Succession planning for key administrators at Ivy -Plus universities

Abstract

The focus of this study is on succession planning for top administrators at the most resource rich private universities nationally, namely the “Ivy-Plus” group. The hallmark of every successful organization is strong leadership at the top, steering the organization toward higher levels of performance. However, a current trend in the American workforce is a declining attachment to employers, but a consistency in occupation. The study will explore three primary questions. Why is succession planning important? Since it is not occurring, what are the impediments to succession planning in higher education administrative positions? If it could occur in higher education what are the variety of models that fit higher education generically and then can be utilized by individual institutions specifically? I selected seven “Ivy-Plus” institutions for the study based upon purposeful sampling and interviewed the chief human resources officers. I also collected data through the review of relevant documents.