Objective: The authors examine the tenure of first-time Chairs in academic departments of psychiatry in order to stimulate discussion on extant workforce and leadership issues. Method: Data on tenure of Chairs in psychiatry and other nonsurgical specialties were derived from the longitudinal database of the Association of American Medical Colleges and evaluated for successive 4-year epochs between 1983 and 2002. Results: The 5-year retention rate of Chairs of academic departments of psychiatry is 68%, and the 10-year retention rate drops sharply to 39%, similar to other specialties. Conclusion: Although most first-time Chairs of psychiatry last 5 years in their position, much fewer remain 10 years or longer. Therefore, efforts to promote succession planning for academic leadership in psychiatry are warranted.