Chronicling the Numbers

As a journalism major with a blog on LGBT issues in higher education, the following information has me intrigued.

On August 10, The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article discussing the politicized - and assumedly quite rare - process of naming a lesbian or gay man president of a university. The article was titled "And Now There Are 3," and the lede read:

With Sean T. Buffington's appointment as president of the University of the Arts late last month, the number of openly gay university presidents in the United States appears to have increased by 50 percent, from two to three. "We have a long, long way to go," says Charles R. Middleton, president of Roosevelt University, one of the small group, which also includes Ralph J. Hexter, president of Hampshire College. Mr. Middleton, 62, says a "Plexiglas ceiling" has prevented the appointment of more gay presidents.

Then, on September 7, the Chronicle published another article that seemed to be a correction of the first. This article, titled "Openly Gay Presidents: 11 and Counting," began:

The Chronicle (August 10) recently reported that the nation's colleges now count at least three openly gay presidents among them. In response, several presidents have written to ask, "What about me?"
The wording of the article was slightly hedged, and referred only to "university" presidents. That's a good thing, because by press time the list of openly gay college presidents had grown to 11.

The article goes on to list all 11 presidents, and ends with the following:

Although the list is now more complete, the question remains: How many openly gay presidents has the Chronicle left out?

Both articles are very interesting reads, but troublesome.

The first article offered, among other veins of discussion, this insight:

Self-selection contributes to the lack of openly gay college presidents, experts say. Many up-and-coming administrators who are gay may give up on becoming presidents to avoid unpleasant examinations of their lifestyles. Others might stay completely in the closet or steer clear of discussing their private lives.

Could that impulse of presidents to "steer clear of discussing their private lives" be the reason the Chronicle got their numbers mixed up and lost the bigger picture?

Even though the new list was tabulated in part after some of those presidents left off the list came forward to claim their deserved spot on it, why wasn't the information already widely available? Why didn't we already know?

People definitely shouldn't have to disclose their sexual orientation in any work situation. But if these presidents are indeed "openly gay" already, why aren't they making more noise about it?! It could only help the LGBT community.

Is this shoddy journalism, or a systemic avoidance of announcing the "abnormal"?

I'm tempted to think the latter.

Both articles can be found on LexisNexis.

"And Now There Are 3," The Chronicle of Higher Education, Pg. 18 Vol. 53 No. 49

"Openly Gay Presidents: 11 and Counting," The Chronicle of Higher Education, Pg. 37 Vol. 54 No. 2