The Art and Politics of Academic Governance: Relations among Boards, Presidents, and Faculty (Ace/Praeger Series on Higher Education) - Hardcover

Mortimer, Kenneth P.; Sathre, Colleen O'Brien

9780275984786: The Art and Politics of Academic Governance: Relations among Boards, Presidents, and Faculty (Ace/Praeger Series on Higher Education)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0275984788 ISBN 13: 9780275984786

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007

Using case studies and relevant literature, this book illustrates the challenges to legitimate, Shared-governance domains when the routine of the academy is forced to deal with big issues, often brought on by external forces. Mortimer and Sathre have gone beyond a discussion of faculty/administrative behavior by focusing on what happens when the legitimate governance claims of faculty, trustees, and presidents clash. They place these relationships in the broader context of internal institutional governance and analyze the dynamics that unfold when advocacy trumps collegiality. The book closes with a defense of shared governance and offers observations and practical suggestions about how the academy can share authority effectively and further achieve its mission.

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About the Author:

Kenneth P. Mortimer is President Emeritus of Western Washington University and President, Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Hawai'i; he is currently engaged in writing, consulting, and serving on boards. He holds an A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.B.A. from the Wharton School, a Ph.D from the University of California, Berkeley, and resides in Woodinville, Washington. Colleen O'Brien Sathre is Vice President Emeritus, Planning and Policy, University of Hawai'i, where she served the system as the chief academic planning officer; she is currently engaged in writing, consulting, and volunteer work. She holds a B.A. from the College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, and resides in Honolulu, Hawai'i.

Review:

Mortimer and Sathre get to the heart of good governance in the 21st century. Good intentions and good ideas are not enough. This book offers ways to get things done in an increasingly competitive environment. (Tierney, William G.)

Ken Mortimer and Colleen Sathre make The Art and Politics of Academic Governance come alive. They argue that to survive, trustees, faculty leaders, academic administrators, and policy makers need to be market smart, mission centered, and politically savvy. How to do that is the challenge, and here the book is at its best as it weaves together high-stakes governance struggles with a remarkable command of the scholarly literature. For students of academic governance and practitioners alike, this book is a real find. (Ikenberry, Stanley O.)

This well written primer on the politics of institutional governance reminds us why process is as important as substance in academic decision making. The book emphasizes contemporary issues, the current bibliography will help bring readers up to date on the governance literature, and the several real-life cases illustrate how the best laid plans of academics, as well as mice, can easily go awry. (Robert Birnbaum)

Mortimer (president emeritus, Western Washington U. and U. of Hawaii) and Sathre (vice president emeritus of planning and policy, U. of Hawaii) note that academic governance is a complex, controversial, and 'messy' of blend of politics, influence, competing interests, and authority - and that managing and negotiating it properly is an art form. The issue here is shared governance and the relationships between school boards, administrators, and faculty. The authors discuss the elements of shared governance and, ideally, how they work together to produce desired results. This is a reprint of a 2007 book. (Book News)

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