Since 2019, more than 60 U.S. colleges and universities have closed permanently, merged, or consolidated.[1] Another 200 private institutions face significant financial vulnerability.[2] With undergraduate enrollment declining by 8% over the past decade and public confidence in higher education dropping from 57% to 36% since 2015, the sector faces unprecedented challenges.[3] [4]Yet amid this existential crisis, a powerful solution remains dramatically underutilized: women’s leadership.

This recognition is particularly timely as we celebrate International Women’s History Month, a moment dedicated to honoring the contributions of women across all sectors, including higher education. Throughout history, women have driven transformation in education, often against significant barriers. Today, their leadership is more critical than ever, offering fresh perspectives and innovative approaches at a time when institutions must rethink their models to survive and thrive.

One of the first women I interviewed for the IngenioUs podcast stepped into a university presidency at a moment of intense uncertainty. The challenges she faced were daunting—declining enrollment, shifting demographics, and growing skepticism about the value of higher education. Yet, instead of treading cautiously, she led with conviction. “I knew I had to do more than just sustain the institution—I had to rethink what leadership looked like in this moment,” she reflected. “That meant listening differently, leading differently, and making space for voices that had been unheard for too long.”

Her words reflect a broader truth: Women’s leadership is not just valuable in higher education right now—it’s essential. Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of interviewing scores of women leaders, and what has struck me most is how distinct their approach is—yet how remarkably aligned it is with what higher education desperately needs.

At a time when colleges and universities are grappling with financial pressures, declining enrollments, and the existential question of their long-term relevance, women leaders bring exactly the qualities that can help institutions adapt and thrive: collaboration, adaptability, resilience, and a relentless commitment to equity and student success.

And yet, despite their undeniable contributions, women remain underrepresented at the highest levels of leadership. While they make up roughly 60% of professionals in higher education, only about one-third (32%) hold college or university presidencies.[5] The disparity is even starker for women of color, who represent just 5% of all presidents.[6]

These gaps aren’t just statistics—they are symptoms of deeply embedded structural barriers. Implicit bias, double standards, and the constant balancing act of professional and personal responsibilities create a reality in which talented women are often overlooked for top roles. Many also struggle with self-doubt—reinforced by a leadership culture that, for too long, has failed to provide enough visible role models. Moreover, women disproportionately occupy lower-paid academic roles, which slows their trajectory into senior leadership and exacerbates the gender pay gap.

As Patricia McGuire, the long-serving president of Trinity Washington University, has said, true leadership often requires a willingness to challenge the status quo: “If you’re not making some people angry, you’re not making enough change.”  Her words capture the reality for many women in leadership today. Women leaders aren’t just maintaining institutions—they are transforming them. They lead with a deep understanding of students’ challenges, bringing fresh, student-centered thinking to some of higher education’s toughest problems. They push against entrenched systems that resist change—because change is exactly what higher education needs right now.

If higher education is going to navigate the turbulence ahead, it cannot afford to ignore women’s leadership any longer.

The Unique Strengths of Women Leaders in Higher Education

Through my conversations with women leaders, I’ve identified several key themes that define their approach. These women bring unique strengths to leadership—qualities that are not just admirable but essential in today’s higher education landscape. Let’s look closer at these ‘superpowers’ and why they are critical in the current environment.

Authenticity as a Leadership Strength

Authenticity is one of the most powerful traits women leaders bring to their roles. Dr. Mary Dana Hinton, president of Hollins University, spoke passionately about the importance of leading with authenticity. “Authenticity isn’t just about being honest; it’s about being deeply self-aware and creating space for others to do the same,” she shared. In a time when trust in higher education is eroding, and students are looking for leaders who genuinely care about their experiences, authenticity isn’t just nice to have—it’s a leadership necessity.

Authentic leaders cultivate cultures of trust and transparency. When leaders show up as their true selves, they create an environment where faculty, staff, and students feel safe to do the same. This is particularly important in moments of institutional change when uncertainty can create resistance. Authentic leaders communicate openly, acknowledge challenges, and rally their communities around shared values, making them uniquely suited to guide institutions through turbulent times.

Collaboration Over Hierarchy

Higher education has traditionally been structured around hierarchical decision-making, but today’s complex challenges demand a different approach. Women leaders frequently emphasize shared decision-making, relationship-building, and inclusivity. Dr. Hillary Link, president of Drew University, exemplifies this approach, explaining that she views her institution like a small town where “the best decisions are made when diverse voices come together.”

This collaborative leadership style is a crucial counterbalance to the top-down structures that have dominated higher education for decades. As institutions face increasing scrutiny and rapidly changing external pressures—ranging from financial crises to shifts in student demographics—collaboration is no longer just a nice-to-have; it’s a survival strategy. Women leaders bring people to the table, foster diverse perspectives, and build coalitions that create lasting institutional change.

Leading Through Nontraditional Pathways

Many women leaders have followed unconventional routes to leadership, often because traditional leadership pipelines have not been built with them in mind. As a result, they frequently bring diverse cross-sector experience, resilience, and an innovative mindset to higher education—qualities that institutions urgently need today. Dr. Barbara Mistick, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, is a prime example. She built a career spanning multiple industries before stepping into higher education leadership. “My leadership is informed by experiences outside of higher education, which has allowed me to approach challenges with a broader perspective and a greater willingness to innovate,” she explained.

This ability to navigate different professional landscapes and adapt to new challenges is a strength many women leaders share. Because they have often had to forge their own leadership pathways—sometimes in industries where women were historically underrepresented—they bring fresh perspectives, agility, and a results-oriented mindset that is essential in today’s rapidly evolving higher education landscape.

As more institutions struggle with enrollment declines, financial instability, and the need for transformative change, leaders who can think beyond traditional academic frameworks will be crucial in shaping the future of higher education. Women whose career trajectories often require flexibility, problem-solving, and unconventional thinking, are well-positioned to drive this change.

Innovation and Student-Centered Leadership

Higher education is at an inflection point, and leaders who can innovate will determine which institutions thrive and which falter. Dr. Elizabeth Meade, president of Cedar Crest College, took a design-thinking approach to strategic planning, asking, “What would have to be true for our students to succeed?” Instead of focusing on institutional traditions, she reoriented decision-making around student needs—an approach that has yielded tangible results.

This student-centered leadership is exactly what higher education needs today. As students demand more flexible learning options, mental health support, and career-relevant education, leaders like Meade demonstrate the power of designing institutions with students at the center. Innovation in higher education isn’t just about technology or curriculum design—it’s about reimagining how institutions serve students in a way that aligns with their evolving needs.

Resilience and Representation

Higher education leaders today must navigate an unprecedented level of disruption, from political pressures to financial crises. Resilience is no longer optional—it’s a prerequisite for success. Dr. Tuajuanda Jordan, president of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, embodies this resilience. She credits her leadership philosophy to her grandmother’s advice: “Never let them see you angry, knowing that in the end, you will come out on top.”

Jordan’s journey as an African-American woman in the sciences is a testament to the power of representation. She recalls how, as a student, she never saw faculty members who looked like her. Her leadership now serves as a beacon for students of color, showing them what’s possible. Representation matters—not just for the students who see themselves in their leaders, but for the entire institution, which benefits from diverse voices at the top.

Navigating Crisis with Purpose

One of the most common traits among the women I’ve interviewed is their ability to lead effectively in times of crisis. Dr. Lori White, president of DePauw University, took the helm of her institution at a particularly challenging time. As the first woman and first person of color to lead DePauw, she prioritized fostering a campus culture that balanced freedom of expression with diversity, equity, and inclusion.  “A college campus is one of the few places where we bring together diverse individuals and ask them to wrestle with the messiness of what it means to live, work, and study in a diverse community,” she said.

White’s approach—leaning into difficult conversations rather than avoiding them—demonstrates the kind of courageous leadership that higher education needs now more than ever. In an era where institutions are increasingly called upon to take public stances on social and political issues, leaders who can navigate crisis with clarity and conviction will be the ones who succeed.

These strengths—authenticity, collaboration, adaptability, student-centered innovation, resilience, and crisis leadership—are not just admirable qualities; they are essential for the future of higher education. Women leaders are already demonstrating how these approaches lead to stronger institutions, but they cannot do it alone. Institutions must be willing to embrace, support, and elevate these leadership styles if they want to thrive in the years ahead.

Call to Action: Higher Education Can’t Afford to Delay Any Longer

If higher education is to thrive in the years ahead, institutions must do more than acknowledge the importance of women’s leadership. They must take concrete action to support, elevate, and empower women at every level of leadership. Here are key steps institutions must take—and a specific next step for each to ensure progress begins today:

1. Audit and Overhaul Leadership Pipelines.
   Stop assuming the best candidates will rise on their own. Presidents, provosts, and boards must assess whether women are receiving real opportunities for advancement.

Next Step: Commit to reviewing your institution’s last three leadership searches to evaluate the diversity of candidate pools and ensure women are considered for top roles.

2. Support Women Once They Arrive—Retention Matters.

Breaking into leadership is one challenge; staying and thriving is another. Institutions must offer executive coaching, leadership peer networks, and professional sponsorship.

Next Step: Establish a structured peer mentorship program pairing new women leaders with experienced mentors who can offer guidance and advocacy.

3. Redefine Leadership—Stop Rewarding the Old Model.
   Leadership must be evaluated on effectiveness, not outdated, hierarchical standards. Women’s collaborative and adaptive leadership styles are assets, not deviations from the norm.

Next Step: Integrate leadership assessment criteria emphasizing collaboration, adaptability, and innovation in hiring and promotion decisions.

4. Implement Real Work-Life Integration Policies That Work.
   Structural barriers such as inflexible work schedules and limited parental leave policies must be addressed.

Next Step: Conduct a survey among women in leadership roles to identify the biggest structural challenges they face and begin addressing them systematically.

5. Fund and Elevate Women-Led Initiatives.
   Women leaders are driving some of the most innovative and equity-focused initiatives in higher education, yet these efforts are often underfunded.

Next Step: Review your institution’s funding allocations to ensure women-led initiatives receive equitable financial backing.

6. Confront Bias—Commit to Institutional Culture Change.
   Training is not enough. Institutions must implement policy shifts that remove barriers and hold decision-makers accountable.

Next Step: Implement a bias review process for major leadership and faculty promotion decisions to ensure fairness and equity.

7. Move Beyond Mentorship—Be an Active Sponsor.
   Women need more than advice; they need champions who actively advocate for their advancement and ensure they are considered for high-impact roles.

Next Step: Identify one high-potential woman in your institution and commit to advocating for her next leadership opportunity.

The Future We Could Build—If We Act Now

Imagine a higher education landscape five years from now: Institutions led by diverse teams are thriving, having reinvented their approaches to learning, community engagement, and financial sustainability. They’ve reduced equity gaps by double digits. Their graduates are sought after not just for what they know, but for how they think, collaborate, and adapt. These institutions haven’t just survived the crisis—they’ve emerged stronger, more relevant, and more deeply connected to their mission than ever before.

This future isn’t a fantasy—it’s already emerging at institutions where women have been empowered to lead. The evidence is clear: When women lead, institutions innovate faster, collaborate more effectively, and create more equitable environments for students and staff alike.  As Dr. Donna Carroll, former president of Dominican University, put it:  “Leadership today is about listening, making tough decisions, and having the courage to do what’s right.”

The question is no longer whether women’s leadership matters—the data and stories prove it does. The question is whether our institutions will have the courage to transform themselves before it’s too late.

• If you serve on a hiring committee, advocate for a woman candidate—today.
• If you are in a leadership role, ask yourself: Is my institution truly supporting women, or just saying that it does?
• If you are a mentor, go further—become a sponsor.
• If you are a woman leader, step forward with confidence—because higher education needs you now more than ever. And as you rise, reach back to lift other women with you.

The institutions that survive and thrive through this crisis will be those that embrace the full spectrum of leadership talent available to them. They will be institutions that recognize that what we’ve always done is no longer enough—and that the leaders we’ve overlooked may be precisely the ones who can chart the path forward.

The time for incremental change has passed. The future of higher education depends on our willingness to transform how we lead, who we empower to lead, and what leadership itself means.

It doesn’t begin tomorrow. It begins now.

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[1] Whitford, E. (2023). Tracker: College and university closures and consolidations. Higher Education Dive. https://www.higheredive.com/news/tracker-college-and-university-closures-and-consolidations/539961/

[2] Zemsky, R., Shaman, S., & Campbell Baltodano, S. (2023). The college stress test: Tracking institutional futures across a crowded market. Johns Hopkins University Press.

[3] National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. (2023). Current term enrollment estimates, fall 2023. https://nscresearchcenter.org/current-term-enrollment-estimates/

[4] Jones, J. M. (2023, July 24). Americans’ confidence in higher education down since 2015. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/507160/americans-confidence-higher-education-down-2015.aspx

[5] College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. (2024, July 19). Study: Women, people of color underrepresented in top jobs. Inside Higher Ed.

[6] Whitford, E. (2023, July 19). College presidents are still overwhelmingly White men. Higher Ed Dive.

About the Author

Dr. Melissa Morriss-Olson is a distinguished leader in higher education with over 35 years of experience shaping innovation and fostering institutional excellence. Currently leading the launch of The American University of Greece Global Campus, she is also Distinguished Professor of Higher Education Leadership at Bay Path University. During her tenure as Provost, she launched over 40 academic programs and secured over $6 million in grant funding. She is the author of several influential works, including IngenioUs Leadership: Creating Solutions to Wicked Problems in Higher Education.