Working with University Administration

Navigating the borderlands between communities and institutional leadership

James William Lincoln, Ph.D. Candidate

Philosophy, University of Kentucky (UK)

President Emeritus, UK Graduate Student Congress

Graduate Student Community Enhancement Coordinator, UK Graduate School

James.Lincoln@uky.edu - www.JamesWilliamLincoln.com

Our Agenda Today

To discuss how to communicate and collaborate with University/College leadership from a graduate/professional-student centered perspective.

1. University Governance Structures & Power Relationships
2. Higher Education & Administrative Structure
3. Stakeholder Identification and Relationship Building
4. Identity Documents & Strategy Building Workshop

University Governance Structures & Power Relationships

Power Relationships in Higher Education:

Governance, Missions, and Plans

#1: University Governance Structures & Power Relationships

“In the past ten years, governance has become a topic of concern among critics of higher education. ... Lately, the lines of governing authority have been defined with a fiercer sense of opposition on all sides. … ”

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• Burgan, M. “A More Perfect Union: College and University Governance” What Ever Happened to the Faculty? (2006)

Types of Administrators

• Executive Admins (i.e., Presidents, VPs, Provosts, Ombuds... )�
• Administrators as Management (Department Managers/Assistants, Student Affairs Professionals, … )�
• Faculty Administrators (Deans, Chairs, committee chairs, and so on..)

Power Relationships in Higher Education:

Governance, Missions, and Plans

#1: University Governance Structures & Power Relationships

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Traditional Shared Governance

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Goals - Community Members are given the responsibility, authority, and accountability to determine what goals to pursue.

Use of input - Community Members obtains input from colleagues and others.

How decisions are made - Leaders clearly articulate the guidelines for the decision (e.g., “We have $10,000 to spend on xx”) and Community Members make autonomous decisions that stay within the guidelines.

Leadership style - Servant leader

Level at which decisions are made - Decentralized decision making

Business Culture as Governance

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Goals - Leaders request input from Community Members to determine goals; use of input is optional.

Use of input - Leader is not required to use Community Members input.

How decisions are made - Final decision lies with leader, who may accept or reject staff input.

Leadership style - Hierarchical leader

Level at which decisions are made - Centralized decision making

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Governance Structures (as a culture) have been changing over time …

Power dynamics in Higher Education

#1: University Governance Structures & Power Relationships

The guiding issue for this section pertains to the cultural shift from a general

Bottom-Up (Shared Governance) models to a Top-Down (Business Culture) model of �in Higher Education

“[A] top-down model is structured around the use of professional leadership provided by external [to the community] resources that plan, implement, and evaluate development programs … Through the process of residents following the external leadership and accessing the services offered by the program, changes within community residents' perceptions, behaviors and ultimately their standard of living are believed to occur.” (Larrison, 2002)

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“... the bottom-up model as structured by social development theory, participation in community wide discussions, improved opportunities to learn, and the sense of empowerment that comes with knowledge are the necessary precursors to accomplishing the stated and implied goals of community development.” (Larrison, 2002)

Power dynamics in Higher Education

#1: University Governance Structures & Power Relationships

External Forces: Cohort Style Course Requirements, Formal Orientations, Awards & Acknowledgement programs, workshops, ...

Internal Forces: Informal Social Gatherings & Student Organized Conferences, events, reading groups, ...

All Top-Down

#Consequences

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#DisconnectedUnderstandingOfLivedConditions…..

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#ColonialCulturalEnhancement

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#DisempoweredCommunity

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#DependencySyndrome

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Power dynamics in Higher Education

#1: University Governance Structures & Power Relationships

All Bottom-up

#Consequences

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#MisplacedDistributionofLabor

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#CommunityBurnout

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#ExcludedLeadership

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#DuplicatedEfforts

The Takeaway so far...

Working with Administration, whether faculty or otherwise, requires that we find a pathway away merely Top-Down (Business Models) or Bottom-Up models, towards a Community Empowerment Model

The Takeaway so far...

Working with Administration, whether faculty or otherwise, requires that we find a pathway away merely Top-Down (Business Models) or Bottom-Up models, towards a Community Empowerment Model

Business Culture as Governance

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Goals - Leaders request input from Community Members to determine goals; use of input is optional.

Use of input - Leader is not required to use Community Members input.

How decisions are made - Final decision lies with leader, who may accept or reject Community Members input.

Leadership style - Hierarchical leader

Level at which decisions are made - Centralized decision making

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Community Empowerment Model

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Goals - Leaders request input from Community Members to determine goals; Community Leaders are given responsibility, authority, and accountability to determine what goals to pursue.

Use of input - Community input is essential feature of any decision process.

How decisions are made - Policy decisions are made by representative committees with University Leadership. Day-to-day decisions are made by Leadership in consult with community stakeholders.

Leadership style - Servant leader partnering with community leaders

Level at which decisions are made - Semi- Decentralized decision making (day-to-day is centralized between leaders and community leaders, but operational, policy, & value decisions are decentralized)

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The Takeaway so far...

Working with Administration, whether faculty or otherwise, requires that we find a pathway away merely Top-Down (Business Models) or Bottom-Up models, towards a Community Empowerment Model

Note: sometimes this requires protest and creating situations which cause discomfort so that change can happen… but that is a different talk...

How do we get from BC to CEM?

(Or something like it) … we need to turn to administrative structures to answer that...

Higher Education & Administrative Structure

What do we mean by Administration?

#2: Higher Education & Administrative Structure

Higher education administration involves the management and coordination of various programs and activities for colleges and universities.

“management and coordination”

Vertical Structure

Horizontal Structure

By Function

By Task

Can we think of examples?

• Of Functional Units in our institutions?
• Of Task Units that cross Functional Units?

Three Key Observations

#2: Higher Education & Administrative Structure

1. Vertical Structures in Higher Education define both the purpose and values of a unit (i.e., a college or service division).

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• Horizontal Structures cross over unit divisions and therefore exist at the intersection of a variety of purposes and values.

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• Therefore, functional divisions sit over task/objective based organizations (i.e., collaborative committees and such) in a determinate power relationship.

So, how do we get from BC to CEM?

(Or something like it)

We need to navigate the social structures, political dynamics, and identify priorities of University Executive Administrators, Managers, and Faculty Administrators to advocate for this (or any) vision or goal.

Discussion Intermission

#2: Higher Education & Administrative Structure

• What are the consequences of this for us if we are, in fact, horizontal organizations (i.e., ones whose projects and processes cross functional areas in our institutions)?
• How have you encountered this intersection of purpose and value? Anyone have stories?
• How have you felt this power relationship? Does it make our work easier or harder? Again, stories?
• What opportunities does this structure make available to us?

Practical Questions

#2: Higher Education & Administrative Structure

Who should we reach out to at these intersections to navigate the proverbial storm of values and goals in these spaces?

[Next Section]

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Where can we find information to guide our interaction strategies with these people (i.e., stakeholders)? [Last Section]

Stakeholder Identification and Relationship Building

Stakeholder Identification

#3: Stakeholder Identification and Relationship Building

Every objective, every project, and every program has stakeholders

• These are people that with an interest or concern in purpose and outcomes of an activity.

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• Stakeholders can be both organizations and people. (Note: you must communicate with people. Be sure to identify the correct individual stakeholders within a stakeholder organization.)

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Group Activity: Part 1

ID Stakeholders

#3: Stakeholder Identification and Relationship Building

(3)

Group Activity: Part 2

Stakeholder Prioritization

#3: Stakeholder Identification and Relationship Building

We want to determine how we ought to engage those stakeholders.

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1. What level of Influence (institutionally or socially) do the people/organizations on your list have?�
2. What level of interest might they have in your goal/project?

• Using this information, what strategy do you think you should use based on the matrix to the right?

Relational Meetings & Stakeholders

This is a strategy which requires an occasion to have a conversation with someone. Emails, brochures and flyers are good, but this creates a direct relationship with a stakeholder.

• The point of these meetings isn’t to recruit or push an agenda, but to listen and learn from people about their conditions. It is also an opportunity to inform them about a project or org. goal.
• Have these meetings with people on our community, and try to focus on community leaders or providing people with the opportunity to be leaders.

Relational Meetings

Communities are Built through the shared and inclusive process of collective meaning making.

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Relational meetings are about allowing people to access the social pathways for participating in the meaning making process.

Relational Meetings Practice

This is fundamentally intended to be an inclusive democratic process focused on public service.

Let's Practice:

• Turn to a partner and introduce yourself (someone you don’t know)

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• Ask follow up questions, learn about who they are and where they come from.

The Takeaway ...

Building relationships to communicate and learn how to mutually support stakeholders by showing an investment into what they prioritize is an essential strategy to getting them to invest into what you prioritize and for discovering overlap in those two categories.

Identity Documents & Strategy Building Workshop

Identity Documents

#3: Identity Documents & Strategy Building Workshop

Every formalized objective, every project, and every program in an Institution or organization has an Identity Document. These include:

• Strategic Plans, Governing Regulations, Administrative Regulations, Mission Statements, Constitutions, Office statements, webpages, vision statements, Historical Narratives, ….

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Have you looked at your Institution’s Strategic Plan? Its Mission Statement?

Activity: Identity Documents

#3: Identity Documents & Strategy Building Workshop

Questions & Discussion