Charted: Ohio State president Kristina M. Johnson's short tenure

When Ohio State president Kristina M. Johnson departs next May, a little over halfway through an initial five-year contract, it will mark one of the shortest-tenured presidencies in school history.

Why it matters: Turnover at the top is unusual for a university this size and opens the door for institutional turmoil.

• OSU now has to wade into another lengthy, costly search for a new leader bound to bring their own unique vision to campus.

Flashback: Johnson's presidency will be the shortest since that of Walter Quincy Scott, who took over OSU the year Edison patented the electric lamp.

• Two years later, in 1883, the board of trustees declined to renew Scott's contract because he exhibited a "general lack of executive ability" and allegedly espoused "communistic views" in public lectures.