Academics and Power: How a new cadre of career track academic managers are colonising university management (original) (raw)

2017

Abstract

There is a prevailing academic narrative that asserts how – in response to the need for effective leadership in a globally competitive higher education environment - managerialism has pervaded universities leading to a diminution of academic, in favour of managerial, power. Academic autonomy is said to have declined and the professional status of academics weakened as authority has shifted from academics to managers. This presentation will present evidence from two recent research studies (funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Society for Research in Higher Education) that critically examine this narrative and offer a more nuanced view. Data will be drawn from two main sources: 70 semi-structured interviews with vice chancellors, deputy and pro vice chancellors (PVCs) and other senior university managers and a 2016 census of the entire PVC cohort. These research findings show that, although professional services (i.e. non-academic) managers, particularly those i...

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