Chronicle of Higher Education: What should a college president do in year one?

CEP’s Task Force on the Future of the College Presidency finds that high turnover in the field provides an opportunity to prepare a diverse new generation of leaders.

In the first year on the job, a college president may feel pressure to put out a glossy five-year-plan or begin an ambitious capital campaign. But a new report by the Aspen Institute’s Task Force on the Future of the College Presidency lays out a model for what a productive first year should look like — and it doesn’t mention either of those big-ticket items. Instead the report, released Monday after an 18-month study conducted by a panel of 35 college and university presidents, recommends spending meal times in the dining hall and planning a vacation.