Despite the slight increases in women and minority presidents, Ross said the profile of the typical college president has changed little since this series began in 1986. More than 80 percent had a doctoral degree, and most had served as president for an average of seven years. In 1998, one in four served as president prior to his or her current position, compared with 17 percent in 1986. Only 8 percent of presidents' immediate prior positions were outside of higher education. The presidential search process, in fact, was a focus of this study for the first time, including data on the use of search consultants, the type of negotiations, and whether confidentiality was maintained.
Data also show that the use of professional search firms is increasing.
Search consultants were used in the recruitment of one-half of recently hired presidents, compared with only 16 percent of those hired prior to 1985 who reported that a search consultant was involved in the hiring process. The most common examples were of financial problems, including inaccurate budgets, hidden deficits, creative accounting, and even boards deliberately withholding critical financial information during the search process. Minority presidents were more likely to lead larger institutions-almost half of African American presidents and more than half of Hispanic presidents led institutions with headcount enrollments greater than 5,000, compared with less than 30 percent of white presidents. The convergence of economic, demographic, and political trends will bring changes for college presidents, the report predicts. The decade of growth in the economy has increased both the private and public financial resources available to higher education, which bodes well for the near-term stability of colleges, it states.