Although women and people of color have made small amounts of progress over the past half-decade, the college presidency is still mostly white and mostly male That’s the main takeaway from the American Council on Education (ACE)’s The American College President: 2023 Edition, released Friday.
ACE’s study, performed approximately every five years since 1986, surveyed over 1,000 college presidents and chancellors about their experiences and backgrounds during 2022. It found that 28% of presidents identified as non-white, with 14% being Black (a six-point increase from the 2017 survey) and 6% as Hispanic or Latino (a two-point increase). Women held a third of the top jobs, a three-point improvement, but their rate of growth appeared to be slowing.
Dr. Andy Brantley, president and CEO of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources
“It’s a great cause for celebration that the percentage of [diverse] representation has increased,” said Dr. Andy Brantley, president and CEO of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. “But that progress is limited and continues to be of concern.”
There could be better news coming, though. Another finding from the study suggests that there is currently a chance to accelerate the diversification of the presidency: 55% of college and university leaders say that they plan to step down from their role within the next five years.
“With significant turnover, there’s extraordinary opportunity for us to create pathways for more women and people of color to move into those roles,” said Brantley.
This opportunity has existed for at least 10 years, however—the 2012 edition of the study found that 52% of presidents were planning to step down within five years. To speed up the journey towards parity, colleges and universities are going to need to change their ways.
