Leadership Stability at HBCUs: Breaking the Cycle of Short Presidential Tenures

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges of presidential turnover at HBCUs and explores solutions for achieving leadership stability.

In this episode of Talent Talks, Rob Adams speaks with Dr. Gerri Williams, Partner at CarterBaldwin Executive Search, about the growing challenge of presidential turnover at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Drawing on her experience advising boards and leading presidential searches, Dr. Williams explores why leadership stability matters, what’s driving short tenures, and how governance alignment and more intentional search practices can help break the cycle. The conversation highlights the broader implications for students, faculty, donors, and the future of higher education leadership.

People in this episode

Host: Rob Adams

Guest: Dr. Gerri Williams

Topics covered

• leadership stability
• presidential turnover
• higher education
• governance alignment
• search practices

Keywords

• HBCUs
• presidential tenure
• leadership
• governance
• higher education
• executive search

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CarterBaldwin Executive Search, Historically Black Colleges and Universities

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