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After just one year in the job, Anita Thomas is out as president of North Central College.
She had already been on a leave of absence since May 30 for unclear reasons, the Chicago Tribune reported. North Central officials did not explain why Thomas had been on leave or why she exited suddenly. She took the helm of the private Illinois college on July 1, 2023.
North Central College officials did not provide additional details to Inside Higher Ed. Contacted via LinkedIn, Thomas also did not respond to a request for comment.
Thomas, who is Black, was the first woman and first person of color to lead the college in its 163-year history, according to an archived news release that appears to have been deleted from the college website.
Thomas’s abrupt exit comes as presidents are serving shorter terms in office, according to the latest American College President Study from the American Council on Education. The study, released in April, found that the presidents polled had been in their jobs for an average of 5.9 years. That number has fallen continually since 2006, when the average presidential term lasted 8.5 years.
