On the first day of the spring semester, Claudine Gay is stepping down as president of Harvard University following sustained backlash tripped by her Congressional hearing on student safety and antisemitism.
The average tenure among the six presidents to step down or retire in this list is three and a half years, a starkly shorter timeline than the 5.9-year average ACE reported in its annual president survey.
"We don't exhibit a very good image of competence to the outside world," said materials science and engineering professor Raymundo Arroyave in a special Faculty Senate meeting.
Only two institutions have named a full-time successor since, leaving a considerable chunk of the Magnolia State's colleges and universities with vacant seats in executive leadership.
Following President Jason Wingard's resignation last month, more than 80% of the university's faculty union cast a vote of no confidence in their Provost and Board of Trustee chair.
The last two weeks have seen the South Carolina university's leadership flip on its head. An incendiary closed-door meeting and a fiery letter from the president—which was later leaked—calling out BJU's "dysfunctional leadership" dragged the private evangelical university's community into the fray and has culminated in the chairman's resignation.
Kristina M. Johnson's term will come to a close at the end of the academic year to allow for a "seamless transition," according to a letter to the Buckeye community. No reason was given for her departure.
