a farce of shared governance (though perhaps that's too strong). We use search firms who do most of the work, then show the committee a few choices.