Presidencies Derailed: Why University Leaders Fail and How to Prevent It by Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, Gerald B. Kauvar, & E. Grady Bogue (review)

As I type this book review, reports about the forced resignation of University of Texas’s president are dominating my daily news feed. Headlines include “UT President Proposes Graceful Exit,” “UT’s Powers Refusing Ultimatum to Resign,” “Supporters Rally behind UT Austin President,” “Will University of Texas President Get the Ax?” and so on. As the role of the college president becomes more complex, so do the stories behind their transitions. In just two years, more than 50 college, university, and system presidents resigned, retired prematurely, or were fired, and therein was the focus of Presidencies Derailed.

Trachtenberg, Kauvar, and Bogue emphasized unsuccessful presidencies at several colleges and universities across the United States. Derailment is defined as “when a president is terminated or forced to resign prior to the end of the term of the first contract—an involuntary departure” (p. 1). The authors have identified six main reasons for derailment: (1) ethical lapses, (2) poor interpersonal skills, (3) inability to lead key constituencies, (4) difficulty adapting to institutional culture, (5) failure to meet business goals, and (6) board shortcomings. The book develops each of these reasons with examples.

Presidencies Derailed is divided into two parts. The first part, comprising Chapters 2–6, highlights derailments at different types of institutions: private liberal arts institutions in Chapter 2, public master’s level institutions in Chapter 3, public research universities in Chapter 4, and community colleges in Chapter 5. These examples demonstrate that no type of institution is immune from controversy among its leaders.

However, it was unclear how these institutions were selected for inclusion as case studies in the book. In fact, additional cases from minority-serving institutions, women’s colleges, and for-profit universities would have been a welcome addition since these types of institutions seem to consistently find their leaders in the spotlight. A current example is Alabama State University, a historically Black university, whose legal counsel just penned an op-ed that denounced the current president:

I want to publicly apologize to the entire Alabama State University family. I made a serious error in judgment when I nominated Dr. Gwendolyn E. Boyd and asked the board of trustees to elect her as president of ASU. At the time, I sincerely believed that Dr. Boyd was qualified for the position. I have since learned that her prior executive experience was greatly exaggerated and that her administrative skills are sorely lacking for what is required to be an effective president.

(Watkins, 2014, p. 1)

Egregious examples like this one highlight the need for a book on presidential derailments that includes a broader selection of institutional types.

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, Gerald B. Kauvar, and E. Grady Bogue act as editors for Part 1, contributed by four authors. It ends with insightful, firsthand experiences from two derailed presidents and, in my opinion, constitutes the best part of the text. First, William Frawley, President of University of Mary Washington, 2006–2007, provided a narrative about his termination from his position after a publicized arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. The second experience was provided by Michael Garrison, President of West Virginia University, 2007–2008, who was embroiled in political controversy from the start and ultimately resigned under board pressure.

The costs of a derailment at all institutions were quantifiable in real dollars, such as severance pay, search fees, and loss of donor support, as well as less-quantifiable costs consisting of depressed morale and unfavorable publicity for the institution and its leadership. Thus, the last section of the book, authored by Trachtenberg, Kauvar, and Bogue offered guidelines for avoiding presidential derailments as well as lessons learned from studying these situations. Chapter 7 looked at the academic search process and how much can be gleaned by having more thoughtful and more realistic searches. The authors state, “Members...