On the Road (With Diamond Status)

The writer is a current president.

It’s indisputable at this point that the job of the college presidency involves hazards that can take years off a person’s life: student protesters, angry alumni, weaselly trustees, (ahem) executive branch leadership. And, yes, death threats. Some of us now have security details on our payroll.

But, while much is being said currently about the challenges facing college and university presidents (and they are daunting, to be sure), we must also acknowledge that the job comes with some perks. I’m not just talking about the joy of seeing a young person grow and learn—which is of course a meaningful and rewarding aspect of the job—but I mean the material rewards that come in addition to the substantial salary. 

As someone who grew up with few material resources, I frequently feel guilty about the extraordinary privileges that are part and parcel of the presidency. Many of us live in beautiful homes provided by our institutions at no cost (which seems fair, in exchange for being on call 24-7-365). Many of us are invited by our generous alumni to nice meals at trendy restaurants or box seats at professional sporting events. Sometimes we even receive sweet gifts, like a custom pair of sneakers in the school colors or a bouquet of flowers to celebrate a work anniversary.

For me, the most surprisingly delightful perk is travel. Travel to professional society conferences. Travel to meet with lawmakers in D.C. Travel to visit with donors. Travel to the inauguration of a presidential colleague. Travel to summer “send-off” gatherings that welcome new students and families from faraway cities. Travel to so-called feeder high schools. Put it all together and you get diamond-medallion road-warrior status. And 10,000 photos on your phone. 

There are downsides, sure. Time away from family is hard (but made easier if you can arrange for your spouse to tag along sometimes). Frequent time zone adjustments take a toll on sleep, especially if you are in the AARP-member age bracket. And all that sitting on airplanes may give you a mild case of sciatica. Plus, managing your campus duties from the road sometimes requires sitting on Zoom calls at 3:00 a.m. local time to guide the team about high-stakes decisions at a geographic and emotional distance.

But I love it. I mean, I really love it. Even though work trips involve, well, working, I still feel a childlike thrill when checking the bathroom for soaps or trying a local delicacy for the first time. My family of origin had only one vacation the whole time I was growing up and it involved driving a jam-packed car (in July, without AC) through many sweaty states (no stops, except for potty breaks) to stay at dumpy roadside motels. 

By contrast, the travel opportunities made available to me through this job are unlike any personal trip or vacation I had before (or probably will have after). The hotels tend to be nice, the food good, and the logistical details are handled by people who know what they are doing (not me). Often, local hosts arrange unique experiences, akin to having a backstage pass to a show or a museum. Because of our roles, people are delighted to receive us and want to show us a good time. 

It’s impossible to quantify a value for these life experiences. If you are a lifelong learner, nothing substitutes for the mind expanding you get from traveling somewhere new. Or visiting a familiar place with a host who provides insider access to something special you’ve never seen before. Long after I’m done being a president, the memories of these experiences will remain with me, an intangible but priceless reward for a very hard job.

Which is why, though I sometimes feel guilty, it also seems like a reasonable trade-off. These perks help to balance the grueling aspects of the job, like dealing with death threats, frivolous lawsuits, employee complaints, pressure from donors, and the student protest of the week. While the institutional mission and public purpose of higher education get me out of bed in the morning to fight another day, sometimes it’s the possibility of a surprise upgrade to first class that helps me get through the day.