So, who wants to be a college president? Anyone?

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From the outside, the job as president of an Ivy League university might not seem so desirable right now. Prestigious? Sure. Lucrative? Certainly. But during the past year, some leaders have had tenures that lasted less time than it takes to make the dean’s list.

Claudine Gay, the first Black woman president at Harvard University, lasted just six months. Minouche Shafik at Columbia University and Liz Magill at the University of Pennsylvania fared slightly better at 13 and 17 months, respectively. But in the end, they all left in the wake of mass campus protests against the war in Gaza. So far, none of the universities have named permanent replacements.

Why We Wrote This

As colleges and universities move toward institutional neutrality policies in the wake of the war in Gaza, a new title is heading many prestigious schools: acting president.

“It’s making the job of a president a really shaky job to take on,” says Joe Sallustio, who hosts the “EdUp Experience” podcast.

Stephanie Shonekan is someone who ordinarily might be eyeing a top spot. Two years ago, she was named dean of the University of Maryland’s College of Arts and Humanities.

“I’m not a president and I don’t plan on being a president,” says Dr. Shonekan, who explains that she’s watched what’s happened to women of color. “So that gave me pause.”

From the outside, the job as president of an Ivy League university might not seem so desirable right now. Prestigious? Sure. Lucrative? Certainly. But during the past year, some leaders have had tenures that lasted less time than it takes to make the dean’s list.

Claudine Gay, the first Black woman president at Harvard University, lasted just six months. Minouche Shafik at Columbia University and Liz Magill at the University of Pennsylvania fared slightly better at 13 and 17 months, respectively. But in the end, they all left unceremoniously – along with presidents from other prominent schools – in the wake of mass campus protests against the war in Gaza. So far, none of the universities have named permanent replacements.

That raises the question: Who would want to be a college president right now?

Why We Wrote This

As colleges and universities move toward institutional neutrality policies in the wake of the war in Gaza, a new title is heading many prestigious schools: acting president.

“It’s making the job of a president a really shaky job to take on,” says former college administrator Joe Sallustio, who hosts the “EdUp Experience” podcast.

Dr. Sallustio says that he has spoken to administrators who acknowledge they are wary.

“The pipeline of people that are willing to do that job – I see from those that I talk to – is not drying up, but it is not as juicy of a job as it used to be, because [presidents] are going to have all eyes on [them],” Dr. Sallustio says.

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