Gaining momentum in the drive for women presidents.

Women as college and university presidents have increased from less than 10% of presidents in 1986 to 21% in 1996 but plateaued at 23% in 2006.

Molly Corbett Broad, president of the prestigious American Council on Education (ACE), keynoted the ACE Office of Women in Higher Education (OWHE) Summit for Women Presidents in Milwaukee in June. Appointed in January, she is the first female president in ACE's 91-year history.

"One reason momentum has slowed is that as women leave a presidency, they are typically replaced by a man," she said. "Boards need to understand the value of diversity to higher education and develop a thoughtful succession plan."

Key factors

She listed key factors affecting women presidents:

* Public versus private--While women have made significant progress in the public sector, Broad said, "the percentage of women leading private institutions has stalled at around 20%."

In 1986, women were more likely to be presidents of private institutions than public. Today the reverse is true; twice as many women lead public doctorate-granting schools as private ones. Women are most likely to lead public master's universities and community colleges.