What can a college president really hope to accomplish?

The average tenure for a college or university president is a little more than six years. Researchers presume that the short stay is "normal, expected and a value-neutral event," said Melinda Rhodes, assistant dean of the faculty at Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri.

But what can top academic leaders accomplish if they come and go like professional football coaches?

Rhodes spoke about Dr. Helen Washburn, the recently retired president of Cottey College MO, who represents an anomaly in presidential longevity. She addressed the Women in Educational Leadership conference sponsored by the University of Nebraska in Lincoln in September. Dr. Washburn stepped down after the 2003-2004 academic year after 18 years as president of the two-year, private liberal arts college for women, which enrolls about 300 traditional 18- and 19-year-old women.

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Perhaps Washburn's long tenure was reasonable for Cottey College, which is funded by the PEO Sisterhood, a philanthropic educational organization. The school is one of the organization's five major projects and a part of its dues go to the college's general fund. The Sisterhood's other projects include grants for returning students and scholarships for graduate students. It serves some 250,000 members in the United States and Canada with chapters in each state.

Rhodes' study of Washburn's longevity is part of her initial work for a doctorate in higher education administration at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Advantages to longevity