Colleges Vie for New Bosses as Harvard, MIT Lead Retirement Wave
- Crush of presidents retiring at once spurs search challenge
- The average presidential tenure has been on the decline
Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge.
Photographer: Adam Glanzman/BloombergIn the world of executive search, there are few tasks more herculean than hiring a university president, with the number of people seeking a say in the decision -- administrators, faculty and wealthy alumni among them -- seemingly endless.
In the past year, sitting presidents at some of the top colleges in the US have announced they’re stepping down, triggering the arduous process of finding their replacements -- and making the job even tougher than usual, with competition fierce for the most-desirable candidates.