Where Did All the Presidents Go?

By: Cathy Campo, co-Editor-in-Chief / The Kelloggian Investigations Desk

Sources on the executive boards of more than six historically high-engagement Kellogg clubs (across Social, Affinity, and Industry) confirmed that for the 2026–2027 academic year, they received just one or two applications for co-president roles. This means some leaders were effectively appointed by default.

At a place like Kellogg, where club leadership has traditionally been both competitive and coveted, that shift feels notable. So the question practically asks itself: is this tearing the fabric of Kellogg?

The Supply-Demand Imbalance of Student Leadership

Kellogg is home to more than 80 active student clubs, according to a KSA list obtained by The Kelloggian. This year alone, more than five new ones have launched, including the very publication you are reading. Growth like that is a testament to the school’s entrepreneurial energy and the diversity of student interests—but it may also indicate that students may prefer to start a club, not join one.

There’s also a structural reality here: more clubs means more leadership roles to fill. And while the number of leadership positions has expanded, the pool of students—and more importantly, the amount of time and energy each student can realistically commit—has not.

The result? A dilution effect. Leadership, once concentrated in a smaller set of highly competitive roles, is now spread across a much wider surface area.

It’s tempting to interpret low application numbers as disengagement, but that may not be the full story. Today’s Kellogg students are investing their time differently, and often more strategically. First years in particular are juggling:

• Recruiting cycles that feel earlier and more intense than ever

• Academics that, for many, are a return to quantitative rigor after years away

• Social commitments that are, frankly, a core part of the Kellogg experience

• Personal branding efforts—from newsletters to startups to content creation—a more recent cultural shift

  
  

In other words, it’s not that students aren’t engaged. It’s that engagement is increasingly diversified—and in some cases, individualized. Running for club president may no longer feel like the default path to leadership or impact.There’s also the broader backdrop of AI, which has made building and launching something new more accessible than ever. In that environment, students may feel less reliant on traditional club structures to create meaningful impact, raising the question of whether Kellogg’s existing leadership pathways still offer the same value they once did.

As Bobby Khouz, Co-President of Kellogg’s Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Club—one club that did not face a drop in applications—put it: “We all as Kellogg students have more options than ever, and I think people might be realizing that becoming deeply involved in 1–2 things that they can actually drive impact and see results through during their time here might be better than spreading themselves too thin.”

In other words, it’s not that students aren’t engaged. It’s that engagement is increasingly intentional—and in some cases, more selective. A first-year student who did pursue a presidency role offered a more candid take, telling The Kelloggian: “People don’t see the club presidency as a role that’s necessary towards their career per se.”

The Hidden Cost of the Role

There’s also the question of the role itself.

Speaking from personal experience here at The Kelloggian, being a club president at Kellogg is meaningful—but it’s not light. Presidents are responsible not only for setting vision and leading teams, but also for navigating the operational requirements set by the Kellogg Student Association (KSA).

That includes ensuring consistent programming of hosting at least three events per quarter, tracking attendance data, managing budgets, coordinating with stakeholders, and maintaining compliance with school policies. (See KSA’s lengthy Trial Club evaluation criteria here.)

None of this is inherently unreasonable. In fact, it helps maintain the high standard of Kellogg clubs.

But it does raise an important question: has the role become more operational than inspirational?

For students already stretched thin, the perceived return on investment—time, stress, and accountability—may not always outweigh the benefits.

As Khouz explained, “The ETA club president role is pretty high lift. We put on over 30 meaningful events this year, co-hosted some with 4–5 other clubs, hosted our annual joint conference with Booth for the 12th year, and just added a Trek for the first time. We’re the central hub for students, investors, current searchers, and operators to connect.” For some first year students, this is just more responsibility than they may have time for.

Meanwhile, Harris Courson, co-President of the Kellogg Comedy Club, admits to only spending “1-2 hours a week on the comedy club.”

Notably, ETA is an Industry club with the goal of helping students secure roles in the space while, of course, Comedy Club is in KSA’s Social category. Another second-year student co-President, who spoke to The Kelloggian on the condition of anonymity, hypothesized that “there is a disconnect currently between the level of engagement the club has and how effective the club is at helping people land or explore the roles they are interested in. It seems as if most of the clubs that see competitive applications for executive positions are the ones that have structured and effective career pipelines. For clubs like mine, which are still developing / looking for additional support from the school for building out and creating an effective and consistent recruiting process, individuals are more likely to try to be free riders than to assume a leadership position.” A fair hypothesis, though The Kelloggian can confirm the six clubs in question include the Industry category.

So… What Now?

If this year’s low application numbers are a signal and not just a blip, it forces a more uncomfortable kind of reflection.

Club presidents have long been the connective tissue of Kellogg—the people who turn interest into community, who transform a logo and a mailing list into something that actually feels alive. When fewer people raise their hands for those roles, it doesn’t just create a staffing issue. It creates a question of ownership.

But here’s the tension: Kellogg’s ecosystem doesn’t sustain itself by accident. The sheer number of clubs, events, and communities we take for granted only works because, year after year, people choose to step up and run them. If that choice becomes less common, the system doesn’t dramatically collapse overnight, but it does gradually lose its edge. Events become less ambitious. Communities feel less cohesive. The energy that defines Kellogg becomes a little harder to find.

So the real question isn’t just “what’s happening?” It’s whether we’re okay with where this trend could lead.

Maybe this isn’t tearing the fabric of Kellogg, but it is, undeniably, pulling at a thread. And if there’s one thing Kellogg students understand—whether in markets, organizations, or communities—it’s that small shifts, left unexamined, have a way of compounding.

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