Answering the Call

The phone calls and texts are coming regularly. People who once aspired to become college presidents or provosts are now asking, “Should I still pursue this goal?” Many currently serving as presidents or chancellors are wondering, “How long can I continue?” And in the past months, significant numbers of college leaders have, in fact, left.

Indeed, news media outlets have been rife with articles bearing headlines like “Who Wants to Be a College President?”, “You Could Not Pay Me Enough to Be a College President,” and “Wanted: New College Presidents. Mission: Impossible.”

With two lengthy careers in higher education between us—including college presidencies at Occidental College and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)—we know these leadership positions have always involved challenges. The difference now is that colleges and universities face a new level of scrutiny and mounting skepticism. Presidents are visible and vulnerable as they are called to respond to events both on and off the campus while at the same time inspiring their faculty, staff and many other constituencies, and upholding the ideals of the academy. The tensions these leaders face are real, and they are taxing.

Our response to the questions we’ve been receiving, however, is simple—and guided by our understanding that colleges and universities are a part of society, not apart from it. These institutions reflect the questions, worries, values and concerns that are driving public debate and have led to our nation’s current state of polarization. That is why we see higher education as now being more central than ever to the future of our society. While helping students from all walks of life to achieve their dreams, colleges and universities are also preparing the future leaders who will shape the future of our democracy. Presidents, provosts and other academic leaders have a vital role to play. We need strong, ethical leaders who can be ambassadors and champions for these institutions and their missions. 

In recent months, the public discourse over issues of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), affirmative action, and how to navigate a path that ensures free speech while not providing a platform for intimidation or harassment has been heated. The challenge for leaders is to continually refocus on the essential goals of higher education: seeking the truth, solving the problems of humankind, and preparing the next generation of leaders. 

A central task for leaders is to ensure fairness and equity for all our students. The future of our country depends on our nurturing, developing and supporting talent from every group. 

The good news is that campuses are attracting students from an increasingly wide range of backgrounds. These campuses provide students with the opportunity to live and thrive among people very different from themselves. What’s striking is that as we have widened access to our institutions, American society has become more siloed. Whether you look at public schools in America or the persistent social and economic sorting by zip code, people of different backgrounds have fewer and fewer opportunities to interact. College campuses remain one of those few places. We need to make the most of that.

Of course, simply attracting diverse students to a campus does not bring about understanding, and that is just one of the challenges facing college leaders. There are no shortcuts to building understanding among groups. It may be easier to take the path of least resistance, but that is not real leadership, and it will not heal our society.

College leaders today must embody resilience and courage as they walk with their communities through emotions, tensions, traumas and even encounters with violence. When highly charged events happen on campus or beyond, many people expect a college president to respond immediately, but the most meaningful response is not necessarily a fast one. While a leader must show authenticity and attention from the first moment of a crisis, real, sustainable change comes from engaging students, faculty members, alumni and board members in both objective information-sharing and conversations about the values that inform other points of view. 

Effective college leaders understand the importance of deep listening and humility as they seek to understand their students, colleagues and internal and external communities. Our willingness to learn from others, including our students, can send an important message throughout our institutions and to the broader public. This kind of learning is hard. It’s challenging for all of us to open our minds to different points of view, yet all of us bring different perspectives and sensibilities to various situations and events depending on our experiences. That’s why we need courageous leaders who empower others to speak their truths. We all must look in the mirror to truly see ourselves, and to encourage robust conversations.

We must also remind ourselves that education is a calling. Presidents, provosts and other faculty and administrative leaders are committed to this work because they are committed to developing and inspiring talent from all walks of life. One way that current leaders can show the way is by opening their doors and spending time with aspiring leaders who are, as we noted, questioning whether this is the right time to even aspire to a college presidency. (The ACE Fellows Program is one example of this.)

Meanwhile, when aspiring leaders call us and ask us about the reality of these roles, we do not sugarcoat what is entailed. But despite the myriad challenges in performing what a number of people have characterized as the toughest job in the nation, what we must all remember is that higher education is fundamentally about our society’s future. As presidents and others navigate both campus and external politics, they also know that they must focus on the success of their students and colleagues. Higher education leaders have the opportunity and the responsibility to prepare the leaders who will be our best guides in the next chapter in the history of our nation.