Be Collegial

The Art and Politics of Academic Governance: Relations among Boards, Presidents, and Faculty
Kenneth P. Mortimer and Colleen O'Brien Sathre. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2007

Reviewed by Michael N. Bastedo

Borrowing a phrase popularized by Robert Zemsky and William Massy, the authors say that colleges and universities must be both “mission centered and market smart.” In particular, Mortimer and Sathre argue that college and university leaders must be politically savvy in the face of competitive environments. They note that campuses are increasingly integrated with their environments, and, as a result, the boundaries between higher education institutions and society have been blurred. They quote Clark Kerr, who said late in his life that if he had to rewrite his classic text on the multiversity, he would use the term “integrated university.” All of the constituents of the university, from actors in the healthcare system to the military to the political sphere, are increasingly embedded in the decision-making structures and processes of the university, and leaders need to adapt to these new realities.

The authors provide a good introduction to the academic literature on governance, which is not particularly deep—hardly the fault of the authors—but does provide some insights for practitioners. They review existing accounts of the structure of boards of trustees and their membership; the role of faculty unions (or at most institutions, the lack thereof); and the interactions among college presidents, boards, and faculty. They discuss in depth the governance of academic programs and the curriculum, which will be particularly useful for faculty members who seek to influence decision making in these areas.

The last three chapters are by far the best and constitute the book’s real contribution to the existing literature. The chapter on president-provost relations provides an unusual discussion of the unique dynamics of this often-overlooked relationship and offers specific tips on how to forge a strong partnership built on frequent communication and mutual support. The chapter on the governance of strategic planning includes the most detailed case study in the book, which is the foundation for an extensive and insightful discussion of the ins and outs of the planning process.

The final chapter, “In Defense of Shared Governance,” considers the term “political savvy.” As a dictum, “be politically savvy” is about as helpful as “be creative” or “think outside the box!” In this chapter, however, the authors provide specific advice to college and university leaders about what it means to be politically savvy within the context of higher education. The authors argue strongly for a collegial, as opposed to an autocratic, approach to campus politics. Mortimer and Sathre are not naive about the role of interest groups, noting at length that the time required for consultation provides an opportunity for opposition to mobilize. Yet they conclude that the character of academic organizations requires an approach that engages campus constituents on an individual level in order to succeed. There is research to support this view. Robert Birnbaum, in How Academic Leadership Works, a book on the academic presidency, found that presidents who lost the support of faculty were the most likely to fail. Similarly, Kim Cameron, in his research on decision making in turbulent environments, found that higher education institutions with collegial decision-making processes were more likely to respond successfully to external pressures.

The authors thus advise leaders to consult often with faculty about important decisions, engage in joint formulation of the process behind decision making, allow time for others to formulate responses by communicating deadlines clearly, make information widely available and transparent, and provide adequate feedback to participants. This requires providing faculty with opportunities to participate, the information needed for effective participation, and access to key decision makers; it also requires that leaders take at least some of the advice they receive. No doubt it would be simpler and more efficient to make decisions by fiat. Successful leaders, however, are most often the ones who leverage the collegial processes of higher education to their best advantage.

Although the book is successful on many fronts, it does suffer from a few shortcomings. The case studies used in the book, while interesting, are quite brief and are not analyzed extensively. As a result, the case studies are not fully integrated into the text, and the reader is often left to draw appropriate lessons. A prominent exception is the chapter on strategic planning, where the case study is analyzed from many different angles and is clearly linked to the remainder of the text.

There is some conventional wisdom in the text that could be probed further. In the first chapter, for example, the authors state that the governance structure of colleges and universities has not changed as fast as the outside world, which is a problem for institutions that are increasingly integrated into the outside environment. Their statement makes sense, but what structural adaptations do the authors advocate? More important, how much should a college or university adapt to short-term challenges, and how much should it reinvigorate our longstanding institutions? Occasionally, these discussions suggest that it is far more important to be “market smart” than to be “mission centered.”

Overall, however, this is a contribution to the literature that should be welcomed by faculty and administrators alike. It successfully combines a wide-ranging overview of the academic literature on governance with the wisdom of decades of professional experience in the field. Although this book is largely written as a primer for newcomers, it is a good introduction to other classics, such as Robert Birnbaum’s How Academic Leadership Works and Mortimer and T. R. McConnell’s Sharing Authority Effectively.

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