Succession planning : facilitating leadership succession in response to the retirement of presidential leadership

The retirement of an academic president has a profound effect, because presidential leadership plays a fundamental role in the health and continuity of higher education organizations (Barton, 2017). Higher education institutions (HEIs) are facing the challenge of being underprepared to replace retiring presidential leadership as baby boomers (individuals born between 1946-1964) retire from the U.S. workforce. As a result, organizations are experiencing the implications of this diminishing of workforce leadership capital (Bennett, 2015; Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], 2017). In light of this, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore two presidential succession events, each in response to a retirement, to gain insight into the succession planning processes that were used at a private religious university.