Gay college presidents form group

By Daniel de Vise
August 9, 2010

Nine openly gay college presidents gathered in Chicago last weekend and resolved to form an organization to provide professional support to "out" presidents and faculty.

An account in the online journal Inside Higher Ed says 25 openly gay presidents were invited.

Gay and lesbian presidents were considerably less usual as recently as the mid-1990s, attendees said. "Skittish governing boards" often resist hiring or promoting gay presidents for fear of alienating donors or lawmakers, the Chronicle reports. Gay provosts and deans might never offer themselves as candidates for a presidency simply to avoid the scrutiny that comes with a candidacy.

The Chronicle of Higher Education compiled a list of 11 openly gay or lesbian presidents in 2007. Several more have been hired more recently, including the presidents of Grinnell and Montgomery colleges. the rest