Brown University President E. Gordon Gee announced Monday that he will resign his position in April to become the Chancellor of Vanderbilt University.
During a press conference in Nashville, T.N., the home of Vanderbilt, Gee said his surprising decision to change jobs was difficult, but that Brown had not been "exactly the right fit."
Gee is leaving Brown after barely two years as the 17th president in the university's 235 year history. He took office on Jan. 6, 1998.
Gee will start his new job at Vanderbilt on Aug. 1.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Brown spokesperson Mark Nickel said the reaction has been "one of great surprise and shock" since Gee has such great relationships with students, faculty and administrators.
Currently, on the average, college presidents in the Ivy League spend about 10 years in office. Terms were often longer in the past, as some presidents served for over 30 years. Many point to new rigors of the job for the shortened tenures.
Commenting on the resignation of Vartan Gregorian, the previous president of Brown, in a conversation with The Dartmouth in 1997, former Dartmouth College President James Freedman said the presidency of an Ivy League institution places heavy demands on the person who fills the office.
The most difficult parts of a modern college president's job are matters unrelated to education -- including travel and fundraising commitments, Freedman said.
Freedman stepped down in 1998 after 11 years as the head of the College, citing the heavy toll of his presidential duties on his private and academic life.
Current College President James Wright replaced Freedman in September 1998 to become the 16th president in Dartmouth's 231 year history.
Current Harvard President Neil Rudenstein took a leave of absence due to physical exhaustion in 1995 after running a major fund capital campaign for the school that raised over $2.1 billion.
Since 1981, Gee has served as the president of four different institutions of higher learning, including Ohio State University, the University of Colorado, and West Virginia University in addition to Brown.
Brown officials said they intend to select an interim president by April. The members of a search committee for the next president will be selected at the end of the month at the next meeting of the Brown Corporation, Brown's board of trustees.
