Dive Brief:
- Elizabeth A. Lehfeldt, the dean of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Honors College at Cleveland State University says the prevailing feeling among professors that administrative work in higher ed is inherently corrupting should be addressed. Writing for Inside Higher Ed this week, Lehfeldt says such thinking demeans the efforts of administrators working hard in good faith.
- The assumptions on both sides which lead to an adversarial relationship is damaging to the higher ed complex.
- She noted institutions are under increased attention and scrutiny from the press and from state legislatures, and schools would be better served if administrators and faculty members were better able to collaborate on achieving common goals in the face of such criticism.
Dive Insight:
The reflections of recent task force of college presidents indicated that presidents seeking to build systems of leadership development can also work to build bridges between administrators and faculty members. The task force suggested that presidents select two to three members of the faculty and counsel them along a leadership development track, with the notion that the current president could be grooming his or her successor, or even preparing the faculty member to take on positions of leadership at another institution. Such tracks may not always result in an educator being chosen as president (or for another high-level position), but an expansion of leadership development opportunities within the faculty could help establish lines of communication and make a step into an institution’s administration seem like a natural career progression, rather than a move to “the dark side.”
But even without formal pathways into administration, seeking faculty input into participating in administrative matters and decisions also goes a long way to build trust — and it often promotes better decision-making at the college. Department chairs are increasingly participating in school fundraising as they increasingly view it as a prerequisite to moving into administrative positions. Presidents and other administrators have an opportunity to welcome professors into a greater understanding of administrative challenges, provided it is appropriately framed as an opportunity and not as a pressure or a mandate.