How to set your university’s executive transition up for success

Every summer higher education institutions across the country welcome a wave of new leaders. For college presidents and provosts, the months of June through August represent a season of significant change and an opportunity to set the tone for the years ahead.

For these individual leaders, the first 90 days often focus on acclimating to campus culture, building relationships, and setting strategic priorities. But from EAB’s work with hundreds of colleges and universities, we know that the success of the first 90 days rests with the advance work cabinet leaders undertake to tailor onboarding based on the new leader’s prior experience.

In this blog, we’ll explore how executive onboarding should differ based on four common leadership profiles. We’ll also share the institutional insights these leaders need to hit the ground running and build early momentum.

Four new executive profiles and how to support them

When onboarding a new president, provost, or other senior leader, one of the most important questions a cabinet can ask is: What is their background, and how does it shape their existing knowledge and needs? Below, we outline four common leadership profiles and how institutions can adapt onboarding accordingly.

Start with the right questions: A guide for listening tours and strategic planning

A thoughtfully designed listening tour is one of the most valuable tools a new executive can use in their first 90 days. More than a series of introductions, it’s a strategic opportunity to build trust, surface key insights, and lay the groundwork for early credibility, not by announcing a vision, but by listening to the voices that shape the institution.

To maximize impact and avoid becoming a series of vague meet-and-greets, listening tours should be anchored to the institution’s top priorities and areas of major investment, such as enrollment, research, fundraising, and student success. This focus ensures that conversations yield actionable insight and help the new leader understand where their attention and influence are most needed. Alongside formal meetings, leaders should tap into often-overlooked sources (like board agendas, strategic plans, executive assistants, or even student media) to round out their understanding of campus culture and context.

Finally, effective listening tours close the loop. Sharing back what was heard and how it will inform leadership decisions helps establish transparency, signal momentum, and align the campus around shared priorities. Whether through a campus memo or early strategy outline, this communication demonstrates that listening was not just symbolic—it was strategic.

Conclusion

Executive transitions in higher ed will always be complex, but they don’t need to be chaotic. The place to spend the most time with an incoming or new executive is effectively grounding them in institutional context. If they are new to your institution, emphasize institutional context like the budget and decision-making norms. For internal candidates, focus on building understanding of new-to-them parts of the institution and their new positional role in decision-making.

EAB offers reports and analysis to provide this contextualization in key areas like enrollment (Market Insights and Enrollment Analytics Portfolio), operational efficiency (Administrative Effectiveness Index), and advancement (Advancement Benchmarking) (AIPI).

To request any of the above analyses, or schedule time to discuss support for upcoming executive transitions, email your Strategic Leader or [email protected].