| As presidents in America's higher education institutions become older and exhibit shorter tenure lengths, the future of the college presidency has become an increasingly important topic. Given the inadequate succession planning processes that exist and the high costs associated with replacing a college president, the purpose of this study is to use survival analysis and regression models to identify variables that predict tenure length of presidents at liberal arts colleges. The study is anchored by the theoretical foundation of leadership in an organized anarchy and uses an empirical approach to predict turnover while contributing to the limited amount of research on this topic. By developing a conceptual framework to guide the analysis and identify variables that impact tenure length, this study evaluates data collected on current and previous presidents of liberal arts colleges with an endowment of more than ;Results suggest that age, gender, race/ethnicity, educational background, compensation, Board composition, and changes in endowment and rankings are statistically significant in determining the tenure length of the presidents in this study's sample. While the results produced additional insights regarding interaction effects between variables as well as variables with substantive significance, this study will contribute to the future research in this field by providing a platform for future studies on presidential tenure length in higher education institutions. In addition to identifying how the outcomes of this study will have implications for college presidents and their institutions, this analysis will also inform boards and executive search firms who are engaged in the presidential succession planning process. |
