For decades, the narrative around historically Black college and university (HBCU) leadership has been defined by a single statistic: the average presidential tenure of fewer than five years. What has been missing is the story of what happens after year five—and what we can learn from the presidents who get there.
A landmark new report from the Dr. N. Joyce Payne Research Center (Payne Center) at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) changes that. “Stewarding the Legacy: A National Strategy for Building Resilient HBCU Presidential Leadership” is the most comprehensive study of HBCU presidential leadership in nearly 30 years. And for the first time, it moves beyond documenting the problem to delivering a data-driven blueprint for solving it.
The study surveyed sitting HBCU presidents across public and private institutions to identify the competencies, supports and structural conditions that correlate with longer tenures and greater institutional effectiveness. Its findings upend conventional wisdom about what makes an HBCU president successful.
“This report is not about why presidents leave too soon,” Dr. M. C. Brown II, executive director of the Payne Center and lead author of the study, said. “It is about how presidents succeed long enough to make lasting progress. For too long, we have focused on the turnover statistics. What we have not asked—until now—is what the presidents who make it past five years can teach us about preparation, support and governance. Those lessons are the foundation of this report.”
“We honor the myriad ways HBCU presidents ascend to leadership and we want to make sure those who answer the call have the onboarding, resources and support to serve longer, more effective tenures,” Dr. Harry L. Williams, president & CEO of TMCF, said. Dr. Williams formerly served as president of Delaware State University.
The report also underscores the importance of strategic executive search. In 2024, TMCF relaunched TM² Executive Search (TM²) to strengthen HBCU access to executive-level talent and increase average tenure by matching the best candidate to each institution.
“TM² is an incredible success in a short amount of time,” Dr. Williams added. “It is critical that HBCUs find the correct fit from a search firm that understands the complexities involved.”“Stewarding the Legacy: A National Strategy for Building Resilient HBCU Presidential Leadership” is available for download at tmcfpayne.org.
