Judith A. Sturnick, a vice president of the American Council on Education and director of its Office of Women in Higher Education, encourages women to seek presidencies, although she hears from provosts and deans who don't consider the top job appealing. They say that they see people who have no life, no way to strike a balance among competing constituencies with competing agendas. The amount of skill and energy required to balance the work on daily basis, without a major crisis, is not attractive. Many of these women are relatively new to that position. One hopes there will be time for seasoning.
Several women say they've never plotted linear career paths.
I spent 20 years on the faculty believing the provost was a faculty member who had died and gone to hell. We have terrific opportunities to be doing things and maybe ensuring that one can leave the place a little better than one found it.