"They fear that the high levels of visibility and the regular personal attacks--which have become common job hazards for certain campus leadership roles--may eventually destroy their prospects for any kind of future employment," according to Allison M. Vaillancourt, vice president for business affairs and human resources at the University of Arizona. She wrote about her perspective in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Vaillancourt, who also is a professor of practice in the university's School of Government and Public Policy, says she has received an increasing number of calls over the last several months from search consultants asking about potential HR candidates.

"To many, it seems smarter to get into another field or industry before they are irrevocably pilloried for failing to find fault, offer absolution or deploy their psychic powers to predict all the places where evil might lurk," writes Vaillancourt. "We should not be surprised that so many vacancies exist in what might seem like 'plum' jobs at even the best colleges and universities."

A leading reason for the HR exodus stems from having to constantly be on "clean-up duty" for problems that could have been quashed or mitigated early on had management been more proactive in fostering a good campus culture.

Another source of frustration is having to deal with constant criticism from all sides and always being second-guessed. And one of the biggest sources of frustration is lack of access to the president or provost.

Read the full article from The Chronicle of Higher Education.