March 17, 2023

Boards’ Failing Oversight: How Does It Happen?

Judy Phair shares her thoughts on why some boards get it wrong when faced with malfeasance or bad behavior by their CEO. For one, board members "may have vested interests that prompt them to cling to the status quo," she observes. Her comments appear in an article on board responsibilities in The E&C Pulse, an on-line newsletter by LRN covering ethics and compliance issues. … [Read more...]

Revised Carnegie Classifications Create 85 New Doctoral Universities

Full List of Private Colleges and Universities Now Classified as "Doctoral/Professional Universities You have to hand it to the folks at Indiana University Bloomington’s Center for Postsecondary Research.  They really know how to bury a story. Since 2014 the center has been responsible for the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, the primary tool for categorizing all of the U.S. higher education institutions, updated only every three years.  The center released the latest update just a few weeks ago – on December 19, the Wednesday before Christmas. Being preoccupied with sugar plums, almost everyone overlooked the release.  That was unfortunate in that the new classifications include an important gift for a number of colleges and universities.  These are institutions formerly under the seven bachelor’s and master’s degree categories that have now been moved to a new “Doctoral/Professional” classification.   To qualify … [Read more...]

Year-end Review: The New Private College Presidents of 2018

(Full list of all new presidents) In this year-end wrap-up, we’ve identified 96 private college and university presidents taking office in 2018, plus another 35 appointed as interim presidents. The institutions they head range from the highly visible (Harvard) to the more specialized (the New England College of Optometry).  Of the 131, more than two-thirds took office between June and September, so have just completed their first semester as presidents.  The outliers mainly assumed the presidency earlier in 2018. Demographics Demographically, the Class of 2018 presidents follow some past patterns, but also hint at shifts in private college leadership.  The numbers also are testimony to the difficulty in increasing the proportion of private college presidencies held by women and minorities.  (For comparisons to past years, we’ve relied on the American Council of Education’s American College Presidents Study, 2017, which uses data from 2016.) Gender tracks … [Read more...]

Most Recent Presidential Appointments at Private Colleges & Universities

Note:  This page is no longer being maintained on the PhairAdvantage website.  For a current list of private college presidential searches and appointments, go to www.privatesey.com.  3/5/19 - MacMurray College (IL) Interim MacMurray President Dr. Mark Tierno to retire, Dr. Beverly Rodgers named interim president 3/3/19 - Morris Brown University (GA) Interim Troubled Morris Brown College hires former 100 Black Men CEO Kevin James as interim president 3/2/19 - Wilkes University (PA) Interim New acting president at Wilkes 2/26/19 - Clarke University (IA) Thom D. Chesney Named 16th President of Clarke University 2/18/19 - Goldey Beacom College (DE) Keith named 14th president of Goldey-Beacom College 2/18/19 - Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (TX) Greenway nominated to lead Southwestern Seminary 2/14/19 - Pepperdine University (CA) James A. Gash Named Eighth President and CEO of Pepperdine University 2/13/19 - Earlham College (IN) Earlham College Chooses First … [Read more...]