Why did we lower standards for higher education leaders?

It was revealed last week that Florida is about to get its tenth education head linked to Gov. Ron DeSantis, making me wonder why academics stopped being required to run higher education.

When Secretary of Commerce Alex Kelly becomes president of Pensacola State College, it will make ten of the new breed of educational leaders whose pedigree seems to be that they rose from the current state government.

Mr. Kelly has gone from chief of staff of the education commissioner to deputy chief of staff for Mr. DeSantis to secretary of commerce under Mr. DeSantis, a report from the News Service of Florida points out. Next stop, college president.

He’s not alone. Former education commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas is president of Polk State College, former Sen. Ray Rodriques is university system chancellor, University of West Florida President Manny Diaz Jr. is a former legislator who was education commissioner, former legislator Richard Corcoran became education commissioner and is now president of New College of Florida, former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez is president of Florida International University, former Rep. Mel Ponder is president of Northwest State College of Florida, former Rep. Fred Hawkins is president of South Florida State College, and former Rep. John Temple is president of Lake Sumter State College.

All have been in current state leadership. Few would have been traditional choices for educational leadership. It’s a Florida sea change whose impact won’t be known until well after Mr. DeSantis leaves office at the end of the year having reshaped higher education.

When I was in school, a president had to be a leader and a fundraiser but also had to be educationally accomplished. When President Harlan Hatcher addressed freshmen at the University of Michigan, we took seriously his admonition that one of three of us wouldn’t return for a second year so we’d better hit the books hard if we didn’t want to be in that failing one-third.

Dr. Hatcher (few of the 10 new Florida education leaders have a doctorate) was an academician and the 25,000 students knew it. He came from Ohio State, not state government. He started as an English instructor, then assistant professor, then professor, then dean of arts and sciences, then vice president – and then was chosen with that background and distinguished service in two world wars to be Michigan’s president.

He not only taught but wrote, including 17 books about the people, history and geology of Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. In my library is his book “The Great Lakes” – he wrote about Lake Ontario before it became Lake America. Since his field was English literature, he also published three novels and he wrote a weekly newspaper book column.

It didn’t hurt that he also looked like a university president and carried himself as one. He had both student and faculty respect – most of the time, because at an academic institution unlike state government there is, and should be, strong divergent opinion, and scholars and university presidents are not immune.

Maybe that’s why the turnover of college and university presidents is faster and faster. Dr. Hatcher was president of the University of Michigan for 16 years, Tad Foote was president of the University of Miami for 20 years and Modesto Maidique led FIU for 23 years. By 2006, however, the average tenure of a college or university president was down to 8.5 years. Today, it’s just 5.9 years.

So while the crop of new Florida education leaders will outlast the governor’s tenure, they’re not likely to approach Dr. Maidique’s record – and our next governor may have a different view of what kinds of presidents will replace them.

As I said, changes are more frequent. The Chronicle of Higher Education lists 58 jobs open nationally as president, chancellor or other high post. Among those available – you’d better hurry if you’re applying – are the presidencies of the University of Illinois with 101,000 students, Virginia Tech, the University of Wisconsin and Brandeis. Also still listed but about to disappear to Mr. Kelly is the presidency of Pensacola State College.

The University of Wisconsin demands of its next president an advanced degree, preferably a doctorate. Pensacola State demands either that the president graduate from college or have equivalent work experience – don’t sweat the education stuff.

But what Pensacola State demands over and over that Wisconsin doesn’t mention is that the president follow state rules and policies.

Pensacola sees “the role carrying responsibility for policy implementation, regulatory compliance and accountability to state performance goals … The president … ensures responsible governance aligned with state law and board priorities.”

The president doesn’t lead in academics or anything else but sure better follow state dictates.

The key job in Pensacola, the advertisement says, is “providing visionary leadership, ensuring compliance with state and federal law, the rules and regulations of the State Board of Education, and college policies and procedures, while aligning with institutional priorities with state and community needs to advance student success and academic excellence.”

But a president ought to lead, not follow the dotted lines from Tallahassee. Student success and academic excellence are mentioned, but only after the president makes sure to follow mandates.

There are four requirements in Pensacola: graduate from college or do something that’s just as good wherever, have executive experience or a job in state government (yes, that’s listed), be experienced with state policy, and have experience with state budgetary procedures.

Mr. Kelly should do just fine. He qualifies, as do the others with their state backgrounds if not necessarily academic experience.

Florida is demanding little higher education for its top education leaders. They might do wonderfully in their jobs, but if so, required qualifications won’t be the reason.