FIRST EDITION SPECIAL RECOGNITION:
Winner of the 2018 Sue DeWine Distinguished Scholarly Book Award,
National Communication Association, Applied Communication Division
REVIEWS OF THE FIRST EDITION
"The book provides frameworks and resources that would be highly
relevant for new and aspiring department chairs. In fact, this text is
ideally designed to serve as a selection for a book discussion
group."--The Department Chair
"Succeeds in providing accessible and useful resources to individuals
across different leadership roles... As a midpoint between textbook and
reference work, it is successful at both and provides a clear and
unbiased background to issues facing current leaders."--Reflective
Teaching
During a time of unprecedented challenges facing higher education, the
need for effective leadership - for informal and formal leaders across
the organization - has never been more imperative.
Since publication of the first edition, the environment for higher
education has become more critical and complex. Whether facing falling
enrollments, questions of economic sustainability, the changing
composition of the faculty and student bodies, differential retention
and graduation rates, declining public confidence in the enterprise, or
the rise in the use of virtual technologies - not to mention how
COVID-19 and an intensified focus on long standing issues of racial and
gender representation and equity have impacted institutions and
challenged many long-standing assumptions - it is clear that learning on
the job no longer suffices. Leadership development in higher education
has become essential for advancing institutional effectiveness, which is
the focus of this book.
Taking into account the imperative issues of diversity, inclusion, and
belonging, and the context of institutional mission and culture, this
book centers on developing capacities for designing and implementing
plans, strategies, and structures; connecting and engaging with
colleagues and students; and communicating and collaborating with
external constituencies in order to shape decisions and policies. It
highlights the need to think broadly about the purposes of higher
education and the dynamics of organizational excellence, and to apply
these insights effectively in goal setting, planning and change
leadership, outcomes assessment, addressing crises, and continuous
improvement at both the level of the individual and organization.
The concepts and tools in this book are equally valuable for faculty and
staff leaders, whether in formal leadership roles, such as deans,
chairs, or directors of institutes, committees, or task forces, or those
who perform informal leadership functions within their departments,
disciplines, or institutions. It can be used as a professional guide, a
textbook in graduate courses, or as a resource in leadership training
and development programs. Each chapter concludes with a series of case
studies and guiding questions.
