2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

During the dual pandemic (COVID-19 pandemic and national-level social injustice), several higher education institutions experienced changes in president and chancellor positions, which has continued into 2023. For historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), in 2022 alone, 23 leadership changes were announced, and in 2023, 41 position changes were announced, almost double within one year. Essentially, one in every four 4-year HBCU institutions experienced a resignation or termination at the highest level. Additionally, research shows that presidents and chancellors at HBCUs have significantly shorter tenures, with an average of 3.3 years than those of other four-year institutions, with an average tenure of 7 years. These changes have been deemed a “crisis” and an added challenge to the ongoing recovery efforts of many HBCUs disproportionately impacted by the global pandemic.

Two areas that are critical for higher education institutions related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education are (1) the role they play in broadening the participation of historically excluded individuals and (2) research activity, particularly research capacity building. For the latter, even organizations with the higher research activity ranking (R1) are continuously searching for avenues to increase their research activity, including recruiting and hiring faculty, administrators, and executive cabinet members who can assist in these two areas. HBCUs are considered key players in helping the nation stay competitive globally, a precious asset considering the increasingly diverse student population in the United States. Unfortunately, excessive executive leadership turnover could negatively impact those efforts.

Based on the information shared above, the focus of this research study is to answer the following research question: How are president and chancellor turnover at HBCUs impacting broadening participation efforts and research capacity building through the eyes of HBCU stakeholders? To address this research question and overarching research goals, our team (1) clearly defined how and why this is a national, urgent issue, (2) shared the survey development process, (3) discussed the survey piloting process that took place during the 2023 HBCU Week conference in Washington, D.C. area and (4) provide preliminary findings from the survey results. The implications and future work section provides insight for the research community on the type of challenge or problem that would qualify as a RAPID grant per the National Science Foundation (NSF). Most importantly, this research study allows the broader higher education community to understand the impact of changes in president and chancellor positions on activities related to STEM, broadening participation efforts, and research capacity building at HBCUs.