Over the years and particularly in the last decade, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have consistently faced challenges in retaining their chief executive officers. Their attrition as compared to the national norm is disproportionate. There is no doubt that there are a wide variety of reasons for this uncommon attrition. With increased financial pressure on higher education in general, the discussion of the relevance of HBCUs has come up as an item of common concern, as turnover within presidencies are not helpful and may negatively impact perceptions about HBCUs. At one time in history, many HBCU presidents served lengthy tenures. Challenges surrounding institutional finances, institutional culture, athletics, declining enrollment, and governance all plague both public and private institutions and affect institutions' presidents. Additionally, the aforementioned items are also noted by the American Council on Education (ACE) as appropriate areas for evaluating presidential competency across all sectors and types of institutions. Why are these issues constant occurrences at HBCUs? While some put the blame on the HBCU boards and their governing tactics, others place the blame on presidential competence. Existing studies on the subject are primarily qualitative in nature and focus on career paths and trajectories of HBCU presidents. This quantitative study explored the presidential competency areas as outlined by the ACE, from the perspective of the HBCU president at United Negro College Fund (UNCF) member schools in America. Specifically, the study explored the relevance and individual competency ranking of those within the presidency, as determined by sitting presidents of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) member schools. This study identified the president's views on the competencies needed for a successful presidency. Key findings from this study include the identification of the most relevant competencies coming into the presidency, which were budget/financial management, fundraising, accreditation AND enrollment management (tied), academic issues (e.g., curriculum changes) AND managing a senior level team (tied), and governing board relations AND strategic planning (tied). It was also found that the top five competencies that UNCF presidents found to be most relevant within the role of presidency were budget/financial management, accreditation, fundraising, governing board relations, and enrollment management. The findings indicated that a majority of presidents come from inside higher education. No statistically significant differences were found in the average competency rating based on gender. Years of experience and the average competency rating had a statistically negative correlation with fundraising as well as campus internationalization. A statistically significant positive correlation existed between years of experience and the individual competency areas of student learning, shared governance and enrollment management. The age of the presidents had a statistically positive correlation with the individual competency areas of spousal role and shared governance. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]