The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

In The Case Of University Of Virginia Shared Governance Did Work

Any lingering doubts about the complexities of overseeing a major university were likely dispelled by the recent unpleasantness in Charlottesville, as some are calling this summer's leadership crisis at the University of Virginia. Whatever reconnaissance that may have been undertaken, the board did not account for the strength of higher education's tradition of shared governance — nor all the constituencies a university president now serves. At U.Va., those constituencies — led by an outraged faculty but also including alumni, donors and even state lawmakers — had Teresa Sullivan's back. Read more at:
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/local-education/2012/aug/12/tdmet01-in-higher-education-shared-governance-prev-ar-2124888/

College Strategy Depends On Whether You Are At The Top Or Trying To Get There

The controversy over President Teresa Sullivan's ouster and reinstatement was framed as a question of whether academic or corporate values should govern higher education. This is the wrong framing. If we faculty rely on it, we will miss important questions. The right question is how any given institution of higher education should attack its long-range ambitions. How good are we in higher education at strategic thinking? Read more at:
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/160718075.html

Where Will California Find Its Next Generation Of Higher Education Leaders

Three of California's highest-ranking, most influential educators announced within the span of a few weeks that they would be leaving their posts, creating a vacuum in the state's higher education system at a time of unprecedented challenges. The impending departures of Charles B. Reed and Jack Scott, chancellors of California State University and the California Community Colleges, as well as UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, have invited intense scrutiny and questions about whether the three institutions can entice visionary leaders willing to contend with a litany of issues. Read more at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-college-vacancies-20120611,0,7086010.story

UC Campuses Asking For More Power To Govern Themselves

The 10 campuses of the UC system should be given more power to govern themselves and be allowed to set their own tuition, decide how many out-of-state students to enroll, approve construction projects and control some investments under a proposal released Monday by UC Berkeley leaders. It contends that UC has gotten so complex and governance has become so balky that campus governing boards should be established and given autonomy over many issues, similar to states in a federal system. Read more at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0424-uc-20120424,0,4754981.story

European Countries Vary Widely In Independence They Grant IHEs

University officials often emphasize the importance of maintaining independence from governmental authority, keeping in the hands of educators the crucial decisions on academic and organizational matters. But a new report says that the level of autonomy varies widely across European universities. Britain performed strongly across all areas, as did Estonia. Greece and Francewere among the countries that ranked near the bottom in measures of staffing and academic independence. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/world/europe/university-autonomy-varies-widely-in-europe.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Response To Attack On Shared Governance

Some of Gartner's ideas need better facts and serious rebuttal. Others you've heard before -- even from me. I've chosen his assault on governance. Gartner wrote, "The pleasant-sounding concept of 'shared governance' should be scuttled. ... (F)aculty political leaders insist they should help manage the institution -- but ... the concept has outlived its usefulness and is a roadblock to planning, to change and to effective administration. It institutionalizes mediocrity, stymies change and intimidates presidents, and it is a misuse of faculty time and energy." What does Gartner mean and how does he know? What does he mean by "scuttled," "faculty political leaders," "manage," "roadblock." What evidence does he have of "institutionalized mediocrity" or "intimidated presidents"? Read more at:
http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20110720/OPINION02/107200304/Shared-governance-still-needed?odyssey=nav|head

Legislators Rumbling About More Control Over Public IHEs In California

Angered by years of student fee hikes at California's public universities and colleges, lawmakers are pursuing legislation that would give them broad new powers over how the higher education systems spend taxpayer money. The proposals include measures to limit student fees, freeze executive compensation and increase budget transparency, and even a constitutional amendment that would strip theUniversity of California of its historic autonomy. Lawmakers say the combined actions threaten a fundamental promise of life in the Golden State: an affordable, high-quality public college education. Read more at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-legislature-universities-20101216,0,7734577.story

Higher Ed Advocates Support Transparency For Spending Data

In an effort to show the public and state political leaders that education dollars are well-spent, the leaders of South Carolina's public colleges are supporting a measure that would require state-supported schools to detail their spending online. Higher education leaders insist they've long supported making their spending more accessible to the public, and note that the schools' credit card transactions are available on the state comptroller general's Web siteBut previous attempts to require they put all of their spending online raised concerns about additional costs amid budget cuts. Read more at:
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9JRB0RO2.htm

University Foundations Spend With Little Accountability

The two dozen foundations affiliated with South Carolina’s 13 public, four-year colleges and universities are relatively rich, increasingly powerful and important, and, some worry, seldom scrutinized. But even accounting for the recession, university foundations are the little-observed powers behind colleges and universities in this state and across the country. They buy and sell real estate, accept gifts, award scholarships and augment the salary of faculty and administratorsIn addition to controlling more than a billion dollars worth of assets, the foundations have access to even more money through their ability to borrow by issuing tax-exempt bonds. Read more at: 
http://www.thestate.com/2010/05/30/1309491/foundations-make-big-moves-with.html#ixzz0pdXNAQz3

Stop The Arms Race In Presidential Pay

Across the country, executive compensation on college campuses has surged in the past decade. Constantine W. Curris, president emeritus of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, recently called for an end to the “arms race in presidential pay.” According to a survey in The Chronicle of Higher Education, one public university chief topped $1 million last year — the president of Ohio State University, E. Gordon Gee, received $1.6 million — while two dozen presidents of private institutions, including Columbia University and New York University, received more than $1 million a year. “What we have is a system in which presidential salaries on campus are compared to those of other C.E.O.’s,” said Dr. Curris. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/nyregion/14cunypay.html