Research universities make decisions on decade-long horizons. Their leaders are changing on a much shorter clock.
As of August 12, 2026, 82 of the 187 institutions in Carnegie's 2025 R1 class — 44% — are led by someone who first assumed the institution's top job in 2024 or later. Eight currently have interim leaders. This analysis shows the scale of new and transitional leadership across America's leading research institutions.
Nearly half the R1 sector is led by a relatively new incumbent. "Took office" means the date the current leader first assumed the institution's top role, including service in an interim or acting capacity.
Current leaders by start year · 82 of 187 (44%) took office in 2024 or later
Distribution of current tenure · median 3.2 years
Eight institutions still in transition, shown in the order their interim leaders took office. Each entry reflects the official title and search status as stated by university, governing-board, or system sources.
Interim leadership by institutional control. Counts are shown alongside percentages because the interim group is small — eight institutions — and institutional control is not offered as an explanation for the difference.
Public: 5 of 135 · Private: 3 of 52
Small sample: differences of one or two institutions move these percentages substantially.
Broad and strict definitions of interim leadership
All 187 R1 institutions. Filters scope the table; click any column to sort, any row for the transition note and official source.