Issues in Academic Leadership (original) (raw)
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Leadership, Diversity and Succession Planning in Academia
Center For Studies in Higher Education, 2010
Although academia is becoming more like business in many respects-not all of them positive-it has not borrowed one of the best attributes of business culture: its tradition of developing leadership through succession planning. As a result, much talent is underutilized. This includes, most prominently, that of women and minorities, who tend not to be perceived as leadership material. This paper makes a distinction between two levels of academic administrators: deans and above, who are professional administrators, and department chairs and below, who could be characterized as casual administrators, since all faculty members engage in managerial activities as directors of academic programs, principal investigators of grants, committee members or chairs. In Clark Kerr's terminology, casual administrators are members of the guild, while professional administrators are members of the corporation. At present, women and minorities are having considerable trouble moving from the guild to the corporation. This paper proposes that the connection between the guild and the corporation be strengthened and become more of a two-way street. As William J. Rothwell suggests, people should have dual-career ladders and be able to move back and forth between academic and managerial jobs. Such problems as recency bias, the halo or horn effect, the Pygmalion effect, and pigeonholing must be addressed head on. This will require courage, imagination and training. According to a 2007 report by the American Council on Education, the numbers of women and minorities in presidential positions at colleges and universities have not increased significantly since 1998, and these groups are underrepresented as presidents in relation to their numbers as senior administrators. Similar situations have been observed at other levels. Women and minorities tend to be underutilized at all ranks, from presidential posts to faculty positions. Therefore, we cannot blame all problems on the pipeline. * This paper is a preview of a chapter in an upcoming book titled Clark Kerr's University of California: Leadership, Diversity and Planning in Higher Education. I thank Transaction Publishers for granting me permission to publish this essay. I also am grateful to C. Judson King and John A. Douglass, who offered helpful comments.
Minorities in Educational Administration: Issues and Recommendations
1993
Findings of a study that examined African-American teachers' career aspirations, particularly their perceptions of administrative leadership positions, are presented in this paper. Data were collected through interviews with and surveys mailed to a total of 26 African-American teachers who had participated in the Minority Teacher Recruitment Project (MTRP). Findings indicate that respondents were very interested in school administration as a career option and would consider participating in a school administration program. Most of the teachers had not been considered for recruitment and selection for preparation programs by their school districts or universities. Services offered through the MTRP are identified, which could be valuable for programs attempting to recruit African-American teachers into school administration. The significant shortage of African-American teachers will limit the number of potential African-American administrators. Failure to recognize and encourage such teachers to consider school administration will have serious implications for school districts across the country as they experience cultural, ethnic, and racial student population shifts. (Contains 16 references.) (LMI)
2 - The Hybrid Administrator-scholar Paradigm in Higher Education Leadership in Africa
Journal of Higher Education in Africa
The higher education landscape has been in a state of flux since the turn of the twenty-first century owing to pressure to internationalise and adopt entrepreneurial approaches in response to global demands. These exigencies have not spared middle-level managers in the academy who straddle the divide between administration and scholarship. This article explores the administrator-scholar paradigm in the context of the globalisation momentum in the academy, using an autoethnographical approach, in which I examine my personal and professional experience as a department chair in two universities over a period of five years. The study pays particular attention to how the dual role was enacted and views the administrator-scholar phenomenon as a resource, not a problem, as explicated in existing research. I articulate the leadership qualities that middle-level managers – more particularly, heads of departments – need, to navigate the contested space and ambivalent landscape of higher educa...
Notes From the Dark Side: Scholars in Administration
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We begin with a fable to provide the backdrop for our effort to discuss the wedges and chasms that have developed between different factions of the professionals who dedicate themselves to what has become higher education in the United States: faculty vs. administrators vs. staff, academic affairs vs. student affairs. These groups whose identities, unlike the others discussed in this book, are determined by organizational position as opposed to individual identity or culture demonstrate the inherent tendency of groups to define themselves by emphasizing the difference between themselves and others— often dismissing or demeaning the others in the process. This chapter frames othering in a very different way, and while it does not assert a need to compare role identity tensions to the experiences of identity-based groups, it does contribute to the examination of marginalization in higher education and the crisis of purpose it exacerbates.
Advances in Developing Human Resources, 2009
A qualitative single-case-study approach is used in this study to examine the lived experiences of an African American woman senior-level administrator in a predominantly White research university. The everyday, lived experience of the participant challenges the ideology that education and hard work are combinations that equal success. The findings in the study indicate that despite achieving advanced levels of education and holding high-ranking positions within academia, many African American women in administrative positions encounter social inequity emerging from intersectionality. The dichotomous tension between achievement ideologies, as "the great equalizer," and the organizational structure as a form of resistance to social equity are continuous threads throughout this article.
1988
A study of appointments of academic administrators in higher education is discussed. Its goals were: to identify the success rate of women relative to the proportion of their representation in higher education; to identify and characterize any emerging alternative career pathways in colleges and universities; to compare the success rate for position types of internal candidates with external candidates; and to determine if the hiring procedures reflect changing policies. In this study, 1,610 administrative positions were categorized according to type of position, type of institution, and sources of appointee. Results indicate that hiring committees review candidates' papers in search of credential rather than competence, and this is a disadvantage for anyone who has not had the accumulated time-in-line experience. Data indicate there has been no significant change in the percent of successful female candidates for employment in mainline adMinistration over the past decade, though there is evidence that females are increasingly successful in entering higher education administration via alternative routes. Administrative mobility through accrued responsibility is an emerging phenomenon within higher education. Females are particularly successful with the process among private institutions of higher education. The implications of this practice for professionals attempting to enter higher education administration through alternative routes is less than positive. Tables are included. Contains 23 references. (Author/BM)
Diversity and Senior Leadership at Elite Institutions of Higher Education
This article explores the lack of diversity at the 8 Ivy League institutions using a Critical Race Theory lens. It includes a comprehensive literature review of the scholarship related to diversity in academe, but especially within the areas of elite institutions and administration. The article also provides data pertaining to the senior leadership at the Ivy League institutions juxtaposed with data on senior level administrators throughout the nation, using the American Council on Education’s On the Pathway to the Presidency report. Lastly, the article provides recommendations to presidents and institutions for bolstering high-level diversity among high level administrators. The authors stress the importance of addressing the historical and current policies and practices that either facilitate or negate the goals of diversity. They also encourage Ivy League institutions to create internal committees or task forces that focus on racial and ethnic disparities in senior administration.
The Challenges of Sri Lankan Minority Leadership in the State Universities: Equity and Equality
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Sri Lankan minorities constantly face discrimination and experience marginalization. This has reduced their access to education and ability to demonstrate leadership within state campuses. Further, there exists a dearth of minority leadership research in Sri Lanka. As a result, this paper reviews a wide variety of contemporary literature to elaborate on the possible reasons for limited access and leadership within state universities amongst minorities. Based on the reviewed literature, two critical problems were identified. Firstly, the irregular distribution of students, professors, and fiscal resources is a major impediment to university access and leadership. Secondly, systematic ethnocentric policies advocated through responsible authorities are also a reason for limiting educational equality and leadership among minority students within campuses. Because of these two problems, the authors reason how improved diversity and appreciation for all cultures through curricular and pol...
Non-western modes of education within the Historically Black Colleges and Universities educational system. Western curricula have 'colonized' Black world educational systems for centuries making it hard to inculcate African ontological and epistemological ideologies in most universities. As a result, the birth of HBCUs was a welcome relief as African Americans and Blacks from Africa, Latin America, Caribbean and Europe found a 'home' to be 'historically aware' of their lineage and ancestry. This chapter makes a case through critical literature to argue that sustaining and empowering these Black Colleges and Universities through Western and Non-western educational traditions constitute the barometer for success. This would ensure their long lasting role in higher education in the United States and the world.