Creating an Environment for Sustainable Leadership at Public HBCUs
There is a leadership conundrum at HBCUs. There has been a revolving door in the administrative ranks. According to Nichols (2004), “since the Civil War, presidents of HBCUs have struggled with students who are underprepared, inadequate management, dwindling financial resources including low endowments, competition for students and faculty members, an alumni base with not much wealth and students from low-income families who may be unable to pay ever increasing tuition.” At one point, in 2012, there were 19 HBCU presidencies vacant. This causes one to question the reasons for such high turnover/attrition rates. Some would argue it is because in most cases the individual chosen was not a good “fit” for the institution. There are also those who would say they would rather have someone who is familiar with the institution. That is code for alumni. For the purpose of this chapter, we contend there are five important factors which have contributed to the rising number of vacancies in the administrative ranks: 1) lack of succession planning; 2) lack of leadership training in areas such as fiscal management for universities, board relations, alumni relations and academic integrity/student success; 3) lack of professional educational preparation prior to the attainment of a presidency; 4) the power play (the recycling of HBCU presidents); 5) lack of adherence to institutional mission and goals.