Turnover at the Top

The writer is a current president.

I retired in the summer of 2022 after a great run as president of a wonderful institution.

The college hired a skilled new president, and the entire leadership team worked to make the transition as smooth and seamless as possible. I pushed hard right up to the end and, as a result, had not really planned at all for what it would mean to be retired.

I returned to the community where I had spent most of my life, and during the first six months of my retirement, my schedule included sleep (lots and lots of sleep), reading novels, walking the dog, and doing household chores, and that seemed fine. Toward the end of those first six months, I began to crave some sort of intellectual stimulation and initiated conversations with several firms about the possibility of doing some part-time consulting or executive coaching. I learned that it takes a while to build those sorts of relationships and contacts and was regretting my failure to plan better for that moment. Then a local university decided it needed an interim president and reached out to me.

I had been adamant when I retired that I would not be moving on to another presidency. I had fallen deeply in love with my first institution and could not imagine another would ever measure up. Plus, I was exhausted and could not imagine having the energy to relaunch someplace else. And I was not going to move to take on any position. There were so many reasons that I was not going to do this again.

But the university down the street really needed someone to help calm things down after a tumultuous year in order to allow the campus community to be ready for its next longer-term leader. Its mission and focus were genuinely different from any of my prior institutions. And its students, faculty, staff, alums, and trustees were soooo passionate about the place. And, it was only for 18 months. So, I said yes.

It would be reasonable for you to ask what on earth I was thinking.

I’ve asked myself that a number of times, but the bottom line is that this place deserves to thrive, and I think it can and will. That won’t happen during my time, but I think I can help set it on a path in that direction, and here’s why.

This faculty is willing to think creatively and embrace necessary change. They’ve already demonstrated that in the last several years, and they haven’t grown cynical or been defeated by the process. They appreciate being invited to the table and being thanked for their efforts, and that keeps them coming back.

These students are amazing, and they’re going to make the world a better place. I know—we all say that about our students. But nearly 50 percent of these students are first-generation college students, and 45 percent are Pell eligible. They have figured out how to get to college, and we’re helping them figure out how to persist and graduate.

I am re-energized every day by the people around me. Not that there haven’t been challenges. A complicated financial situation without obvious solutions. Pro-Palestinian protests on campus with Jewish members of the community feeling marginalized. The need to hire two new VPs who don’t know who their boss will be a year from now. (Yes, it can be done. We have two wonderful new colleagues joining the team this summer.) The FAFSA debacle. It feels like there is some new challenge nearly every day, but the people in this community continue to rally and work with the leadership team to explore solutions.

Yes, there is that group that opposes everything, but they’re in the minority, and I think they actually recognize that. At any rate, they aren’t keeping us from moving forward.

Communicating, often and consistently, has been key. There was a rumor when I first arrived that the board had decided to make an interim hire because they planned to shut the place down. That was not in anyone’s plans, but given the current climate across the higher education landscape, the speculation was understandable.

So, I spent my first weeks talking openly and directly with every campus constituent group I could access. I worried that sharing what I was learning might add to the anxiety within the campus community, but I quickly learned their greatest fear had been the unknown. The faculty and staff are eager to learn, recognizing they can’t help solve our challenges if they don’t understand them. They actually sighed with relief when I said the words “structural deficit” out loud. By naming the challenge, I invited them into the conversation to try to solve it.

I’ve learned several things about being interim. I have the privilege of saying things more plainly and directly than I ever would have in a longer-term role. I feel more comfortable thanking someone for expressing their opinion and then explaining why we’re not going to do what they want. I have the freedom to make some needed changes and also to decline to make changes that I think should be left to my successor.

I’ve also been reminded why I retired in the first place. This job is exhausting. You’re never not the president when you take on one of these positions. You can be away from campus, and you can (and should) have a designated point person in your absence, but you know you’re going to get that call in any type of emergency, and that is never out of your mind. The pace is relentless, including evening and weekend events and travel.

I am pleased to be in this role, and equally pleased to know the role has a defined end. I will push through to that end and be better prepared to be retired—for real this time.