Tenure matters

The tenure of the university president is also shrinking. With 12 years of service, Princeton's Shapiro is now the longest-serving president in the Ivy League--a term that is a far cry from the 40-year tenure of Charles W. Eliot, Class of 1857, who served from 1869 to 1909.

Bok says the demands that lead universities to call on already-experienced administrators as their presidents are the same as those that lead to the shortening of presidential terms: finance and politics.

"You had two things happening at once [in the 1970s]," he says. "It was the era of boundless expansion and rising stock markets came to a shuddering halt. That increased the financial burdens; you're desperately trying to keep money. The other thing, of course, was there was a great deal of student unrest."

McLaughlin also emphasizes that frequent transitions are good for universities because they bring new blood.

"One of the reasons for shorter tenures is that institutions and individuals benefit from renewal and reinvigoration, starting a different conversation, asking different questions differently and viewing the place from a new perspective," she says.

Additionally, she says that the college presidency has become a tougher job over the years--a difficulty symbolized by the 3-month leave of absence Rudenstine took in 1994 on account of exhaustion.