Michael Garrison has earned his bachelor's and law degrees at West Virginia University, the state's flagship institution, where he was president of the student government. He rose rapidly to high-powered political posts, including chief of staff to a previous governor. Garrison then became a lobbyist with the longest client list in West Virginia,…

For at least four decades, the University of California has been the international gold standard in public higher education. The system's 10 campuses are magnets for top-notch faculty members and students. With an annual budget of $18-billion, the university includes five medical centers and three national laboratories. And one of every 10 members…

College trustees are hiring more leaders from outside the academy, and it is the self-made executives who generate the buzz. The reason, experts say, is that presidents with corporate experience know the vagaries of the marketplace, as well as the language of lawmakers, corporate executives, and donors. Too many college chiefs, says one source,…

In the not-so-distant past, an employment agreement between a university president and a governing board was often nothing more than a handshake. Today, formal contracts are requirements for presidents, with boards and presidents typically relying on lawyers to extensively document terms of employment, salary and benefits, and, perhaps most…