A NEW PARADIGM: STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSION PLANNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Today‟s successful businesses and organizations realize the importance of strong leadership to maintain, grow and sustain long-term business productivity and viability. In a time when the skilled workforce continues to shrink and the competition for top talent increases, many businesses have developed sophisticated succession management practices to ensure their organizations will be well positioned to compete in the future. Like private businesses, institutions of higher education will face similar challenges as those who have led for decades leave their institutions. As such, the academy must also formulate strategies for attracting, developing and retaining a leadership pool that will ensure the institution‟s long-term health. Leadership development is not new to academics and many institutions have supported these programs for years. Few, however, have adopted formal succession planning strategies that are both strategic and deliberate and encompass the full spectrum of succession planning activities. Furthermore, the culture and governance structure present in institutions of higher education is often quite different than that of private businesses. The presence of share