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August 6, 2007, 10:51 AM ET
Why Aren't There More Gay Presidents?
An article by Paul Fain in this week’s Chronicle looks at why, when there’s no shortage of gay and lesbian academics in academe, openly gay university presidents are still a rarity. Fain notes that Sean T. Buffington’s appointment as president of the University of the Arts last week brings the total number of openly gay university presidents up to only three — all of them at private universities. (The other two are Charles R. Middleton, president of Roosevelt University, in Chicago, Ill., and Ralph J. Hexter, president of Hampshire College, in Amherst, Mass.)
The reason? College governing boards are reluctant to consider presidential candidates with nontraditional lifestyles — particularly at public universities where presidents face extra scrutiny from state politicians — because they fear it might alienate some constituents and hurt the institution’s ability to raise money, he writes. It also doesn’t help that boards are typically made up of older white males (see a recent Chronicle study), who are more likely to be uncomfortable with a gay leader, Fain writes:
College presidents must mingle with everyone from 18-year-old freshmen to 80-year-old athletics boosters. Few presidential job skills are as important as wooing prospective donors and, for public-college presidents, state lawmakers. If trustees and search committees are skittish about hiring gay presidents, experts say, those are the two groups that give them pause.
The pressure to keep so many constituencies happy is enormous, says Ann J. Duffield, a founder of the Presidential Practice, a consulting firm in Philadelphia that grooms presidents. As a result, boards often make the safe choice in choosing a president.
“They’re not going to take any risks,” Ms. Duffield says.
Sad, but true.
(Addendum: Fain says he hedged a bit by counting only “university” presidents. The new and improved list of openly gay college and university presidents is now up to eight.)
On Hiring is The Chronicle's blog about the ins and outs of college hiring, with articles and advice from around the Web.
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