Contentious dialogue: University presidential response and the 2016 U.S. presidential election

ABSTRACT

In recent years, technology has made it possible, and at times critical, for college and university presidents to increase their campus-wide public communication. However, there is little research that analyses these frequent and timely presidential communications. Using grounded theory, this study took steps to fill this gap by analysing the unprecedented response campuses had to the 2016 United States presidential election of Donald Trump. The analysis focused on the responses of presidents from the fifty state flagship universities and found emergent themes of unity, contentious election, negative event, university values, civil dialogue, services offered, and emotional rhetoric, while also finding significance in whether the letters were sent proactively or reactively.     

An institutional North Star: the role of values in presidential communication and decision-making

Mission statements have been a staple of higher education institutions for decades, but little is known of how they are used as a tool for institutional decision-making. Using three distinct data sources, this study relies on framing theory to analyse the perceptions of university presidents in the United States on the role of mission statements in deciding when and how to communicate. Further, we compare the espoused values of university mission statements to the statements university presidents made following the 2016 US presidential election. Findings indicate presidents view mission statements as central to their decision to communicate and our analysis reveals some congruence between mission statements and public statements.     

“For millions of people,this is real trauma”: A pedagogy of political trauma in the wake of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election

To explore how teachers navigated the days after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we conducted a national, anonymous questionnaire. In this paper, we focus specifically on those participants who reported what we conceptualize as students' political trauma. Drawing on participants' responses, we outline a pedagogy to respond to this political trauma that includes: 1) attending to students' emotions; 2) emphasizing civic knowledge; and 3) developing students’ critical consciousness and activism. We argue that these three domains collectively create opportunities to work toward the democratic and emancipatory purposes of education in the wake of politically traumatic events.     

Executive Compensation in Public Higher Education: Does Performance Matter?

Executive evaluation and compensation are central to organizational accountability and governance. Driven by increasing public demand on justifications and accountability for substantial salary increases for public university presidents, this paper is intended to shed light on the linkage between performance and executive compensation in public universities by examining the determinants of university presidents’ pay from 2004/2005 to 2008/2009 academic years. The central question is whether presidential compensation is related to a wide array of newly developed university performance measures or is independent of performance, i.e., university presidents are paid like bureaucrats in line with the widely supported conclusion in Jensen and Murphy (1990b) suggesting corporate CEOs are really paid like bureaucrats. Methodologically, Arellano–Bond dynamic panel model is applied to control for serial autocorrelation in the compensation data, i.e., university presidents’ pay in the current period is dependent to a great extent on that in the prior period. With extensive individual, institutional, and performance characteristics examined, it is concluded that performance related variables play a very limited role in determining public university presidents’ executive remuneration, when temporal autocorrelation is properly controlled, and presidential pay is strongly and persistently associated over time. The statistically insignificant pay-performance relationship together with the temporally persistent increases of presidential compensation may provide initial evidence supporting that public university presidents are paid like bureaucrats.     

College Presidents and Black Student Protests: A Historical Perspective on the Image of Racial Inclusion and the Reality of Exclusion

This essay revisits college presidents during the early 1960s to investigate the long history of how academic leaders manage racial unrest on college campuses. Throughout time, the concept of a welcoming and inclusive climate for black students on majority-white campuses has functioned as an illusion alongside the prevailing reality of racism on and off American campuses. In turn, this essay exhibits how political structures, as well as university hierarchy, have shaped academic leaders' approach to social change in higher education. Therefore, this work demonstrates the need to reevaluate higher education history as a lens for understanding the current American sociopolitical context that shapes present-day academic leaders and their challenges of addressing racism on college campuses. In summary, this work renders a richer and more nuanced understanding of the complexities college presidents, students, and campus stakeholders, such as governors and boards of trustees, face to provide equal and meaningful educational opportunities to all students.     

Small Men on Campus: Modern University Presidents

Modern university presidents lack the stature and standing their predecessors enjoyed, or so it appears. Critics and defenders alike--even presidents and former presidents--seem to agree with this proposition, albeit for different reasons. Critics note that presidents today exhibit a career orientation, moving frequently from institution to institution, with the result that presidential tenure continues to decline at a relatively rapid pace. Given these increasingly brief terms, it should not cause surprise that presidents find it difficult to accomplish or even to define agendas. In addition, the critics claim that modern presidents either lack the authority or will to accomplish much of substance or that they avoid controversial issues both on and off campus. However, few commentators have conducted careful comparisons of earlier and modern presidents to establish the validity of the claim about the shrinking college president. This article seeks to evaluate the claim in a comparative and analytical context and to suggest a revised interpretation. Modern presidents tend to focus on their institutions rather than on higher education in general, by way of contrast to earlier presidents; and they spend more time on campus rather than on general societal concerns. That difference, however, appears to be dissipating because of new developments and new needs within the society at large.     

Subjectivity as subjective-science: campus freedom of speech as an intensive single-case study

ABSTRACT

Q methodology [Q] is a mixed method created to scientifically study subjectivity. This study uses a single-case design that offers intense analysis regarding a previous study about freedom of speech on university campuses in the US. The study provides insights regarding privilege, social justice, naivete, and speech crisis viewpoints among a variety of campus stakeholders, especially from a troubled, midsized public university in the US. Factor arrays from the earlier study (also called theoretical sorts) were combined with sorts from an individual who sorted under multiple conditions of instruction. This single-case sorter was selected from the most contentious viewpoint from the earlier study called ‘Speech Crisis’ view. This viewpoint consisted of stakeholders from the troubled public university. The operant factors that emerge from the analyses of these Q-sorts represent generalizations of feeling. This study further exemplifies that perception of a situation, including the stakeholder’s power position, can impact their subjective viewpoint creating perspectives of privilege as well as perspectives of crisis. Moreover, this expansion of an earlier study further illustrates how using a single-case Q study can enhance insight concerning an important topic while challenging the often perceived quantitative-qualitative duality.     

论参照性权力视角下大学校长职业的卓越发展

在"教育家办学"的时代命题中,当代中国大学校长在重新定位其职业发展之时必须建构一种"参照性权力视角"。该视角的构建为大学校长职业向教育家发展找到了与教育家内涵同构的权力内在性及其必要性。这种内在性与必要性形成了大学校长职业卓越发展的时代性条件,它要求整个高等教育体制与大学校长自身遵循"参照性权力"更重于"职位性权力"的法则,经由"职位性权力"向"参照性权力"位序转换助推"去官僚化"与"去行政化"来构建大学校长职业卓越发展之道,进而构建大学校长的主体性,并据此构筑中国大学主体性发展的理想图景。     

Teach-In: Positive Responses during Divisive Times

In response to the well documented divisiveness throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, faculty members at one university developed a “teach-in” to help students identify and respond to the resulting difficult communications in positive ways. This was accomplished through planned activities implementing micro/macro theories and skills. In March 2017, as part of Social Work Month, 71 BSW and MSW students participated in a Teach-in event. Paired sample t-tests showed significant differences between pre-post test scores on seven measured items. The teach-in appeared to be successful in increasing student preparedness to talk to individuals with differing political opinions through self-reflective participatory exercises related to their own (and conflicting) political perspectives, knowledge related to understanding contemporary political conflicts, and instruction on positively and professionally responding to divisive communications. Social work educators are important catalysts in helping students effectively respond to and advocate for those threatened during these divisive times. Teach-ins may also be an appropriate tool for addressing contemporary issues when curriculum requirements provide limited options for additional elective course offerings.     

Critical incidents for new and experienced college and university presidents

Twenty-six college and university presidents, 12 new and 14 experienced, were interviewed and asked to report at least four incidents which they felt had been critical to their effectiveness as presidents. One hundred and twelve incidents were collected and then analyzed using a modification of the Critical Incident Technique. The great majority of the incidents (94.6%) were found to involve the internal affairs of the institution. Students were found to be involved in more incidents than any other group, followed by the faculty and then the administration. Finances and campus unrest led the list of factors precipitating the incidents, followed by staffing-related concerns and governance issues. Implications for new and experienced presidents are discussed.     

美国黑人参政的历史演变——从《汤姆叔叔的小屋》到奥巴马胜选

黑人为什么能够赢得美国2008年总统大选？对此众说纷纭、莫哀一是。实际上,奥巴马的胜选建立于美国黑人200余年争取民权不懈斗争的历史基础之上,再加之奥巴马团队针对美国国内现时政治、经济实际采取了恰当的竞选策略,终于实现了一个伟大的“梦想”。     

Social Status and the Effects of Legal Concealed Firearms on College Campuses

Research consistently shows that students and faculty are generally against expanding access to firearms on campus, and many stakeholders worry about the effects of campus carry laws on student violence, civility, and feelings of safety. We contribute to this literature by investigating how potential changes to campus carry policies affect students’ reported commitment to campus activities. Theories explaining fear of crime and social commitment led to hypotheses that predict members of socially disadvantaged groups—specifically women and minority students—would report less favorable attitudes toward gun possession on campus, greater feelings of vulnerability to victimization, and less commitment to the college environment when students or staff may possess guns. Hypotheses received support, and add to the growing literature documenting potential issues that legislators, administrators, and faculty might consider when debating the enactment of campus carry policies.     

PRESIDENTS’ VIEWS ON CURRENT AND FUTURE ISSUES FACING THE COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGE

This study provides a foundation for discussion of major issues facing community colleges in America. The purpose of the study was to ascertain how many community college presidents rank order issues facing their institutions, now and five years hence. Additionally, the study sought to more comprehensively examine recent literature about issues facing community colleges for purposes of comparison with the findings of the study, and for explication of issues identified. The data for analysis were collected from a population survey of all public and private community college presidents listed in the Education Directory of Colleges and Universities, 1981‐1982. Issues used in the survey were identified a priori, from a review of the literature, and were validated using a panel of community college presidents. The major findings were that both public and private community college presidents agree that the top issues facing their institutions five years hence are: financial support for institution, achieving institutional mission, and maintaining enrollments. Other major current issues include faculty and staff relations, planning and administering the budget, governing board relations, administrative team relations, state relations, public and community relations, and program development and evaluation. Additionally, questions were raised in the study regarding “presidential priority rankings of issues,” based upon directions suggested in the literature review about what issues seem most pressing in the decade of the 1980s.     

Transferring Leadership Skills: When Community College Presidents Become University Professors

University graduate-level programs are striving to address needs for community college leaders. One way they are doing this is by strengthening their graduate programs with relevant community college courses. Increasingly, however, community college presidents are being invited to join universities in professorial roles. These new graduate faculty leaders are bringing valuable transferable skills and experiences, but they are also experiencing transitional challenges. Studies have been conducted about other university executive administrators transitioning to university professor roles, but no studies have been conducted about community college presidents making this transition. This article represents an initial effort to explore a distinct class of leaders within academe—community college presidents-turned-professor. The findings of this exploratory study of 12 former community college presidents who transitioned to graduate university professors are reported along with stories, lessons learned, and advice for successfully crossing over from the community college sector to the university one.     

新媒体环境下大学校园文化建设面临的机遇、挑战与对策

与传统媒体相比,新媒体具有传播主体多元、传播层级消解、传播手段多样、传播内容分众、传播时效增强等特点。新媒体的应用,对大学生的思想、生活、学习、交往方式等产生了深远影响。置身于新媒体时代,大学必须加强文化自觉,抓住机遇,应对挑战,增强文化的主动性。为此,要切实转变观念,确立适应新媒体的大学文化观;要改革课程设计,将新媒体知识和技术融入通识教育;要加快数字校园建设,加强对新媒体的掌控与运用;要加强核心价值教育,坚守或重塑大学精神;要组织丰富的校园文化活动,修复人际关系网络;要加强舆论监测和引导,为大学文化建设创造良好的舆论环境。     

欧洲大学校长选拔制度与治理结构

欧洲西班牙、瑞士、意大利和英国的大学校长选拔制度特色明显。几乎所有大学的校长都由全校师生通过直接或者间接的方式选举产生,政府只是履行批准任命手续。选举坚持尊重教师意志、公开透明、充分竞争等原则,具有较为严格的制度基础和程序规范。大学校长在任期内的职权和责任比较明确。大学议会、董事会、学术委员会等内部管理体制和机制保障大学校长既能够充分行使职权,又能够承担相应的责任。     

高校校长人力资本产权论

高校校长群体作为我国主要的人力资本生产部门的人力资本,在当今社会与经济发展中起着极其重要的作用。分析高校校长人力资本的构成与特征将有助于理顺政府与高校校长之间的产权关系,推进我国高等教育管理体制的改革。     

中国大学办学定位主体的逻辑演变及路径选择

大学办学定位因其难和重要而成为现代社会普遍关注的问题,并由于不同利益相关者的影响形成了三种不同的定位主体:政府、市场与大学,是政府主导定位、市场协调定位与大学自主定位的交织与博弈。其中,在政府主导定位的影响下,大学选择了一方面适应政府主导定位行为下的大学办学定位的路径依赖,另一方面通过高校内部的"利益集团"试图影响或参与政府的定位策略;在市场协调定位的影响下,大学选择了创造性地建立新型高等教育组织,并采取了抬高自身的目标定位、适应市场需求的创新措施;在大学自主定位的影响下,大学已经专注于人才培养和教学,并鼓励丰富的校园文化活动。     

论美国总统选举人团制度与其政党制度的互塑

总统选举人团制度,是美国独创的选举国家领导人的制度。美国政党的出现,使总统选举人不再具有原始的独立性,而变成了政党的工具;美国实行“总统选举人团”和“赢者通吃”的选举规则,这种选举制度有利于大党而不利于小党,从而产生和维护了两党制,在共和党和民主党两大党中,则更有利于共和党。